


The Journey Begins

by JayColin



Series: Unexpected Love [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Details from Merlin woven in throughout, Evil Dumbledore, Expanded Universe, Foursome - M/M/M/M, M/M, Mpreg, Primarily set in the HP Fandom, Threesome - M/M/M, Twincest, Violence, Wizarding Nobility, Wizarding Politics, Wizarding Portrait Arthur/Merlin, Wizarding Royalty, Wizarding Traditions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-16
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2017-11-12 06:43:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 28
Words: 447,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/487879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayColin/pseuds/JayColin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Book One of the Unexpected Love series. Fourteen-year-old Harry Potter, along with three of his Hogwarts classmates, one from each house, are selected to be trained in a series of advanced magical arts and begin a journey that will have many twists and turns along the way... and quite a few surprises for all. Rated for future chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chaper One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note to Merlin fans: This story is set primarily in the Harry Potter fandom, although alternate universe details from Merlin are interwoven into the story at certain points. Arthur and Merlin also appear, as talking/moving Harry Potter wizarding portraits, starting in Chapter 12, Part 1 (Chapter 16 according to the archive numbering).

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter One

-o-0-o-

It was August 1st and lying on his bed in his small, sparsely furnished bedroom on the second floor of Number Four Privet Drive, in Little Whinging, Surrey, was fourteen-year-old Harry James Potter. He had pleaded with Professor Dumbledore not to make him return to his aunt and uncle's house. Asked him repeatedly to let him stay at The Burrow with his friend Ron and his family. But his requests fell on deaf ears, as the headmaster's eyes just twinkled like they always did and he said, "You will return to Privet Drive, Harry. It's your home and the Dursleys are your family. It's for your own good."

So, here he was, wishing that the traitor, Peter Pettigrew, hadn't escaped and with him the chance to clear his godfather, Sirius Black, who had been sent to Azkaban without a trial thirteen years earlier for a crime that Peter had committed. While he had informed the Dursleys that his godfather was a convicted murderer who had escaped from prison and would come after them if they didn't treat him properly, he doubted that fear would last long.

And he was right. By mid-July he was back to slaving away in his Aunt Petunia's garden, which was easily the best in the neighborhood. Of course, Petunia took all the credit, including the awards that her spectacular garden had won her, even though she did none of the work to maintain it or get it looking so good in the first place. Besides working in the garden, Harry also did the lion's share of the housework and the cooking in the Dursley household, waiting on his relatives hand and foot while he was left to starve half to death with the meager table scraps that they allowed him. That was assuming, of course, that he finished all of his chores to their satisfaction, because if he hadn't they had no problems not feeding him.

If Harry was anything less than the good person that he was, he might have considered slipping something into his relatives' food and being done with them once and for all. 'Strychnine, perhaps?' Harry thought. But, he knew that he couldn't live with himself if he did that, no matter how badly they treated him.

A knock at his bedroom door, roused Harry from his thoughts. He immediately knew that it had to be his Aunt Petunia, because his Uncle Vernon and cousin Dudley never bothered to knock when they wanted something. Getting up from his bed and walking over to the door, Harry opened it and asked, "Yes, Aunt Petunia?"

"Vernon took Dudley to the dentist," Petunia said. "I suspect they'll be back in about an hour."

Harry just looked at his aunt with a blank expression as he thought, 'That's nice, but why are you telling me?'

Harry's unspoken question was answered moments later, when Petunia said, "You have visitors in the sitting room - they're your kind."

Nodding, Harry said, "I'll be right down," as Petunia nodded once and walked away.

'I don't usually get visitors during the summer, so I wonder who it is,' Harry thought, as he quickly checked himself over in the broken mirror that hung on one wall to make sure he looked halfway decent. He was seriously tempted to make himself look horrible to make his relatives look bad, but considering how Dumbledore continued to insist that he return to Privet Drive every summer, which Harry had come to think of as his own personal Hell, he highly doubted that anything he could do to himself would get him out of living here. And the Dursleys would then make it their life's work to make him even more miserable for trying to make them look bad, not that they needed much help in his opinion.

Leaving his bedroom and heading downstairs, he found his Aunt Petunia in the dining room, busy setting the table for dinner. Without a word she nodded her head towards the sitting room when she noticed her nephew standing there. Walking into the room, Harry found three people sitting there. Two of them were older women and the third was a teenage boy.

One of the women was tall and thin, with long gray hair and was wearing a pair of silver-framed spectacles, along with a decidedly Victorian styled dress in a deep emerald green. The other woman was shorter and more heavyset, with flyaway black hair streaked with gray. Much like the other woman, her dress, which was a brilliant scarlet, looked like something out of the 19th century. Turning his gaze on the teenage boy, Harry saw a tall and muscular young man, who he guessed to be about fifteen or sixteen, with brown hair and a handsome face. He wore a black shirt and a pair of black trousers with a pair of boots that Harry had thought to be leather at first glance but quickly realized was actually dragon hide.

'I can't say as I recognize these women,' Harry thought to himself. 'The boy looks familiar though. I just can't remember where I've seen him before.'

"Ah, Mr. Potter, I'm so glad to see you," said the woman in the green dress. "My name is Athena Gracey and this is my associate, Eudora Douglas," as she motioned towards the woman in red. Then nodding towards the boy, she added, "I'm not sure if you've met Mr. Diggory or not?"

'That's it, Cedric Diggory,' Harry thought as he connected a name to the face. 'He's the captain and seeker of Hufflepuff's Quidditch team.'

"We've met," Cedric said with a smile to the younger boy. "Hullo Harry."

"Hi Cedric," Harry said, returning the smile. He didn't know the boy all that well, never really getting to know him off the Quidditch pitch, but he knew that Cedric was a good student who valued fair play. He had been particularly impressed when he'd found out that Cedric had asked to have the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff game that was interrupted by the Dementors replayed, as he'd felt that his house's win wasn't fair since Harry had been knocked off his broom by the foul creatures.

"Please, have a seat," Eudora said, as she motioned to a nearby chair.

Sitting down, Harry asked, "So, what brings you three here? I don't usually get visitors over the summer."

"Not even from your friends?" Cedric asked, a look of confusion on his face.

Before Harry could answer Cedric's question, Eudora said, "Athena and I knew your parents, Harry. They were among the most talented people we've ever met and the world is worse off without them."

Harry smiled and nodded, but otherwise said nothing, prompting Athena to say, "Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering about the purpose of our visit today." Harry nodded again, so Athena continued, "In short, Harry, it is Eudora's and my wish to take you away from this house and train you."

"Train me?" Harry asked. "Train me in what?"

"Magic, of course," Eudora answered. "However, what we would be training you in is a series of advanced magical arts which are not taught at Hogwarts. By the time we're finished, you will be what's known as a mage - several steps above a normal wizard in power, as will Mr. Diggory and the other two students we've chosen to train."

"Other two students?" Harry asked.

"We've picked four students in all," Athena said. "One from each of the four Hogwarts houses. Of course, leaving with us has the added benefit of allowing you to leave this house and get away from your so-called family who are quite frankly not fit to raise their own child, let alone a child such as yourself."

At that, the sound of glass breaking could be heard, prompting Harry to look over towards the dining room. His Aunt Petunia was scowling and it wasn't long before he realized the sound had been caused by her dropping one of the wine glasses she'd been setting out. Stalking over to the group, Petunia asked, "Who do you think you people are to come into my home and say that I'm an unfit parent?"

Not looking at all repentant for her remark, Athena instead said, "If the truth hurts, Mrs. Dursley, then so be it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. You may have deluded yourself into believing that you are a model parent, but the fact of the matter is, nothing could be further from the truth. Your son Dudley is grossly overweight and you've spoiled him rotten. He thinks he's entitled to get whatever he wants if he just puts up a big enough fuss and you only reinforce that belief every single time you give in to him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Petunia said. "My son is not overweight, he's simply big-boned. As for being spoiled rotten, he most certainly is not. There is not now nor could there ever be anything rotten about my darling Duddykins."

Before he could stop himself, Harry muttered, "Yeah, keep telling yourself that, doesn't make it true."

"What was that boy?" Petunia asked.

He still wanted more information on this training, but even if he didn't necessarily like everything he heard, he was pretty sure he would agree to go regardless if it meant getting away from the Dursleys. So, feeling a bit bolder than he usually might have, Harry repeated what he'd said in a louder voice and then added, "Just take Dudley's eleventh birthday for example, Aunt Petunia. You and Uncle Vernon got him thirty-seven presents and he then proceeded to throw a temper tantrum because he'd gotten thirty-eight the previous year, at which point you immediately caved and promised to buy him two more."

"Why you ungrateful little beast," Petunia said disdainfully. "We've raised you since you were a baby, put a roof over your head and food in your stomach and this is how you repay us?"

"I'm afraid he's right, Mrs. Dursley," Eudora said. "You may have put a roof over his head, but honestly, he's a growing boy. This is a four bedroom house, with four people living in it and I assume you and your husband share a room, so that leaves three bedrooms. And yet for some strange reason, you decided to make Harry here use the cupboard under the stairs as his bedroom for the first eleven years of his life."

"And let's not even get started about his weight," Athena said before Petunia could say anything. "The overly baggy clothing, which I assume are actually your son's cast-offs, may do a good job of hiding it from some people, but anyone who looks closely enough could see that Harry here is grossly underweight for a person his age. You say you've given him food, but from his appearance, I'm guessing that he's actually been starved most of his life. He was one step shy of being emaciated the first time he arrived at Hogwarts. He was starting to look healthy by the end of the school year, but then he left for the summer and came back looking the same as he did when he started his first year."

"Some people don't gain weight, no matter how much you feed them," Petunia said in a somewhat weak tone, which clearly gave away the fact that Petunia knew she'd been caught.

Glancing over at Cedric, Harry saw the horrified expression on his face and thought, 'On one hand, I'm glad an adult is finally standing up to my aunt. I've wanted one to do it for years now, but I just wish it wasn't in front of Cedric. Only my closest friends know about my treatment by the Dursleys. I can only imagine what he's thinking right now. The fame for something I had no control over is bad enough. The last thing I need is everyone in the Wizarding world pitying me on top of it.'

"And they definitely won't gain weight if you starve them," Eudora said. "You know, you should be extremely thankful that magic cannot bring back the dead, because trust me when I say this, if it was within my power to do so, I'd bring Lily and James back to life. And I think if you have a brain in your head, Mrs. Dursley, then you would know that your sister and her husband would not be pleased in the slightest with how you've treated their son. I have every confidence that Lily would hex you and your husband into the next millennium and then find a way to bring you both back just so that James could do it again. They died protecting their son and your treatment of him is just as bad as going to the cemetery and spitting on their graves."

"As for your son Dudley," Athena said, "while your treatment of your nephew is reprehensible, I think your treatment of your son is even worse. Dudley is a holy terror that most of the neighborhood kids that aren't part of his little gang of friends run away from when they see him coming, because they know that they'll get beaten up if they stay. He routinely threatens bodily harm to people to get them to hand over something they have that he wants, whether it be some new toy, their bicycle, or a new pair of shoes and they do it because they know it isn't an idle threat. Quite frankly, I'm surprised nobody has pressed charges yet."

"I don't believe you," Petunia said with a sneer, having obviously recovered from the tongue-lashing she'd already received in regards to her treatment of her nephew. "My Duddykins is a perfect, well-behaved angel and anyone who says otherwise is lying."

"Believe that if you wish, Mrs. Dursley," Eudora said. "But when Dudley finds himself in prison before he's twenty, which at the rate he's going, I guarantee he will, I hope that you will look back on this conversation and realize, way too late, that we were right."

"That's assuming of course that he lives to be twenty," Athena added. "The way both him and your husband are going, I wouldn't be surprised if they both end up dying of heart attacks because of all the excess weight that they're carrying."

Wanting to move the conversation away from his aunt's abysmal parenting skills, Harry asked, "So, tell me about this training. What exactly will it entail?"

"Many things, Harry," Athena said. "I also won't lie to you. It's quite likely that if you agree to accompany us you will be away from this house and your friends for a long period of time, but in the end, I believe you will think it was completely worth it, because as I said, you will be one of the most powerful wizards in the world. You will be learning to use magic that hasn't been taught at Hogwarts in over five-hundred years. Magic that was taught by Merlin himself to the founders of Hogwarts, but was eventually abandoned."

"It was feared by some," Eudora continued, "that Hogwarts was training its students to be too powerful. Power can corrupt those who are not disciplined enough to wield it responsibly and thus what is taught now is only a pale imitation of what was taught in the days of the founders."

"So, we offer you this chance, Mr. Potter," Athena said. "A chance to train in a series of advanced magic that will more than prepare you to face anything life throws at you. It will also get you out of this house and away from your Muggle relatives, while also getting you away from the machinations of that wizened old fool that you know as Professor Dumbledore."

"I've never heard anyone talk about him that way," Harry commented.

"No you wouldn't," Eudora said. "Most people in the Wizarding world worship the man. He is believed by a great many to be one of the most powerful wizards alive, after all. Not just in magical power, but also political power, as his positions as Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards grant him quite a bit of influence, both at home and abroad. He also defeated Grindelwald, who unlike Voldemort was a Dark Lord on an international scale, so he is widely respected as a result."

"That power and respect, however," Athena said, "has gone to his head over the years. So many people have bowed to his opinion, simply because of the power and influence that he wields, that he's gotten used to it and come to expect it. Basically, if he tells you to do something, he expects you to do it with no argument, because he's come to believe that he knows what's best for everyone, even if that isn't true."

"You see, Harry, you may not know this," Eudora added, "but it was Professor Dumbledore who decided that you should be placed here with your Muggle relatives. He left you on their doorstep with a note asking them to take good care of you, but he never once checked to make sure that they were doing that. He's convinced himself that you being with your only remaining blood relative is much more important than it really is and that's why he continues to insist that you return here every summer, even though he now knows that the Dursleys have not treated you the way a child deserves to be treated."

Once they'd stopped talking to her directly, Petunia had gone back over to the dining room table and continued setting it, but at this comment, the silverware rattled as she turned and said, "We've never given the little freak anything more than he deserves."

Not being able to take anymore from this foul woman, Cedric, who had been sitting quietly during the whole conversation, decided to speak up. "From everything I've heard, you have got to be one of the worst parents in the world, Mrs. Dursley, and in my opinion, you don't even deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of us."

"It's you and your kind that don't deserve to breathe the same air as people like me," Petunia said.

"People like you?" Athena asked.

"Yes, normal people," Petunia answered. "The world would be a better place if all of you freaks and your spells would just die and leave us good, normal people alone."

Harry knew that the Dursleys hated magic and he'd put up with it for years, but, he had finally reached his breaking point. Fixing his aunt with a cold sneer that would make Malfoy envious, he said "You're the freak, Aunt Petunia," before turning to Athena and Eudora and adding, "if it means getting out of this house, I'll gladly go with you."

"Good riddance!" Petunia exclaimed. "You will not be missed boy."

Athena grinned at this and said, "You're right, Mrs. Dursley, you won't miss your nephew one bit, because he'll be staying here."

'What?' Harry thought, suddenly looking very much like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding truck. 'Has she changed her mind about training me?'

Guessing what must be going through the younger boy's head and feeling an overwhelming need to reassure him, Cedric stood up and placed a comforting hand on the brunet's shoulder, squeezing it, as he said, "It's okay, Harry. You will be getting away from here, I promise."

Before Harry could voice his confusion, Athena stood up and said, "You see, Mrs. Dursley, as I've already said, Harry's training may take years and in order for it to be successful, we can't have him turn up missing and have people start looking for him. So, while we will be taking your nephew with us, a magically-created copy of him will remain here with you in his place. Thus, Harry Potter will remain a student at Hogwarts and nobody will be the wiser."

"It's bad enough that I had to take care of him," Petunia said, "but if you think that I'm going to take care of a fake, you've got another thing coming."

"I do think you'll be taking care of the fake, Mrs. Dursley," Eudora said, as both she and Athena pulled out their wands and pointed them at Petunia, who instantly blanched, any argument she might have been preparing to unleash dying on her lips.

"Harry?" Cedric asked to get the younger boy's attention. Once he had it, he said, "Okay, they're going to cast a spell on you now. They used it on me, so, I'm going to warn you now, it's going to be a strange sensation. All of your limbs will start duplicating. Basically the fake Harry they mentioned is going to grow out of your body, so for about ten minutes, it'll be like you have a siamese twin."

"Um... okay," Harry said, in a hesitant voice, as he tried to wrap his head around that. "Thanks for the warning."

Cedric grinned, "No problem. Just wish they'd warned me first," and at this he gave both Athena and Eudora a clearly annoyed look, prompting both women to simply laugh.

Raising her wand and pointing it at Harry, Athena prepared to cast the spell, before Harry asked, "Wait, you casting a spell here isn't going to get me in trouble is it?"

Cocking her head, Athena asked, "Why do you ask that, Harry?"

"Because over the summer before my second year," Harry answered, "a house-elf named Dobby cast a hover charm right here in this room and I ended up getting a warning letter from the Ministry."

After a moment of silence, Eudora said, "The only way that could possibly have happened is if this Dobby intentionally mimicked your magical signature and simultaneously used his magic to make sure the Ministry detected it. They can't detect magic done without a wand and even if you use a wand, they can only detect it if you're under seventeen and still subject to the trace."

"The trace?" Harry asked.

"A Ministry tracking spell," Cedric answered. "It's placed on all underage witches and wizards, so that they know if they break the restriction for the use of underage magic. Of course, it's far from perfect, because even with the trace, the best they can do is determine that magic was used, but they can't determine who used it. It's very rare for children in wizarding homes to get warning letters as a result, because the Ministry can't tell if it was them or their parents who cast the spell."

"Something else that might help put your mind at ease, Harry," Athena said, "is the fact that the spell I'm going to cast is standard procedure for those entering mage training. Only a select few people know this but Ms. Hopkirk in the Improper Use of Magic Office is a mage herself. I know that because I'm the one who trained her. At any rate, whenever underage witches and wizards are chosen for training and the trace picks up the spell, Mafalda does not send a warning letter and makes sure that all records of the spell being cast disappear."

"Okay," Harry said. "Just wanted to make sure."

Athena nodded, before she moved her wand in a complicated pattern and incanted, "Pario Geminus!"

Almost immediately, Harry felt a tingling sensation throughout his entire body which got progressively stronger. It didn't hurt, but it was definitely a strange feeling. This was followed by the realization that Dudley's hand-me-downs were suddenly beginning to fit better and he realized it was because his whole body had begun to swell up. He was thankful, however, that Cedric had warned him, otherwise he knew he would have been freaked when he raised his right arm and saw two hands coming out of his sleeve. Even with the warning, he would have been lying if he said it hadn't freaked him out to turn his head and have his nose brush against the cheek of another person who he knew he was now sharing his clothes with.

After another minute or so, Harry was overcome by a wave of dizziness and he would have fallen over if Cedric hadn't caught him. He'd guessed that it would happen to Harry, as it had happened to him less than an hour ago, so he'd stayed close to the younger teen just in case. Roughly ten minutes later, Harry came to, finding himself lying on the couch with his head in Cedric's lap, as the older boy ran his hand soothingly through his hair.

Smiling knowingly at him, Cedric said, "Yeah, it's a weird feeling isn't it?"

"Definitely," Harry said, nodding, as he looked up at Cedric. He wasn't in a hurry to sit up because he still felt a bit dizzy and he was sure that sitting up too fast would only make that feeling worse. So, instead, he found himself looking at Cedric. It was the first time he'd really looked at the older boy up close. One of the first things he noticed was the gray eyes. Before now, the only people that Harry knew who had gray eyes had been Lucius and Draco Malfoy, but where there's were stormy and cold-looking, Cedric's were calming and good-natured. That combined with the hand gently rubbing his head, helped the dizziness to subside and Harry managed to sit up.

It was then that he noticed the result of the spell that Athena had cast sitting in a nearby chair, seemingly asleep. 'Now this is eerie,' Harry thought. 'It's like looking in a mirror.'

"It's important for you to understand, Harry," Eudora said, "that you do not have a brother now. This Harry," as she gestured at the sleeping form, "is not real. He's merely a magical extension of you with all of your memories and abilities. We've put him to sleep because if he saw you right now, he'd feel compelled to merge back into you and it isn't time for that yet. When your training is over, however, he will merge back into you and you'll gain all of the memories and knowledge that he gained during that time, thus allowing you to step back into your life as if you never left."

"Okay," Harry said, as he nodded in understanding, all the while thinking, 'Huh, I wonder if that could have any unforeseen side effects.'

Turning her attention to Petunia, Athena leveled her wand at her and said, "You will kneel now and hold out your left hand."

Scared to death of the wand pointed at her, because she knew what the things were capable of, she quickly moved to comply, whimpering slightly as Athena in turn kneeled in front of her and grabbed her hand in an iron grip. Eudora came over at this point and said, "You will answer, 'I will' to each of the questions that Athena is about to ask you if you know what's good for you."

"Okay," Petunia said, although it came out as a terrified squeak as Eudora placed the tip of her wand against her hand.

"Will you, Petunia Dursley, swear to never tell anyone, including Albus Dumbledore, your husband and your son, about seeing myself, Eudora, and Cedric today?"

Gulping, Petunia said, "I will," and shuddered as a thin jet of flame erupted from the tip of Eudora's wand wrapping around Athena's and her joined hands like a fiery serpent.

"Will you promise not to discuss or share anything you've learned today regarding Mr. Diggory's and your nephew's upcoming training in any way, including writing it down and thinking about it in the presence of anyone who isn't a Muggle?"

"I will," Petunia said again and whimpered as a second jet of flame was emitted from Eudora's wand.

"And most importantly, will you swear to never reveal to anyone, living or not, by any means imaginable, that the Harry Potter living here with you is not your real nephew?"

"I will," Petunia said again in a whimpering tone, her voice high and shaky, as a third jet of flames shot out of Eudora's wand and coiled with the other two.

Letting go of Petunia's hand, Athena stood up and said, "Did Lily ever mention the Unbreakable Vow to you, Mrs. Dursley?"

Petunia's whole face went white as a sheet and her eyes bulged, as she shakily stood up and asked, "The Un-Unbreakable V-Vow?"

"I'm guessing she did," Athena said and Petunia nodded in the affirmative, the look on her face one of complete terror, as Athena added, "Then you already know that if you break any of the oaths you just swore to that you will die."

Petunia nodded. Harry, meanwhile, couldn't say that he felt overly sorry for his aunt's plight. 'Maybe if she'd treated me better over the years, I would, but as it is now, I can't say as I feel very sorry for her.'

"Why make her swear an Unbreakable Vow?" Cedric asked. "You only Obliviated my parents."

It was Eudora who answered. "Because, Cedric, we want Mrs. Dursley to remember this day and the conversation we had. You remember what I said earlier about Dudley ending up in prison?" Both Cedric and Harry nodded, as Eudora looked at Petunia and said, "When that happens, I want Petunia to think back to this day and know that she was warned. Of course, maybe she'll see the light and change the way she's been parenting Dudley so that doesn't happen, but I seriously doubt it. Anyway, if we Obliviated her, she wouldn't remember the conversation."

"You'll also notice that I made it a condition of the oath," Athena said, "that she not reveal it to anyone in anyway, including thinking about it in the presence of non-Muggles. Albus Dumbledore is a master Legilimens and powerful enough that he'd have no problem entering her mind. As a Muggle, she can't learn Occlumency to protect it, so, if she thought about what she's learned today while he was nosing around in her head, he'd find out that much quicker."

"As it is, Mrs. Dursley," Eudora said, "I would suggest that you bury all thoughts of what happened today as deeply in your memory as possible and if Dumbledore ever does pay you a visit, I'd suggest you avoid making eye contact with him at all costs. He can't get into your head without eye contact, so, it would be best if you not allow him to achieve it. And should he succeed, you'd better hope he doesn't find your memory of this, because if he does, you're a dead woman. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Petunia answered, clearly terrified.

"Well, now, I think it's time for us to leave," Athena said. "I believe Vernon's car just pulled into the driveway and it wouldn't do for him or Dudley to see us here, not to mention two of you, Harry."

"Shouldn't I pack?" Harry asked.

"Is there really anything here that you want, Harry?" Eudora asked. "Besides, your temporary replacement will need your belongings in order to successfully convince people that he's you. Athena and I will provide you with everything you will need, so, no you don't need to pack."

"Okay then, well, let's go," Harry said, as he followed Cedric and the two women towards the back door. Looking over his shoulder once more at his aunt, he said, "Goodbye Aunt Petunia. I'd say that I'm going to miss you, but then I'd be lying."

Just as the back door closed behind the four people departing the house, the front door opened to admit Vernon and Dudley. Despite the fact that he had just had his teeth cleaned, Dudley was already chowing down on a large chocolate bar, with three more clearly visible in the pocket of the shirt he was wearing.

Perhaps it was anger over being subjected to the Unbreakable Vow or she was determined to prove Eudora wrong about her son ending up in prison by the time he was twenty, but Petunia crossed the room in two strides and ripped the candy bar out of her son's hand, grabbing the ones from his pocket as well. Ignoring his protests, Petunia fixed her husband with a cold glare and said, "Really, Vernon, he just had his teeth cleaned. The last thing he should be doing is eating sweets."

Vernon recognized his wife's tone. It was her 'I'm not taking any crap' tone and after nearly fifteen years of marriage, he knew better than to talk back to her when she used it, because he knew it would only end badly for him. The last time he'd tried, he ended up sleeping on the couch for a month because that was before they'd put a bed in Dudley's second bedroom and Petunia had locked the door to the guest room and hidden the key.

"Give them back!" Dudley exclaimed, looking furiously at his mother and going into full tantrum mode - that is until Petunia slapped him, hard, across the face.

"No, Dudley," Petunia said. "I've been too soft with you for years now. It's time you learned that you can't have everything that you want. I've been slaving away in the kitchen all day making dinner and I'll be damned if I'm going to have you spoil your appetite by eating candy."

Dudley was too shocked to speak, because his mother had never raised a hand to him in his life. Walking over to the kitchen, Petunia dropped the chocolate bars into the sink and flipped the switch to turn on the garbage disposal. Turning back to look at her son and husband, she then added, "And by the way, you're both going on strict diets."

Vernon and Dudley both gulped at that. They had no clue what had happened while they were gone, but clearly something had, because they could both tell that Petunia Dursley meant business. As they both just stood there for a moment, too shocked to move, Petunia walked over to the table and set a fourth place at the table. Over her shoulder she said, "Harry will be joining us at dinner tonight."

"What?" Dudley asked. "I don't want to eat with that freak!"

"Would you rather not eat at all?" Petunia asked in a hard tone. "Lord knows you both could certainly afford to miss a few meals - it'll just leave more for Harry. He's way too thin, anyway."

While she'd acted cold and dismissive of her real nephew before he'd left out of habit, deep down she'd always felt bad about the way she'd treated him over the years. She knew she'd let her bitterness and hatred for Lily color her reactions towards her nephew, who did not really deserve the treatment. While it was true she hated magic, it wasn't so much because she thought it was strange or abnormal as she'd always let on, it was more so that she was jealous and bitter over the fact that she couldn't do it.

She had always regretted not patching things up with her sister before she died, as they had always been very close as children, but she'd put it out of her mind. The dressing down she'd just received, however, and the remark about Lily's reaction to her treatment of Harry had reminded her. She knew it was true and thus she decided it was high time to make up for her mistakes by treating her nephew better. True, the one now living with her wasn't technically her real one, but she hoped that the change in attitude towards him would count for something, even if it was only to make her feel better.

Before either of the Dursley men could comment, Petunia added, "Tomorrow, Vernon, you will do all of Harry's indoor chores, while you, Dudley, will do all of his outdoor chores."

"But, Mum..." Dudley started whining, only to be cut off.

"Do as you mother says, Dudley," Vernon said in a resigned tone. He would never admit it aloud, but he'd known for years now who wore the trousers in the family - and it wasn't him. It was and always had been, his wife. She usually let Vernon make the decisions, but he suddenly had the distinct feeling that those days were over and they were never coming back.

-o-0-o-

Upon leaving the Dursley house, Athena and Eudora led the two teenagers to a deserted alley outside of the wards that surrounded the house. Athena then wrapped her arms around Harry, while Eudora wrapped hers around Cedric, and with two pops, all four of them disappeared only to reappear moments later in a large room that had a distinctly non-British look to it. Looking around in order to get his bearings, Cedric spotted a sign that made his mouth drop open in shock: Welcome to the Khan el Khalili Apparition Port.

After a moment of shocked silence, during which he racked his brain trying to remember where he'd seen that name before, Cedric managed to find his voice and asked, "Is this Cairo, Egypt?"

"Yes, Cedric," Athena confirmed, as Harry began looking around with renewed interest. He'd never been outside of the United Kingdom, after all, it was only natural that he'd be curious.

"You... you just Side-Along-Apparated us from Surrey to Cairo?" Cedric asked, his tone clearly indicating both shock and awe.

Since he was turning seventeen in a few months and his father worked at the Ministry, he'd been taking Apparition lessons so that he'd be able to get his license on his birthday. Thus he knew that there were very few wizards and witches who would ever even consider attempting an international apparition, especially when there was a bit over 3500 kilometers between their point of origin and their destination, as such a distance would require much more power and concentration then most would be willing to expend. Side-Along-Apparition required even more power and concentration to insure that neither the person Apparating or their passenger got splinched.

Eudora smiled and said, "Yes, Cedric, we did. Shocked?"

"Yes," Cedric said. "And awed. You're both clearly much more powerful than I thought."

"When you're done with your training," Athena said, "you'll be just as powerful if not more so."

Before Cedric could comment, however, Athena motioned for the two boys to follow her, with Eudora bringing up to rear, as she said, "The location where you'll be training is actually back in Britain, but we have business to attend to here in Egypt first."

"What kind of business?" Harry asked.

"For one, we need to make arrangements with the goblins," Eudora said. "We need to place spending limits on your vaults to ensure that your temporary replacements don't spend all of your money while you're gone. We also have some shopping to do. Not only wands for both of you, but some other necessary supplies, as well."

"That includes new wardrobes for both of you," Athena added, "seeing as how you both only have the clothes on your back." In her head, Athena added, 'And I use that term sparingly in Harry's case because I'd hardly call what he's wearing clothes.'

"We couldn't have done that in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade?" Harry asked. "Since you said we'd be training in Britain, forgive me, but Egypt seems a bit out of the way."

"The risk that you'd be recognized in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade is too great," Eudora explained. "So we brought you here to the Wizarding section of Khan el Khalili, which in the magical community is also known simply as the Cairo Bazaar. While it's one of the premier shopping centers in the Wizarding world, I doubt many of your friends shop here regularly and thus there's a much lesser chance that you'll be recognized. Plus, our business at Gringotts' requires us to meet with the director of the bank and he rarely leaves the Cairo branch owing to the fact that it's the oldest and most profitable."

Walking at a brisk pace, Athena led the small group, expertly weaving her way through the narrow, twisting pathways of Wizarding Cairo, dodging the numerous people and street vendors along the way. Finally, they arrived in an enormous open square with a fountain, which was surrounded on all sides by more shops then Harry and Cedric had ever seen. If they had to guess, there was at least three hundred of them selling a wide array of common goods, such as potions ingredients, books, clothing, and Quidditch supplies to more exotic wares, such as flying carpets and a variety of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian antiquities.

Looking past the fountain in the center of the square, however, your eyes were almost immediately drawn to the large building on the far side of the square. It was about seven stories tall and made entirely of white marble, with a domed ceiling made of what looked like gold. The entrance was flanked by a pair of black marble obelisks, between which a wrought-iron sign was suspended, proclaiming it to be the Cairo branch of Gringotts' Wizarding Bank.

Following Athena and Eudora, Harry and Cedric soon found themselves entering a truly massive lobby that made the lobby of Gringotts' Diagon Alley branch seem cramped in comparison. Almost as soon as they'd crossed the threshold, a voice said, "Hello Athena, Eudora."

Looking for the source of the voice, Harry spotted another pair of women, who were accompanied by two teenage boys, who quickly approached them. One of the new women was tall and thin with short black hair and yellow hawk-like eyes. She was wearing black robes trimmed in silver. The other woman was of medium height with long, curly red hair and brown eyes, wearing robes of a deep blue and a white apron. As for the teenagers, both were tall and athletic looking. One had short brown hair with blond highlights, brown eyes, and was wearing a pair of black trousers and a white silk shirt embroidered with a green snake, although there was no doubt about the magical creation of the shirt, since the snake was moving. The other had black hair, brown eyes, and was wearing navy blue trousers and a blue shirt.

"Ah, Emma, Rose," Athena said, as the two women and the boys approached. "Harry, Cedric, this is Emma Baldwin," motioning towards the black haired woman, "and Rose Ramsley, who along with Eudora and myself will be your trainers for the next few years."

Before Athena could introduce the teenagers, Cedric stepped forward and said, "Hey Roger," smiling as he shook hands with the black-haired boy that he obviously knew. He also nodded at the other boy, as he said, "Terence."

During this, Harry groaned silently to himself as he thought, 'It figures that I'd be the youngest and shortest of the people that were picked for training.' Looking at them, Harry knew that he'd seen both of them at Hogwarts, though the boy with the snake on his shirt that Cedric had identified as Terence seemed more familiar to him, he just couldn't figure out why.

"Well, you've obviously met," Eudora said, referring to Cedric, Roger and Terence, as all three of them nodded. Smiling at Harry, she added, "Harry, this is Roger Davies from Ravenclaw and Terence Higgs from Slytherin."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, still with a nagging feeling that he'd met Terence before, because even the name sounded familiar somehow.

With a rather amused smirk on his face, Terence said, "We've met before."

"You do look familiar, but I'm afraid I can't quite place you," Harry said.

"I was Slytherin's seeker when you were a first year," Terence revealed. "Before Lord Malfoy bought new brooms for the team and that little shit Draco stole my spot."

"Watch your language, Mr. Higgs," Athena said in a warning tone.

"Sorry, um... should we call you Professor or what?" Terence asked, his smirk turning into an apologetic smile, with a hint of confusion shining in his eyes.

"Athena will suffice," Athena said. "You may call all of us by our first names. Anyway, now that we're all here, we have business to attend to."

Walking over to a free teller, Athena didn't even give the goblin a chance to talk before she said, "My associates and I have an appointment with Ragnok."

Looking up the goblin said, "Athena Gracey, I assume?" Athena nodded. "Yes, Ragnok mentioned that he had an appointment with you and your associates this morning." Scribbling something on a piece of parchment the goblin handed it to Athena and pointed towards a golden scrollwork gate, as he said, "Give that to the lift attendant and he'll take you up."

With a curt nod, Athena led the group over to the lift and handed the goblin attendant the slip of parchment. He glanced at it for a moment, before nodding and opening the gate, ushering them all inside. A few minutes later the lift reached the top floor and the gate opened as the eight humans in the lift stepped out of it into an elaborate outer office. There was a single goblin, clearly Ragnok's assistant, sitting behind a reception desk. A pair of goblins in full armor stood near the doors to Ragnok's office, each of them carrying a halberd that was twice as tall as they were. From everything he'd heard about goblins, however, Harry didn't doubt for a second that the fact that their weapons were bigger than them would have any effect on their ability to use them efficiently.

After a few minutes of silence, Ragnok's assistant stood up and said, "Ragnok will see you now," before he went over and opened the door and ushered the group into a large and luxurious office where they found a truly ancient looking goblin sitting behind one of the largest desks any of them had ever seen. Looking up and seeing the group entering his office, Ragnok raised one of his hands and pointed at the large conference table that took up the left side of the room, as he stood and took a seat at the head of the table.

Once Athena and the others were seated, Ragnok said in a gruff voice, "State your business."

"My three associates and I have taken custody of four students from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Athena said. "We intend to train them as mages, but as that will take time and we did not wish for them to be reported missing and have search parties sent out to find them, I used a spell to create temporary replacements for each of them."

"I see," Ragnok said. "Am I to assume then that you are here to insure that these replacements don't spend all of their money?"

"Precisely," Athena said. "I think it would be best if a limit was established so that the replacements cannot withdraw any more than 800 Galleons a year from their vaults. I believe that should more than cover Hogwarts tuition and their school supplies."

Ragnok nodded as he stroked his beard and then said, "Before we proceed, I must confirm that these students are not imposters. I'm sure you are well aware, Ms. Gracey, that the tests used to confirm that will kill them if they are."

Athena nodded, as the four teenagers in the room exchanged slightly worried looks. They all knew that they weren't imposters and thus they should have nothing to worry about, but still, facing a potentially lethal test would make just about anyone nervous. Calling for his assistant, Ragnok waited a moment before the goblin from the desk outside walked into the room. After saying something to the other goblin in Gobbledegook, the assistant nodded and left the room, returning moments later carrying a silver dagger and what looked like four sheets of blank parchment.

As his assistant placed a sheet of parchment in front of each of the teens, which as it turned out where not blank as they all bore the Gringotts' seal, Ragnok handed Terence a swan-feather quill and said, "Sign your full name on the parchment and then take the dagger, slit your thumb and drip three drops of blood on the Gringotts' seal. If you truly are who your signature suggests, you'll be perfectly fine and if you're not, you'll be dead."

Nodding Terence signed his full name, Terence William Higgs, on the parchment, before taking a deep breath and slitting his thumb with the dagger, allowing three drops of blood to fall onto the seal. After a moment, Ragnok nodded his satisfaction that Terence at least was who he said he was, since he was still breathing.

Handing the dagger back to Ragnok's assistant and the quill to Roger, the Ravenclaw signed his name, Roger Michael Davies, on the parchment before cutting his thumb and dripping blood on the Gringotts' seal. Moments later, Ragnok nodded his satisfaction that the black-haired teen was indeed the real Roger Davies and not an imposter.

"Well, two down, two more to go," Ragnok commented, as Roger handed the quill to Cedric, who signed his name, which took slightly longer than the other two. Terence and Roger, both purebloods and raised in the magical world, both knew why, although Harry, as a half-blood raised by Muggles looked rather shocked when he read what Cedric had written on the parchment.

Cedric Jeremiah Diggory, Earl of Charwell, Heir Apparent of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Diggory

'Cedric is a nobleman?' Harry thought. He knew that Terence had referred to Lucius Malfoy earlier as Lord Malfoy, but he'd thought at the time that it was just a Slytherin thing and not a sign that the blond Death Eater was actually in possession of a title. Not being raised in the Wizarding world, Harry didn't even know there was such a thing as Wizarding nobility.

As it had for both Terence and Roger, the Gringotts' seal absorbed the blood when Cedric dripped it over the seal, flashing black for a split second before returning to normal, signifying that Cedric was indeed who he claimed to be.

Nudging Harry to get his attention, Cedric smiled and handed him the quill. Holding the parchment in front of him steady with one hand, Harry signed his name as Harry James Potter, before slitting his thumb and allowing three drops of blood to fall on the seal. Almost immediately, however, the Gringotts' seal flashed red and Harry immediately noticed that his blood wasn't being absorbed as the other three boys' blood had been.

"You're not about to die, if that's what you're thinking," Ragnok said. "The seal would absorb your blood and flash green if you were going to die for impersonating a Gringotts' customer."

"So what does flashing red and not absorbing the blood mean?" Harry asked.

"That you didn't sign your full legal name," Ragnok answered. "The laws of Wizarding Britain are quite clear - anytime one signs an official document they must sign their full legal name. Not absorbing your blood and flashing red indicates that the seal has detected that you are indeed the name you signed, but that you didn't sign your full legal name."

"I did sign my full name," Harry said.

Before Ragnok could say anything, Athena said, "Your legal first name isn't Harry, it's Harrison. I'm surprised nobody has ever told you that, but even then, you still should have known as you should be getting statements from Gringotts' which would come addressed to Harrison Potter, not Harry Potter."

Before Harry could say anything, Ragnok sat up straighter and asked, "Wait a minute, did you say Harrison Potter?" Pointing to Harry, while looking at Athena, he added, "Am I to understand that this boy is Harrison Potter, son of James and Lily Potter?"

Athena nodded. "Yes, Ragnok, he is."

"In that case," Ragnok said, before turning to Harry and asking, "Why have you been ignoring our letters, Mr. Potter?"

Looking confused, Harry answered, "What letters? I've never gotten any letters or statements from Gringotts'."

"You should have been receiving bank statements since you turned five," Ragnok said. "And the Potter account manager informed me in our last meeting that he's been trying to setup a meeting with you ever since you turned thirteen and you've been ignoring all of his letters."

"As I've said I've never gotten any letters or statements from Gringotts," Harry reiterated. "I can't very well ignore something that I never got."

Turning to his assistant, Ragnok said, "Get the Potter account manager here immediately."

"Emma, Rose, Eudora," Athena said, "If you could take Terence, Roger, and Cedric to do their shopping, I'd appreciate it. Harry and I will meet you later."

Nodding Eudora rose and said, "Yes, this is probably a meeting best held in a more private setting."

Snatching a quill from his desk, Ragnok made a few notations in a large book on his desk and said, "I'll make sure the limitation you mentioned is placed on their vaults, Ms. Gracey."

"Thank you," Athena said, as Eudora, Rose, and Emma left with Terence, Roger, and Cedric, as Ragnok's assistant hurried out of the room to fetch the Potter account manager. He returned five minutes later with another goblin, as he went back to standing quietly in the corner until he was needed.

"Scarclaw," Ragnok said, as he pointed at Harry, "This young man is Harrison Potter and he says he hasn't gotten any letters or statements from Gringotts'. I want to know how that's possible and I want to know now."

Shaking his head, Scarclaw said, "I've sent all of Harrison Potter's statements and numerous letters to Seacliff Castle via registered post. They were all signed for upon delivery so I know they were received."

"Delivered maybe, but not received," Athena said. "He doesn't live at Seacliff Castle. Until recently he's resided either at Hogwarts or with his aunt and uncle, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, at Number Four Privet Drive, in the town of Little Whinging in Surrey."

Shaking his head, Scarclaw said, "I've been the Potter account manager for thirty-five years and I can tell you with absolute certainty that that address is not listed anywhere in any of the records pertaining to the Potter family. That includes the records held by Gringotts', Hogwarts, the Ministry for Magic, the Albion Royal Archives, and the Potter family barrister. All of those records list Harrison Potter's residence as Seacliff Castle."

"Why did you never try to contact him at Hogwarts?" Athena asked.

"Because on the day he turned eleven," Scarclaw answered, "the Potter family barrister came to see me and served me with an order signed by Harrison Potter requesting that I not disturb him while at school and to continue sending all communication to Seacliff Castle. The order was co-signed by the Chief Warlock, in addition to His Majesty King Edward."

"The King?" Athena asked. "Forgive me, but that seems more than a little suspect considering that King Edward was only two years old when he became king after the rest of the royal family was killed in 1972. As a result of being so young, he's been sequestered at the winter palace for years now, while the majority of his duties have been carried out by the Minister until he decides he's ready to take them up. Last time I checked he hadn't done so yet, but even if he had, why would he involve himself with something as trivial as where an eleven-year-old's mail is delivered?"

"Trust me, madam, I had the same thought," Scarclaw answered. "However, I checked the signatures with every verification technique that's ever existed and they were all genuine."

"Excuse me, but I'm lost," Harry commented. "Could someone please explain to me what's going on? What is Seacliff Castle and who's King Edward? The sovereign is Queen Elizabeth."

"Queen Elizabeth is the Muggle queen, Harry," Athena explained. "While Muggle Britain and Wizarding Britain occupy the same landmass, they are two separate countries with different monarchs and are, more or less, independent of one another. The Muggles have the House of Windsor as their royal family, whereas Wizarding Britain, more properly called Albion, is under the rule of the House of Pendragon - the direct descendants of King Arthur."

"As for Seacliff Castle," Scarclaw said, "that's your family's ancestral home and the seat of power for the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter."

"My father was a noble?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry," Athena answered. "When James Potter died, he was Lord of Seacliff Castle and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, which meant he held the titles of Duke of Granston, Marquis of Brynmoor, and Earl of Mathry. If your parents were still alive, as their first-born son and heir, you would be entitled to use the title of Marquis of Brynmoor as a courtesy title."

"And since they're dead?" Harry asked.

"Normally, witches and wizards in Albion aren't considered to be adults until they're 17," Ragnok explained. "Albion law also says that minor children cannot inherit or be granted titles in their own right. Minor heirs are allowed to use their father's second-best title as a courtesy, but the title doesn't belong to them. However, since your father was an only child there are no living Potter heirs other than you. Your grandfather and great-grandfather both had siblings who had children, but your grandfather's only son and child died childless and your great-grandfather only had one child that I'm aware of and that was a daughter who wouldn't be eligible to inherit anyway."

"I take it that's significant?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it is very significant," Scarclaw revealed. "All of the letters patent that King Arthur issued to the thirteen peers of Albion include a Last of the Line clause, which says that should a male minor heir be left as the last of their line, upon attaining their thirteenth year they are legally emancipated and from that point on seen as an adult in the eyes of the law, thus allowing you to inherit the titles and all of the duties and responsibilities that go with them."

"And would Dumbledore know about this clause?" Harry asked, as he chose to ignore the duties and responsibilities part of what Scarclaw had just said, because he really didn't want to think about what that meant.

"Oh I guarantee he knows," Athena said. "He's the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. All members of that body are required to know all of the laws of Albion, since it's their jobs to uphold them."

"So, he knew that I was legally an adult as of my birthday last year," Harry said, "and yet he still insisted on sending me back to live with my abusive Muggle relatives? I'm beginning to see why you called him a wizened old fool, Athena."

"In that case," Scarclaw said, "perhaps at the next meeting of the Wizengamot you should call for a vote of no confidence in his ability as Chief Warlock."

"Call for a vote?" Harry asked. "You mean, I'm a member of the Wizengamot?"

"Yes, you are," Athena replied. "There's 100 seats on the Wizengamot. 48 of them are held by commoners, like Dumbledore. The other 52 are held by the 13 peers of Albion, each of them having four seats: their family seat, plus one seat for each of their titles. Each seat carries a vote, so, Harry, in your case, you have four votes, from the Potter family's seat, plus the Granston, Brynmoor and Mathry seats."

Harry was suddenly very glad that he was sitting down, because he was sure that if he wasn't, he'd be sprawled out on the floor by now. As if his life hadn't been complicated enough with the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing. Now he finds out he's actually a noble lord with four votes on the Wizengamot and gods only knew what else. After a few minutes, Harry turned to look at the others and asked, "So what happens now?"

"That is entirely up to you," Athena said. "If you wish it, my associates and I will still train you to be a mage. You can also still claim your birthright as Lord Potter."

"But, if I have to attend meetings of the Wizengamot," Harry said, "wouldn't that cause problems in keeping the training a secret?"

"No, it wouldn't," Athena answered. "The fact that you and the others are training with me and my associates and that we've created temporary replacements for you is protected under the Fidelius Charm and I'm the Secret Keeper of that particular secret. Only I can reveal the truth."

"So, wait, what about the Unbreakable Vow on Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked. "If you're the only one who can reveal the secret isn't that vow you made her swear to useless?"

Athena laughed. "We didn't subject Petunia to the Unbreakable Vow - we just made her think that we did. She only knows what Lily told her about magic and nothing else. If she was more learned in the art than she is, she would know that a Muggle cannot swear an Unbreakable Vow because they don't have a magical core. If you break an Unbreakable Vow it causes your magical core to go into critical overload and kill you, but if you don't have a magical core, you have nothing to worry about."

"So, then the Vow was just to scare her?" Harry asked. "What about Cedric's parents? He said that you Obliviated them."

Athena smiled as she said, "After all the mistreatment she and her family have heaped on you over the years, Eudora and I felt that she needed some kind of punishment. As for Cedric's parents, yes, we Obliviated them. Lord and Lady Diggory are known for not being able to hold their tongues."

"Why bother though?" Harry asked, not understanding. "If you're the only one who can reveal the secret?"

"The Fidelius, while effective, is far from perfect," Athena answered. "When someone who isn't the secret keeper tries to reveal the protected secret, the magic won't let them and will trigger their brain to think of something to say in place of the secret, which will result in them starting to say something, hesitating, and then finishing. The problem lies in the fact that witches and wizards of sufficient power can tell the difference between regular hesitance and Fidelius-induced hesitance. Thus even though they don't know the secret, they're alerted to the fact that the Fidelius is in use."

After a moment, Harry said, "I definitely want to continue with the training, but I don't understand how I can claim my birthright with a temporary replacement running around. Dumbledore is the Chief Warlock, so, he'd be at the meetings - how could we possibly explain me being at the meetings if my double is at Hogwarts?"

"A logical question, Harry," Athena said. "Simply put, I will make arrangements for your double to disappear during the Wizengamot meetings. The Last of the Line clause hasn't been invoked in a few years now, so add that to your popularity and I guarantee it will make the papers that you've claimed your birthright."

"There's been quite a few people asking why you haven't already," Scarclaw added. "They know you turned thirteen last year and have been wondering why you haven't taken your place as head of the Potter family yet. Ms. Gracey is correct that it will make the papers."

"But how will you arrange for my double to disappear during the meetings once he goes back to Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Simple," Athena said. "My son lives in Hogsmeade and since he's a member of the Wizengamot, one of the commoners, I'll simply make arrangements for it to look like he swung by Hogwarts to collect you and took you with him to the meetings. As for your double, I have a secret room in my office at Hogwarts that only I can access - your double can sleep there while you're at the meeting."

'Okay, that sounds like it could work,' Harry thought to himself, before he realized what Athena had just said, prompting him to ask aloud, "Wait, your office at Hogwarts?"

"You wouldn't know it to look at me, Harry," Athena said, "as I'm wearing extensive Glamour Charms and using a spell to change my voice, but I'm one of your professors at Hogwarts. The other trainers are on staff, as well. Like Terence, Roger, Cedric, and you we also have temporary replacements at Hogwarts or will come the start of the autumn term."

"So who are you really?" Harry asked.

Athena smiled and shook her head. "No, no, I think it would be best if you figured that out for yourselves. Feel free to tell the others what I've told you. The secret of our true identities is also protected under the Fidelius. I am the Secret Keeper, but I'm choosing not to tell you. There are subtle clues that you and the others should be able to pick up on if you observe closely in the coming months. Under the Fidelius, you'll never know for sure that you're right unless I tell you, but the spell won't stop you from suspecting."

'Well, this should be fun,' Harry thought, before turning to Scarclaw and asking, "How do I claim my birthright?"

"There's some papers you'll need to sign," Scarclaw said. "Then you'll need to take a trip down to the Potter family vault and retrieve the Potter family insignia ring that's worn by the family head."

"I don't recall seeing any jewelry in my vault," Harry commented, confused.

"That's because you're thinking of your personal vault," Ragnok explained from where he was sitting behind his desk. While Athena and Harry were talking, he'd gone back over to his desk to get some work done. "You've never been in the Potter family vault. All of Albion's old, noble families have family vaults down in the farthest depths of the Diagon Alley branch of Gringotts'. It's there that you will find the Lord's ring, where it was placed upon your father's death, waiting for you to come of age and take up your birthright."

Nodding, Harry said, "Well, what do I need to sign?"

Opening a dragonhide satchel at his side, Scarclaw pulled out the documents and placed them on the table in front of Harry. Handing him a quill, he indicated where he should sign and said, "Do you know what you need to sign?"

Remembering what Cedric had signed earlier, Harry guessed, "Full name, so, Harrison James Potter, um, and the titles you mentioned earlier?"

Pulling a smaller, less elaborate quill from inside the folds of her robe, along with a piece of blank parchment, Athena wrote down what Harry should sign and showed it to him, as he nodded and said, "Thanks."

Taking the quill, Harry carefully signed his name, trying to make his signature as neat as possible, because something told him it wouldn't look good for a noble to have poor penmanship. When he finished, he'd signed Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston, Lord of Seacliff Castle and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter.

Handing Harry the knife that had been used earlier, Scarclaw said, "Now just add three drops of blood to the Gringotts' seal and we'll go and collect your ring."

Slitting his thumb, Harry let the blood drip on the seal, where it was quickly absorbed, as the seal flashed black for a second, before returning to normal.

"Before you go, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "do you have any idea how it is that Scarclaw received this order signed by you?"

Looking at the document that Ragnok was holding, Harry could clearly see three signatures at the bottom. The first was Harrison James Potter, followed by Dumbledore and King Edward. Reading the two signatures, Harry couldn't help but think, 'Sheesh, Dumbledore's got a long name,' before asking aloud, "What's Iwernia?"

"It's an old name for Ireland," Athena answered, "which the Wizarding world still uses to distinguish Wizarding Ireland from Muggle Ireland. It's only the official title, though, used mostly for formal occasions. Otherwise we just call it Ireland. As for Albion, that's actually an old name for the entire island that England, Scotland, and Wales inhabits. Albion is used more often than Iwernia is, but it's interchangeable with Britain, or their individual names if referring specifically to one of the three countries."

"Oh, okay," Harry said before turning to Ragnok and saying, "I don't know who signed this order for me, but it wasn't me. I didn't even know my name was Harrison until today. Even my Hogwarts letters come addressed as Harry Potter."

"Hmm," Ragnok said. "Something is definitely amiss then. Normally, I'd probably chop off Scarclaw's head for this kind of breach," and here Scarclaw gulped, "but since I ran every verification spell I could think of and they're all saying that signature is genuine, I shall spare him for now. We will, however, launch a full investigation into this Lord Potter, of that you have my word."

'Chop off his head?' Harry thought, as he just nodded at Ragnok.

"Thank you for your time today, Ragnok," Athena said. "May your enemies soil themselves at the mention of your name."

At Harry's confused look, Athena mouthed, 'I'll explain later,' as Ragnok grinned, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth as he said, "May your vaults never empty, Ms. Gracey."

Harry, Athena, and Scarclaw left Ragnok's office at that point, leaving the ancient goblin to get back to work.

-o-0-o-

After leading them down to a room which connected all of the different branches of Gringotts' together, Scarclaw, Athena and Harry were soon in a cart plummeting into the depths of the Diagon Alley branch, after Scarclaw had led them through a few of the twisted rear corridors of the bank that only goblins usually used. Thus, even if there had been anyone in the lobby that might have recognized Harry, they didn't see him. Arriving at a depth that neither Harry or Athena had ever travelled to before, the three exited the cart on a small platform just outside of a large archway.

Grabbing a small collection of metal objects from a rack near the archway, Scarclaw said, "Stay behind me," as he moved through the arch and Harry's eyes widened as he saw a dragon chained to the wall, blocking the entrance to several archways on the far side of the room. Noticing the group entering the room, the massive beast began to get up and looked ready to breath fire, but Scarclaw shook the metal objects he'd grabbed, producing a sound similar to tiny hammers hitting an anvil. The dragon immediately hung it's head and whimpered, the look in its eyes clearly afraid, as it backed away.

"They've been trained to expect pain when they hear the noise," Scarclaw explained, as he continued shaking the small objects, leading the group past the dragon and through one of the arches it had been blocking. On the other side were the doors to five vaults and Athena gasped when she caught sight of the crests displayed on two in particular.

"What is it Athena?" Harry asked.

Pointing at the door closest to them, Athena said, "That's the Pendragon crest, so I'm assuming that's the royal family's vault and the door next to it, well, that's the crest of the Emrys family."

"The Emrys family?" Harry asked.

"Merlin's family," Athena said. "Or more accurately, Merlin himself, since he never had children."

At that comment Scarclaw laughed, but refused to say why when asked, walking past the vaults bearing the crests of the Longbottom and Ollivander families before stopping before the fifth and final vault door in the corridor. "Welcome to Vault 1005, the family vault of the House of Potter."

"My family's vault is in the same room as the vaults belonging to Merlin and the royal family?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Mr. Potter," Scarclaw answered. "The Potters and the Longbottoms, along with the Ollivanders, were the first of the thirteen houses that King Arthur elevated to Noble status, as the three families were his staunchest supporters in the wars for the unification of Albion. As a result, of the thirteen noble families, the Potters, Ollivanders and Longbottoms are the only ones to hold the rank of Duke. Of the other ten noble families, Marquis is the highest title held by six of the families, with Earl being the highest held by the other four."

"Who are the other families anyway?" Harry asked, wondering if he'd met any other nobles at Hogwarts and not known it.

It was Athena who answered. "The six families whose highest title is Marquis are the Diggory, McLaggen, Crouch, Burke, Black, and Bones families. The other four are the Flint, McKinnon, Lestrange, and Malfoy families."

"Figures that Malfoy would be a noble," Harry muttered under his breath, although it was loud enough that Athena heard him, prompting her to smile and say, "It might interest you to know, Harry, that Lucius Malfoy's second-best title, and thus his son and heir Draco's courtesy title, is Viscount Bratton."

Harry laughed at that. "Viscount Bratton, huh? Well, the title certainly fits, because Malfoy is definitely an annoying little brat a ton of the time."

Before anymore was said, Scarclaw placed both hands on the door to the Potter vault, causing the locks to disengage and the door to fade away, revealing a cavernous room that was obviously expanded by magic. Harry was sure his eyes were as big as saucers and his jaw was on the floor as he looked across the threshold at the huge pile of gold. He'd thought the pile in his vault had been impressive, but now that pile seemed like an anthill in comparison to the pile he was currently looking at.

"The Potter vault is charmed so that only family can enter," Scarclaw said. "So, Ms. Gracey and I will have to wait outside."

Nodding, Harry walked into the vault, the door of which closed behind him. He didn't notice that, however, as he continued to gaze around the vault, completely flabbergasted by its contents. In addition to the veritable mountain of gold, there were several large chests, some of which were open to reveal that they were full of precious gemstones and other treasure. A large bookcase dominated one wall, filled to bursting with books and scrolls, some of which Harry was sure were as old or even older than Hogwarts.

Turning to look at another area of the vault, Harry was quite surprised to find a fireplace, with a red velvet settee and a pair of wingback chairs arranged around a low mahogany coffee table. Even more surprising, however, was the portrait which rested on an easel next to the fireplace. It depicted a man and woman, currently sleeping, that Harry immediately recognized. He'd been told over and over again, after all, that he looked like the man, but had the woman's eyes.

Stumbling forward, Harry reached out and touched the portrait, as he whispered, "Mum? Dad?"

It took only a moment for the two people in the portrait to awaken. Noticing the young man standing in the room, Lily asked, "Harry, is that you?"

Harry nodded as James beamed and said, "You've certainly grown since last I saw you."

Looking him over with the critical eye of a loving mother, Lily said, "What are you wearing, son? And why are you so short and thin? Has Sirius not been feeding you?"

Harry sighed. 'Of course they wouldn't know. How could they if they've been here all this time?' Sitting down on the chair nearest the portrait, Harry said, "Don't be mad at Sirius - he's only just recently come into my life and he couldn't stay in it, as it wouldn't have been safe."

"What do you mean, son?" James asked, obviously concerned not only for his son, but also his oldest and closest friend.

"The night you died," Harry said, "Sirius was mad and he went after Peter, who obviously betrayed you. He found him and they argued, before Peter killed twelve Muggles and then cut off one of his fingers, leaving it behind when he turned into his rat form and disappeared down a sewer drain. Leaving Sirius to be thought guilty of the murders of Peter and the twelve Muggles. He was sent to Azkaban without a trial, where he remained until he escaped last summer. We found Peter, but he escaped before we could prove Sirius is innocent, so he's on the run. The Minister has promised to have him kissed if he's ever caught."

"Oh dear," Lily said. "Poor Sirius. I know the Ministry would never allow you to be placed with Remus and your godmother couldn't possibly have taken you."

"Godmother?" Harry asked. "I didn't even know I had one."

James nodded sadly. "Marlena McKinnon. She was one of Lily's best friends at Hogwarts, along with her twin Marlene. But they were killed by the Death Eaters the year before we went into hiding. I can't believe that the Diggorys have treated you so poorly, though."

"Wait, the Diggorys?" Harry asked. "You mean Cedric's family? What do they have to do with anything?"

"We named them as your guardians, Harry," Lily explained. "In our wills. We knew the Ministry wouldn't let Remus do it because he's a werewolf, so in the event that Sirius and Marlena weren't capable of taking custody of you, Amos and Amelia Diggory agreed to do so. You obviously didn't know that though - Harry, where have you been living all this time?"

Before Harry could answer, James asked, "How long has it been anyway? I'd guess you're a teenager by now - I'm assuming thirteen due to the last of the line clause."

"I'm fourteen as of yesterday," Harry said. "I didn't know about our family being nobility until today. I didn't even know my first name was actually Harrison. Everyone I've ever known has always called me Harry and that's how my Hogwarts letters have been addressed. As for where I was living, Dumbledore put me with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia."

"HE DID WHAT?!" James shouted at the top of his lungs, Lily looking just as angry. They both took several deep breaths and then in a calmer yet obviously still angry tone, James asked, "What do you mean he put you with Vernon and Petunia? Our wills quite clearly specified that you weren't to be placed with them under any circumstances."

'Mum and Dad didn't want me living with the Dursleys?' Harry thought to himself. 'And they made arrangements for me to be raised by the Diggorys? Huh - I wonder what that would have been like. Probably infinitely better than living with the Dursleys, of course living with just about anyone would have probably been better than living with the Dursleys.'

Finding his voice, Harry said, "Well, I lived with them as I said, although according to Scarclaw, every family record he could find from Gringotts', the family barrister's, the Ministry, and even the Royal Archives, listed me as living at Seacliff, which is where he's been sending all of my bank statements and other communication. And then somehow, on my eleventh birthday, the family barrister presented him with a letter, signed by me - that I never signed by the way - telling him not to bother me at Hogwarts and to continue sending all communication to Seacliff. It was co-signed by Dumbledore and the king."

"The king?" Lily asked. "You have got to be kidding me. Why in Merlin's name would he care where your bank statements were sent?"

Harry nodded. "Scarclaw and Athena thought it was strange too, but Scarclaw says he ran every verification test he could think of and all three signatures checked out as authentic, even though I know I never signed it. Ragnok rechecked them today and agreed that the signatures were genuine, which he made quite clear is the only reason he hadn't relieved Scarclaw of his head."

"Who's Athena?" James asked, not recognizing the name. He also wanted to know just how Harry had made the acquaintance of the Director of Gringotts' Bank, who also served as the head of all the goblin clans, but one thing at a time.

"Athena Gracey," Harry answered. "She dropped by the Dursleys' this morning with a Eudora Douglas and Cedric Diggory. She's going to train Cedric and me in the ways of a mage. There's four trainers in all and four students."

"Harry, are you sure she's on the up and up?" Lily asked.

"Well, she was highly critical of Aunt Petunia's treatment of both me and cousin Dudley," Harry explained. "She also didn't have many kind words about Dumbledore who left me on the Dursleys' doorstop as a baby with a note asking them to take good care of me. He never once checked to make sure they were and then even after he knew they hadn't, he continued to insist I had to return to them every summer."

Remaining silent for a moment, Harry then added, "She also told me that she's a professor at Hogwarts, as were the other three trainers. They're wearing Glamour Charms to hide their true appearance and are using aliases. There's a magical copy of me living with the Dursleys now and a magical copy of Cedric living with the Diggorys. The trainers will also have copies living at Hogwarts once the school year starts."

"I'd very much like to meet this Athena nonetheless," James said.

"She's outside the vault with Scarclaw," Harry said, "but he said they couldn't come in."

James smiled. "That's only partially true. They can come in if the current Lord Potter invites them in. I assume Scarclaw has already had you sign the paperwork to claim your birthright?"

"Yeah, he has," Harry confirmed.

"Then look on the fireplace mantle," James said. "See the box sitting there?" Harry hadn't noticed it before, as he'd been too consumed with the portrait of his parents, but now that he turned his gaze to the mantle, he did notice a small box. "It contains the ring worn by the head of the Potter family. To finish claiming your birthright, all you have to do is place that ring on the ring finger of your right hand. You will then officially be the head of the family and can invite others into the vault."

Nodding, Harry stood up and walked over to the fireplace, before reaching out and taking the small box sitting there. It was no bigger than a normal ring box, except it was made of rosewood and had the Potter family crest engraved on the lid. Lifting the lid, Harry found a large golden ring with the family crest in the center, surrounded by alternating diamonds and rubies. After simply looking at it for a few moments, Harry gingerly removed the ring from the box. Placing the empty box back where it had been on the mantle, Harry slid the golden ring onto his right ring finger, feeling it resizing to fit his finger as he did so.

"Now all you have to do, son," Lily said, "is walk over to the vault door. It should open at which point you can invite Scarclaw and this Athena person in."

"Okay," Harry said, as he walked over to the door. When the vault door opened, he looked at the goblin and the witch and said, "Athena, Scarclaw, please come in."

"We can't..." Scarclaw began to say, but Harry shook his head. "My parents assure me that you can, Scarclaw - you just need to be invited in by the current Lord Potter, which would be me," as he displayed the ring on his finger.

"Your parents?" Athena asked.

"There's a portrait of them in here," Harry explained, as the witch and goblin crossed the threshold into the vault. "They wanted to meet you, Athena. I think they're worried about me going with you."

Athena nodded and said, "I can understand that," as she approached the portrait. "James, Lily, it's good to see you again."

"Harry mentioned you said you were a Hogwarts professor," James said.

"Yes, I am," Athena said. "I told Harry that I would refrain from telling him who I am, however. There's a few subtle clues, but I think it would be best if he and the other students we chose figure it out for themselves. If it will make you feel better, though, I'm willing to swear a magical oath. I did so with Lord and Lady Diggory, even if I did Obliviate them after I left with Cedric, as Amos had been leery about letting me leave with his son and heir."

"His heir?" Lily asked. "Cedric is the second-born son, did something happen to Noah Diggory?"

Athena sighed. "Lord Diggory disowned him, at which point Cedric became his heir."

Unlike in the Muggle world, where letters patent for nobility titles said that the title would always pass to the eldest living son, the letters in the Wizarding world allowed for an heir to be disowned at the complete discretion of the head of the family. Disowning their heir, would strip the son of their rank, title, surname, and any and all inheritance rights of any kind. Before he was disowned, his full name had been Noah Andrew Diggory. After the disownment, however, he was forbidden to use the Diggory name and adopted the surname Kirke, after a character in a Muggle fantasy novel that he'd read shortly before he was disowned.

"Whatever for?" James asked.

"From what I've heard, sir," Scarclaw said, "He went to his father and told him that he was in love with another male. Lord Diggory did not react well. Made him choose between his family and his lover. Obviously since he was disowned, he chose his lover."

"While I am sickened by the fact that Harry was raised by the Dursleys," Lily said, "now I'm not so sure that I would have preferred he be raised by Amos and Amelia. I could never disown my own child over something like that."

Shaking his head in agreement, James said, "Neither could I. Anyway, Ms. Gracey, I think Lily and I will take you up on your offer of an oath, if you're willing to give it. I think it would set both our minds at ease."

Athena nodded, before pulling out her wand and intoning, "I, Athena Gracey, do solemnly swear upon my magic that I don't mean any harm to your son, Harrison Potter. I further swear to train him in the ways of a mage and do my very best to keep him safe, healthy, and happy while he remains with me. So mote it be."

Following her oath, Athena cast the Lumos Charm to prove that she still had full control of her magic. James and Lily nodded and smiled. Turning to Harry, Athena said, "Anyway, your grace, we should be going, as we need to get your shopping done and the others are surely wondering what's taking so long."

"Your grace?" Harry asked.

"You're a Duke now, son," James said with a grin. "Commoners and lesser peers are required by law to call you Your Grace in deference of that position. Unless, that is, you decide to give them permission to call you by your name."

"You can call me Harry, Athena," Harry said almost immediately. "I think, if you're going to be my teacher, it would be rather awkward if you had to call me your grace all the time. So, please, just treat me like any other student."

"I can do that," Athena said. "At least in private, in public I will have to show you deference based on your new position. The law is the law and only the king can change it."

"And this particular law, he can't change," James said. "The requirement to show deference to the head of the noble families is included in the letters patent for each of the families and King Arthur made every provision in those letters permanent. The letters were imbued with magic by Merlin himself to ensure that none of the provisions in the letters could be altered in any way without the agreement of both the reigning monarch and all thirteen of the heads of the noble families. Any changes made to one family's letter would in turn be reflected on all, so it should come as no surprise that getting all thirteen of the family heads to agree on any changes has never happened and thus the letters are the same now as they were when King Arthur wrote them over a thousand years ago."

"Okay," Harry said. He wasn't exactly sure what to say, as he was still trying to wrap his head around recent developments. First the training and getting away from the Dursleys, then finding out he was a noble and becoming head of the family, not to mention finding a portrait of his parents, allowing him to actually speak to them. "Mum, Dad, do I have to keep your portrait here?"

"No, Harry, my boy, you don't," Lily said. "You can take this frame anywhere you like."

"Can I take it to where you'll be training me, Athena?" Harry asked.

"Of course, Harry," Athena said. "You'll be training at my home and I have no problems with you bringing your parent's portrait there. You can hang it above the fireplace in the common room you'll be sharing with the other students. Alternatively, you can hang it in your bedroom if you prefer, but I thought perhaps you might not like your parents watching everything that you do in your bedroom."

"Common room?" Harry asked. He knew that's probably where he'd hang it, because Athena was right in her assumption that he wouldn't want his parents to watch everything that he did in his bedroom. He barely knew them, after all, so them watching him change clothes or doing other things that teenage boys often do, was more than a little embarrassing.

"Yes," Athena answered. "You'll be sleeping on the second floor of my home. There's a large common room there, in addition to three bedrooms and three bathrooms. As the head of a noble house, you'll have your own room, as will Terence since he's seventeen and legally an adult. Roger and Cedric will be sharing the other bedroom."

After a moment, Harry nodded and said, "Well, I suppose we should get going, as you said. I assume I should grab some gold while I'm here."

"That would be wise, yes," Athena said. "And as a lord, you'll need more gold then the others will, as you'll have a few more expenses than they do. Wizengamot robes, for example."

Harry rolled his eyes at that and mumbled, "Oh joy."

James laughed from his frame and said, "It's not as bad as it seems, Harry. Well, most of the time anyway."

"You can place your withdrawal in this, my lord," Scarclaw said, as he handed Harry a black dragonhide pouch, with the Potter family crest on it. "It's charmed to be weightless, no matter how many coins you put in it and the ledgers will be automatically updated to reflect the new balance."

Taking the pouch from the goblin, Harry walked over to the heaping pile of gold and asked, "Any suggestions as to how much I should take?"

"At least a thousand galleons, I should think," Athena said. "The prices in the Cairo Bazaar are a bit higher than on Diagon Alley or in Hogsmeade. Plus, among other things, you do need an entirely new wardrobe befitting your station as a lord, so, that will be expensive."

"Half that amount would probably be sufficient," Scarclaw said. "If you have wish to make any large purchases at actual stores, just ask for a Writ of Withdrawal. Stall vendors won't have them, but all of the indoor stores should. The shopkeeper will put your order total on the writ and then you simply initial it and press your signet ring into the sealing wax and they can then submit it to Gringotts', which will see to it that the money is taken from your vault and placed in the shopkeeper's vault. There is usually a 10% fee for that service, but Gringotts' waives it for the heads of noble families."

"Alright then," Harry said, as he began filling the pouch with galleons, making sure to take some sickles and knuts just in case he needed the smaller coins for something. Once he'd finished, he turned and said, "Well, I'm ready to go then. Scarclaw, please see to it that my parent's portrait is delivered to Athena's home."

Scarclaw bowed and said, "Of course, my lord."

At this point, Athena leaned down and whispered something in Harry's ear, at which point he nodded and said, "May your vaults overflow with gold, Scarclaw."

With a wide, toothy grin, Scarclaw nodded and said, "May your enemies fear your name, Lord Potter."

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's the rewritten version of chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it. It was certainly quite a bit longer than the original version, although whether it was better or not, remains to be seen.
> 
> Questions, comments, suggestions? Feel free to contact me. I love hearing from my readers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Summary: Rewrite of the first story in the Unexpected Love series. Fourteen-year-old Harry Potter, along with three of his Hogwarts classmates, one from each house, are selected to be trained in a series of advanced magical arts and begin a journey that will have many twists and turns along the way... and quite a few surprises for all.
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Two

-o-0-o-

After leaving the vault, Scarclaw led Athena and Harry through the twisted maze of rear corridors and back to the room which would take them back to the Cairo branch. Arriving back in Egypt, Athena led Harry outside and noting the numerous people in the square, she said, "Your grace, I think it would be best to head for the clothing store first. Your order will most likely take some time to finish, but if we do that first, then we can likely pick up a few items before we leave today."

'This whole 'your grace' thing is definitely going to take some getting used to,' Harry thought, as he nodded to Athena and motioned for her to lead on. He had no clue where the clothing store was, so he rather hoped that she did.

Leading Harry across the crowded square, Athena made her way towards the section of the bazaar where she knew clothing was sold. There were probably a dozen attire stores, though the majority of them only sold clothes suitable to the Egyptian climate. She did, however, know of one tailor who catered to a more diverse clientele and would have no problems supplying Harry with clothes that were not only appropriate for his position as a lord, but also suitable to the climate of the Scottish highlands, which is where Athena lived and where the training would be taking place.

Walking into the store with Harry, she was somewhat surprised to see that the other trainers and students were still clothes shopping.

"Ah, Athena," Emma said. "We were wondering what was keeping you."

"We had business on Diagon Alley," Athena said, as she held up her hand to forestall any questions. "We never left the bank and didn't go into any public areas, so nobody but the goblins saw us."

"What kind of business?" Terence asked.

"Family business," Harry said, as he stepped out from behind Athena and raised his right hand, allowing the others to see the golden ring now adorning his finger.

Seeing the Potter family ring on Harry's finger, Terence immediately dropped to his knees in front of Harry and kissed the ring, as he said, "I, Terence William Higgs, pledge my unwavering loyalty to you and swear to serve you and your family faithfully all the days of my life. On my magic, so mote it be."

"What the heck?" Harry asked, obviously confused. "Stand up."

Shaking his head, Cedric said, "He can't until you accept or reject his oath, and I would not suggest rejecting it because if you do, he'll be disowned by his parents and never allowed to go back home."

Harry looked at Cedric for a moment, completely unable to comprehend what this was about, before he noticed that Terence's hand, which was still holding the hand the Potter ring was on had started shaking like a leaf, as if he was afraid. Remembering the specific way he'd had to sign his name on the official documents back at Gringotts', Harry asked, "Is there something specific I'm supposed to say here?"

"You need to say 'I accept or reject your oath of loyalty, so mote it be,'" Eudora said. "Obviously you don't say both accept and reject - just whichever one it is."

"And you have to say your full title, with all subsidiary titles, after I," Athena added. "And his full name after loyalty."

Nodding, Harry said, "I, Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston, Marquis of Brynmoor, Earl of Mathry, Lord of Seacliff Castle and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, accept your oath of loyalty, Terence William Higgs, so mote it be." As soon as the words left his mouth, Harry could feel a surge of magic, at which point Terence's hand stopped shaking and he kissed the Potter ring again before standing up, prompting Harry to ask, "Now, would you care to explain what that was about?"

"I was born in Highever, your grace," Terence answered and remembering Cedric mentioning that Harry knew nothing of the customs and laws that governed the nobility, having grown up in the Muggle world, he added, "Highever is the largest city in the Duchy of Granston. It was originally called Seacliff Village, since it's close to Seacliff Castle, but it's become one of Albion's largest port cities and was renamed Highever when it became too big to still be called a village."

"So you had to kneel and kiss my ring?" Harry asked. "Please tell me that everyone born on my lands doesn't have to do that." He wasn't exactly sure how many people lived on his lands, but seeing as how he had a Duchy, a Marquisate, and an Earldom to his name, he imagined there were quite a few and he really did not relish the thought of all of them having to kneel and kiss his ring.

"Not everyone no," Cedric said. "Just the members of families who have sworn oaths of loyalty to your family. Not everyone born on a particular lord's lands does that. Usually it's just the members of the families who have jobs working directly for the lord or his family in a capacity that could result in them learning family secrets. The oath of loyalty, among other things, prevents them from ever revealing any of those secrets that they may have learned in the course of doing their jobs."

"My father and step-mother both work at Seacliff," Terence explained. "My father is the Potter family's seneschal and my step-mother is in charge of the greenhouses. As such, my family has sworn an oath of loyalty to yours. If you had rejected my oath, I wouldn't be allowed to go back home because if an oath is offered and rejected, the person who offered it can never set foot on any land belonging to the lord who rejected it ever again, unless the lord chooses to reverse their rejection of the oath."

"They don't have to do it every time they see you," Athena added. "The reason Mr. Higgs did it is because you're the new lord and he had to renew his oath to your family. Now that that is done, he can just bow. Although his parents will have to kneel and kiss your ring the first time they see you."

Nodding his understanding, Harry didn't say anything else, because at that moment, a middle-aged man came out of the back room and said, "More customers I see. I am Tarik, welcome to my store. Will the young gentleman be requiring an entirely new wardrobe like the others?"

"Yes, I will," Harry said. "I'll also need robes for the Wizengamot of Albion, if that's something you can provide."

On their way up from the Potter vault and through the twisting rear corridors of the bank, Athena had talked with Harry about what he'd need, not only in terms of clothing, but other supplies.

Cocking his head to one side, Tarik looked closer at the newest young man to enter his shop and noticed the golden lord's ring on his finger, prompting him to bow deeply, as he said, "Of course, my lord. You honor me with your presence in my shop."

To say that Tarik had been surprised when the heir to one of Albion's noble houses showed up in his store would have been an understatement since visiting nobility usually shopped at Hassan Khalid's store, since he held the imperial warrant as clothier to the Pharaoh. So to then have the actual lord of another of Albion's noble houses show up to shop on the same day? Tarik was definitely feeling more than a little shocked. He hid it well though, as he motioned towards an empty platform next to the one Cedric was currently standing on and said, "If you'll just step up here, my lord, I will get started on your measurements."

Half-an-hour later, the group was leaving Tarik's shop. He'd promised to have four outfits for each of the boys finished by the end of the day, with sixteen more apiece ready for pickup by the end of week. He also assured Harry that he'd have his Wizengamot robes finished by the time the body next met. The group then went to two or three different apothecaries to buy various potions ingredients, some of which were quite rare and expensive in Albion, but very plentiful and therefore cheap in Egypt.

Finally, they found themselves heading towards a wand shop. Athena had led the group past two or three different wand shops before finally directing them to enter a small shop at the end of a side alley. All four boys wondered why Athena and the others had chosen this particular store, as it was clear from their signs the two or three stores they'd passed had all been in business for centuries, whereas the sign of the store they were entering gave no indication as to how long it had been in business. It simply read, "Coulderton's Fine Wands."

Entering the shop, Harry's first thought was that it looked nothing like Ollivander's on Diagon Alley, which had a rather shabby and unkempt look about it. There were no floor to ceiling shelves full of wand boxes either. In fact, the room they'd entered didn't really look like a store at all. It looked like the parlor of an English country house. The only thing that didn't make them all think that they'd gone in the wrong door was that there were a few glass-covered display cases scattered about the room, in which a variety of wands could be seen.

When they'd entered the shop a bell had rung and turning around and looking, Harry saw that there was a bell attached to the door that would ring whenever it was opened to alert the store's staff that there were customers. They didn't have to wait long, before a handsome blond man who looked to be in his early to mid twenties walked out of the back room of the shop. He was dressed in a pair of black trousers, black dragon hide boots, and a white silk shirt. He also wore a black dragonhide apron and was removing a pair of dragonhide gloves from his hands as he came out.

"Ah, customers," the man said as he proceeded to look them over. When his eyes landed on Cedric, he did a double take and asked, "Cedric, is that you?"

"Nick?" Cedric asked, clearly surprised. "What are you doing in Cairo?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Nick responded with an easy grin.

"I believe I asked you first," Cedric said, returning the grin, as Terence, Roger, and Harry stood back somewhat dumbfounded. It was obvious that Cedric and Nick knew one another, though they didn't know how. The trainers, on the other hand, all being staff members at Hogwarts, didn't seem all that surprised that they knew one another.

"Yes, you did and fair is fair," Nick said. "I live here now, in a flat above the shop, which I own."

Cedric slapped his forehead, as he suddenly had a light bulb moment and said, "Of course. How did I miss that? Coulderton's Fine Wands - you're Marquis of Coulderton."

Nick grinned and nodded, as he said, "Yes, that I am." Looking at the others, he bowed and said, "Please, allow me to introduce myself. Gareth Nicholas Ollivander, Marquis of Coulderton and Heir Apparent of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Ollivander. Welcome to my shop."

"Well, we already know each other," Cedric commented with a smile, which was true. As his father's heir, Cedric was forced to go to several high-society parties and functions with his parents. As the Ollivander heir, Nick attended all of them as well. And since Nick had also been a Hufflepuff, even if he had finished Hogwarts before Cedric started, it only made sense that they'd talk with one another to help pass the time at the mind-numbingly boring parties. "These are my friends, Terence Higgs and Roger Davies. And this is Athena Gracey, Eudora Douglas, Rose Ramsley, Emma Baldwin, and last, but most certainly not least, Lord Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston."

Nodding at each in turn and bowing to Harry, much to his embarrassment - this whole noble thing was going to take a lot of getting used to - Nick asked, "Well, Cedric, what brings you and your esteemed companions to my shop? I assume you're here to buy wands, yes?"

"Yeah, that's the plan," Roger said. "It's just the four of us that need wands, I believe," as he cast a questioning gaze at the four trainers.

"Correct, Mr. Davies," Athena said, as she motioned towards the other trainers. "The four of us already have wands," and deciding to clue Nick in a bit as to why they were with the four boys, she silently and wandlessly cast a powerful mage-level Silencing Charm on the room, before adding, "and staffs."

"Staffs?" Harry asked, confused. He wasn't the only one, as Terence and Cedric looked equally confused, though Roger looked like he understood. But, then being a Ravenclaw, it stood to reason that he'd probably be much better read then any of them.

Nick had no such confusion, however, as he instantly nodded and said, "Ah, so that's why these four are with you fine ladies, I'd wondered. You're training them as mages then?"

"Yes, that is correct," Athena said. "We've taken these four into our care to train them as mages and left temporary replacements in their place, as is normal for mage training. The vast majority of people won't even know they were gone until after their training is complete. The training is under the Fidelius, by the way - I'm the Secret Keeper, as you probably guessed since I'm telling you."

"Of course," Nick said. Turning to Harry, he added, "Mages still use wands for normal wizard spells, but much of the more advanced magic that mages learn is too powerful to be cast with a wand, because the wand is too small to handle the level of power that goes into many mage-level spells. So, they tend to use a staff, which is usually between three and five feet tall, depending on the stature of the mage. Their staffs generally are not taller than they are for example. A very interesting item mage staffs, though, as many mages choose to have a blade on one end, so if they're forced into close range combat, they can actually use one end of it as a sword."

Deciding to show the four students exactly what Nick was talking about, Eudora mumbled a few words under her breath and caused her staff to appear. Centuries ago, mages had usually worn their staffs strapped to their backs, but since the advent of the Statute of Secrecy, they'd learned how to make their staffs invisible, essentially placing them inside a portable pocket dimension that traveled around with them and allowed them to call for their staff whenever they needed it. Eudora's staff was a four foot shaft of dark wood with a large green crystal on one end and a silver blade on the other. There was also what looked like vines twisting around the length of the staff.

"This is a mage staff," Eudora said as she showed it to the four boys. "Each individual staff can look radically different, as the mage chooses what their staff will look like, but most share a few similarities. There's usually some type of crystal or gem on the transmitting end, the size and color varies, and as Nick said, many mages choose to have a blade affixed to the bottom end of the staff. Thus if we're in combat and someone gets too close to us, we can swing the staff up like a sword."

"Or simply stab them in the foot," Emma commented. "Either way works."

Harry, Terence, Roger, Cedric, and Nick all shuddered at that thought, as the blade on Eudora's staff could probably cleanly sever a foot in a single hit if she decided to stab someone with it.

"I read once that mage staffs have a special ranged attack," Roger said, "that doesn't drain the mages' core and isn't actually considered to be a spell. Is that true?"

Nodding, Rose said, "Yes, Mr. Davies, that's true. All wizards usually have one particular element that their magic resonates well with. Some have more than one, but there's usually one that stands out as the most powerful. This element is imbued into a mage staff in such a way that we can fire projectiles of that element at opponents from a distance at will. The power for this effect comes from the staff itself, not the mage, so it isn't a spell and it doesn't drain the mage's core. Thus even an exhausted mage, who would have trouble drawing the power from their cores to cast spells, is never left unable to defend themselves."

Banishing her staff back to its pocket dimension, Eudora said, "Now, let's move on. The boys need wands, Mr. Ollivander."

"Please call me Nick," Nick said with a smile, explaining that while his first name was Gareth because it was a centuries old Ollivander family tradition to give males a first name starting with 'G', he almost never used his first name, preferring to be called the shortened version of his middle name.

Motioning everyone towards a seat in the parlor, Nick summoned a house elf, who was back momentarily with tea and snacks. At the curious looks he was getting, Nick explained, "I don't usually offer tea and snacks to customers, but it also isn't every day that I have two nobles from back home in my shop either. The store is called Coulderton's Fine Wands because grandfather forbade me to use the Ollivander name for my store, but I make no secret as to what my surname actually is. Despite my family's fame in the wand business, however, I don't hold a warrant from the Pharaoh, so, the nobility doesn't usually shop here. "

"Why did your grandfather forbid you to use the Ollivander name?" Cedric asked.

"Well, if you know anything of the history of Ollivander's," Nick said, "then you'll know that my grandfather revolutionized the way the store sold wands when he took over. When Great-Grandfather Gervaise Ollivander was in charge, many witches and wizards did not buy the components of their wands from Ollivander's. They'd bring in a core element and in many cases even the wood, that they wanted their wand made from and the store's only job was to then craft the wand, charging a much lower price since we hadn't supplied the raw materials. There were several times, however, that great-grandfather was not particularly satisfied with the matches of wand to wizard for wands made this way because many had chosen the core of a creature they admired for one reason or another and the wood was chosen simply because they liked how it looked or had heard that it was a powerful wand wood. He also had no control over the quality of the raw materials."

"Doesn't really sound like a good way to get a wand," Terence commented.

"That's because it isn't," Nick said. "So, when grandfather took over, he changed the way the store operated in that he began making all wands in advance and stopped accepting outside materials. If you wanted an Ollivander wand, you would buy one that grandfather crafted before you ever set foot in his store. This allowed him to control the quality of the raw materials and for the most part his system works well, but there are flaws which I've tried to point out but he isn't particularly receptive. He's been in the business a lot longer than I have and thus he thinks that I couldn't possibly improve on his methods, especially since I'm an advocate of carrying a wider selection of wand cores then what his store currently carries. And that is why he forbade me to use the Ollivander name, basically telling me that I couldn't use the name for my shop unless I agreed to do everything his way."

"I had always wondered about Ollivander's carrying such a small number of cores," Roger said. "My mother is Spanish, so we've vacationed in Spain often and I know that several of the wandmakers there carry a much wider array of cores."

Nodding, Nick said, "Well, if you asked my grandfather, he'd say that the three cores he uses are the supreme cores. He believes that they're the only three cores that are reliable enough to carry the illustrious name of Ollivander. He considers all other cores to be either substandard or too temperamental to work with."

"You don't share his beliefs, however," Athena said. It was clear from the way she said it that she wasn't asking, but stating it as a fact.

"No I don't," Nick agreed. "He came to his conclusions through extensive research, but I've also done extensive research, after thoroughly reviewing all of his notes in addition to the notes of several generations of my family and other renowned wandmakers. I've come to the conclusion that while the three cores that grandfather uses are indeed above the rest in terms of their reliability and power, I've also discovered that other cores can, with the right help, be just as good or better. I think grandfather is afraid, however, that if he takes my research seriously he may find flaws in his own research that would leave him feeling like he'd failed somehow or missed something obvious. He's a very proud Ravenclaw, so the thought of his Hufflepuff grandson poking holes in his research does not sit well with him."

Pausing for a moment to take a sip of his tea, Nick continued, "One of the biggest problems with the three cores that grandfather uses is that they only cover two of the elements, Fire and Earth. Phoenix Tail Feathers and Dragon Heartstrings of course resonate well with the element of Fire and the Unicorn Tail Hair resonates strongly with the element of Earth. Despite the fact that they're flying creatures, dragons and phoenixes do not resonate with Air because their connection to Fire is too strong and of course Water would be an opposing element that they don't resonate with at all. Unicorns don't resonate with Air or Water either, so witches and wizards whose magic resonates the strongest with Air or Water are often among the hardest for grandfather to match with one of his wands."

"My magic resonates the strongest with Air," Emma said. "And I can attest to the fact that when I went to Ollivander's to replace my wand after your grandfather took over, he had a very hard time matching me with a new one. I tried about thirty of them and honestly I was never all that pleased with the one that I ended up buying, so I either cast all my magic wandless or with my staff until I had time to visit the wandmaker in France who made my staff."

"Same here, actually," Rose said. "My magic resonates strongest with Water and when I went shopping for a wand, Lord Ollivander had quite the trouble finding a match for me. My magic outright refused all phoenix and dragon cores, so I ended up getting a unicorn wand that did work, but once I became a mage and had a staff made by a master in Greece, I had a new wand made at the same time and it worked infinitely better for me than my Ollivander wand."

Noticing the look on Nick' face, Cedric asked, "Is something wrong, Nick?"

"It's just that I don't remember an Emma Baldwin or Rose Ramsley ever buying an Ollivander wand," Nick said.

"Well, you're what? 25?" Emma asked. "Rose and I both bought our wands long before you were born, young man."

Nodding, Nick said, "I'm 24, I'll be 25 in November, and yes, I'd guessed that you'd bought your wands before I was born, but my family keeps very detailed records of every wand we've ever sold. Grandfather likes to say that he remembers every wand he's ever sold but if a long period of time has passed since it was sold, he usually has to touch the wand in question to remember all the details about it. I don't need to touch the wand, however, as I've memorized the records of every wand Ollivander's has sold since January of 1869."

Roger knew it was impolite to look at the heir to one of the Thirteen Houses as if they were nuts, but he couldn't help it, as he said, "Ollivander's must have sold thousands of wands since 1869. You couldn't possibly remember all of them."

"Actually, I do," Nick said. "Let's see here, Roger Davies - 10 3/4 inches long, made of hawthorn, sturdy, with a unicorn tail hair. You tried seventeen different wands before grandfather matched you with this one. It had worked better than the others, but grandfather wasn't completely happy with the match and wanted to try a few more, but your father had grown impatient as he was due in court and thus insisted that it would have to do."

Before Roger could respond, Nick looked at Terence and said, "Terence Higgs - 12 1/2 inches, ash, unicorn tail hair, rather inflexible. It was the twenty-sixth wand you tried and like Roger's father, your father had other business to attend to - in his case, an appointment with the late Lord Potter - and cut the testing short. Grandfather wasn't all that pleased with the match, but there was little he could do since the Ollivanders and the Potters are allies and he didn't wish to interfere with Potter family business."

Noticing the looks on their faces, Nick added, "Between January 1869 and March 1993 when I left, Ollivander's had sold 87,239 wands to 84,143 people. 42,587 of those people were wizards, with the other 41,556 being witches. Great-Grandfather Gervaise sold 39,231 of those wands, while grandfather sold the other 48,008 since he took over the store in 1938. Of the wands grandfather sold, 23,110 of them had a unicorn tail core, 15,256 were dragon heartstring, and the other 9,642 of them were phoenix feather. I won't bore you with the exact breakdowns of the woods, since grandfather has close to forty different woods in stock and it would take too long, however, I will say that of the 48,008 wands grandfather has sold, he was only completely pleased with the wand to wizard match for 22,539 of them. The rest he was less than pleased with, but either the customers or their parents were sick of waiting."

Everyone in the room, with the exception of Cedric who knew Nick, was looking at him with varying degrees of shock, especially after Roger and Terence had confirmed that Nick had gotten the details of their wands correct down to the last detail, including the reasons their fathers had cut the testing that Nick had not been present for short. Finally Harry voiced the question that was on most of their minds, "How can you possibly remember all of that?"

Nick smiled as he sipped his tea. After a moment he said, "I'm sure you all caught what I said earlier about grandfather, how he claims to remember every wand he's ever sold, but if it's been awhile, he usually has to touch the wand in order to remember all of the details?"

"I had thought that sounded a little odd, yes," Roger said, as a few of the others nodded.

"Well, grandfather would have you believe that it's the sign of a master wandmaker," Nick said. "However, I'll let you in on a little family secret. All of the ancient noble lines have spells that members of their line have created for family only use and the Ollivanders are no different. One of my ancestors, Geraint Ollivander, who was a member of the original Hogwarts Board of Governors back when the school first opened, created an Instant Recall Charm which has remained one of the private Ollivander family spells ever since. The spell was cast on every wand that the store has ever sold and is attuned to Ollivander blood. It allows any member of my line to instantly recall every detail about the wand - wood, core, length, who it was sold to, plus any other details about it - just by touching it."

"What does this have to do with your memory?" Terence asked.

"Everything," Nick said. "You see, that spell has been being used for close to a thousand years now. Geraint didn't know it when he created the spell, but by attuning it to Ollivander blood, he made it possible from trace amounts of the magic to leak into the family's blood. Continued use of the spell over the generations has caused improved memory in every member of my family, although until I was born, it had never manifested to such an extreme degree. Basically, I can remember everything that I've ever seen, heard, read, touched, or smelled with perfect clarity. Even things that happened when I was only a few hours old. Like the complications from my birth that killed my mother. I was in the room when the healer pronounced her dead, so I remember it, even though by any normal standard, I was way too young to remember anything."

'Well, that certainly explains quite a bit,' Athena thought to herself. 'He was always such a good student at Hogwarts - 14 Outstanding OWLs and NEWTs. He always did so well in my class - too well. If it wasn't for the Anti-Cheating Charms I would have been sure he was copying his answers directly from the textbook.'

Deciding to speak up, Cedric said, "So, yeah, Nick basically has a freaky memory. He can remove memories, which he does every night, but he can't ever really forget anything. Even if he's removed a memory, it's possible he'll recall it if something reminds him of it."

"It's both a blessing and a curse," Nick said. "It definitely made school easy. I didn't have to take notes in class because I could remember every word the teachers said verbatim. Even now, years after leaving Hogwarts, I could still recite their lectures word for word, even Binns' lectures. Talk about something I really wish I didn't remember."

All of them laughed at that, even the trainers, who secretly shared the opinion that Professor Binns needed to go. Nodding Emma said, "I don't know why Dumbledore keeps him around, honestly. I was in his class before he died and from what I've heard, being dead hasn't improved his teaching abilities."

Cedric shook his head. "I heard my father talking to one of the other governors about it once. The only reason they haven't stepped in is because Professor Binns never had any children and his entire family is dead. So, since a ghost has no need for money, they don't have to pay him, thus allowing the school to operate with a lower overhead. If they hire a living teacher, however, they couldn't get away with that anymore. Although at the rate that most people are having to hire private tutors just to pass the class, I imagine they won't be able to use that excuse much longer."

Finishing his tea and setting the cup aside, Nick said, "Well, now, I suppose it's time to get down to business and get wands for you four. A few things, before we get started. Unlike my grandfather, I do not sell premade wands. I like to match customers with their ideal core and wood separately and then craft the wand while they wait. This method, along with my greater selection of cores covering all the elements, has allowed me great success in matching the right wand to the right wizard on a much more consistent basis than grandfather."

Standing up, Nick said, "Now, I think I should probably serve Lord Potter first." Motioning towards a nearby table with a chair, Nick added, "Please have a seat, your grace, and we'll get started matching you with your wand core."

"Call me Harry, please," Harry said as he stood up and moved over to have a seat at the table that Nick had indicated.

"As you wish, Harry," Nick responded, as he walked over to a large cabinet along the far wall and opened it, revealing a number of what almost resembled Muggle suitcases, only these were made of wood. Grabbing one of the cases, Nick walked over and placed it on the table in front of Harry. "Now, Harry, I'm going to stand behind you and I must ask that you tightly close your eyes. To make doubly sure that you cannot see, I will be holding my hand over your eyes. I do this because it's best that you do not see all of the various cores, because if you do, you might be tempted to pick one based on their looks alone and that is not a good way to choose the core of your wand."

"How should I choose it then?" Harry asked, as he removed his glasses so that they wouldn't get damaged when Nick put his hand over his eyes.

"You'll simply hold your hand over the case, once I've opened it," Nick explained. "You will then move your hand slowly over the various cores. Your magic will react as you do this. For some cores, you'll feel nothing, while for others you'll feel repelled by them. You'll want to tell me which ones you're the most drawn to."

"Okay," Harry said as he shut his eyes tight and Nick sealed his hand over the young lord's face, before he opened the case and guided Harry's wand hand so that it was above the case. That was another advantage to his memory in that anytime Nick served a customer who'd previously bought an Ollivander wand, he could remember which hand was their wand hand and thus didn't have to ask. He also skipped the measurements because that part wasn't actually necessary. The only reason that his grandfather did it was to distract the customer while he took the time to consider which of his numerous premade wands he'd have them try first. Nick was fairly certain that at least a few customers must have realized that all the measurements weren't actually necessary, especially when the enchanted tape measure began taking such measurements as the customer's waist and inseam. They were shopping for a wand, after all, not trousers.

Silently, Harry moved his hand over the various cores in the case. Just as Nick had said, Harry felt nothing from some of them, while he felt drawn to a few and repelled by others. Letting Nick know which ones he felt drawn to so he could make note of them, Harry continued to move his hand over the case until he'd explored every core in the case. Once he was done, Nick used his free hand to turn the case away from Harry, before removing his hand from the young lord's eyes. "Keep your eyes closed, please. I'm now going to remove the cores that you felt the most drawn to from the case and place them on the table in a random order in front of you. You'll then move your hand over just those cores again. Without the interference from the other cores, we should be able to narrow it down."

Placing the cores that Harry indicated on the table - a heartstring from all ten breeds of dragon, plus a chimaera scale and a phoenix tail feather - Nick once again placed his hand over Harry's eyes and had him run down the line of cores telling him that he'd probably still feel drawn to all of them, but he needed to indicate to which ones that draw was the strongest. In the end, it had been narrowed down to only two cores, which were arguably two of the strongest cores that Nick had in stock. Placing the other cores back in the case, Nick closed the case and set the two cores aside, before he asked, "Okay, now for the wood. What is your birthday, Harry?"

"July 31st, why?" Harry asked.

"Happy belated birthday," Nick said, since the raven-haired teen's birthday was yesterday. "As for why, every wood is associated with a zodiac sign and I've found that the woods associated with each sign work best for those people born under the same sign." As Harry nodded, Nick pulled his own wand from the holster strapped to his thigh and pointed it at the shelves as he incanted, "Accio Leo Woods," at which point a case left the shelf and floated over to Nick. Making sure Harry's eyes were still closed, Nick once again placed his hand firmly over the young lord's eyes before opening the case and the same process as with the cores was repeated with Harry moving his hand over the various woods in the case.

Of the eight different woods in the box, Harry indicated that he felt drawn to all of them, however, there were four in particular that had a stronger pull than the others, so once again Nick removed them from the box and asked Harry to move his hand over just those four to see if they could be narrowed down any further. Two woods were soon eliminated, with Harry indicating that the draw from the other two felt the same to him.

"Interesting results," Nick commented as he put the eliminated woods back in the case and closed it. "You can open your eyes now, Harry."

Once Harry had opened his eyes and put his glasses back on Nick said, "Well, now we've managed to narrow things down to two cores and two woods. As such, I would recommend that you purchase two wands. In the past, some of my customers have accused me of trying to sell more when I said that. One even thought my saying that was tantamount to me admitting to crafting an inferior product, because he couldn't understand why any wizard would ever need more than one wand. However, in my experience, it's always a good idea to have a spare that you can fall back on should your lose it or something happens to your primary wand that renders it unusable."

Nodding, Harry said, "I can understand that. In second year, my friend Ron broke his wand on the first day of school. His parents couldn't afford to buy him a new one, so he tried to make it through the school year by Spello-taping it. Obviously that didn't work so well, as most of his spells either didn't work quite right or completely backfired."

"Somebody on staff should have told the headmaster," Nick said. "Hogwarts has an emergency fund for just that type of reason. A student walking around school with a broken wand is a danger not only to himself but others, so, the headmaster really should have been informed so that the school could buy Ron a new wand. His parents would have had to pay back the cost, but, that would likely have been done on some kind of payment plan, so they wouldn't have had to pay it all back at once."

"Well, I don't know if anyone ever told Dumbledore," Harry said, "but I'm rather happy that Ron didn't get a new wand that year."

"Why?" Terence asked.

"Well, that was the year the Chamber of Secrets was opened," Harry answered. "Towards the end of the school year Ron's sister Ginny was taken down into the chamber. The other professors had decided to allow Lockhart to deal with the monster, since he had told Snape that he'd known all along where the entrance to the Chamber was and his skills in dealing with dark creatures are legendary. Ron and I overheard that conversation and since we'd just found information from Hermione that revealed the monster in the chamber was a basilisk, we went to go tell Lockhart so that he could properly prepare. We found him in his office packing all of his belongings, because he was going to flee the school and leave Ginny down in the chamber to rot. When we called him on it, he admitted he's a fraud. He simply interviews the witches and wizards who actually did all the things his books say he did and then Obliviates them so that they can't come forward with proof that he's a fraud."

"And he just admitted that to you?" Roger asked.

"Oh he had every intention of Obliviating us," Harry said, "but he made the mistake of momentarily turning his backs on us as he drew his wand, so when he turned around to charm us, we had our wands out and in his face, prompting him to drop his. Later, down in the corridor outside the chamber we found a shed skin from the basilisk and Lockhart pretended to faint, at which point he got Ron's wand away from him and planned again on Obliviating us, starting with me. Fortunately, the spell backfired and he ended up losing all of his memories, which is why he's now in the long-term care ward at St. Mungo's."

"So the rumors are true?" Cedric asked. "About you killing a basilisk down in the chamber?"

"Yeah, they're true," Harry confirmed. "Some of the versions I've heard on how I actually did it are beyond ridiculous though. Truth is, I would have died down there if it wasn't for Dumbledore's phoenix, who blinded the basilisk and brought me Godric Gryffindor's sword, which I used to stab the basilisk through the roof of its mouth, grazing my arm on one of its teeth and getting poisoned in the process. Thankfully, Fawkes was able to heal me with his tears."

"What about the heir of Slytherin?" Terence asked. "I heard lots of talk about you going down there and killing the basilisk, but I never heard much of anything on the heir. Some people still think it's you and that you had Hermione petrified to stop people from suspecting you."

Shaking his head, Harry said, "I am not the Heir of Slytherin, at least I don't think I am. It was a memory of Tom Riddle projected by an enchanted diary who actually opened the chamber. Tom Riddle, if you don't know, is Voldemort, back during his school days. As the memory itself demonstrated to me down in the chamber, if you take his full name, Tom Marvolo Riddle, and rearrange the letters it's an anagram for I am Lord Voldemort. I destroyed the memory of him by stabbing the diary with one of the basilisk's fangs. But that's the reason he took Ginny down to the chamber. He was essentially feeding off of her life force, becoming stronger and more corporeal as she got closer to death."

"Must you say his name?" Roger asked.

"Yes, I must," Harry said. "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. By fearing to say his name, you're only giving him more power, which in my opinion, is the last thing anybody should want to do."

"Too right, Harry," Nick said. "Now, for your wand, do you want a spare wand?"

"Might as well," Harry answered. "Seems like it'd be a good idea to have one and it's not like I can't afford it."

"True enough," Nick commented. "I know your family is very well off, otherwise I probably would have eliminated one of the cores you were most drawn to immediately simply because of an inability to pay for it." At Harry's questioning look, Nick added, "The two cores you narrowed your selections down to are the heartstring of a Hungarian Horntail and the scale of a chimaera. Now, a chimaera is probably the single most dangerous creature in the world, requiring no less than a hundred witches and wizards working together to bring it down. Thus, its' scales are extremely rare and as such very expensive. Most people couldn't afford a chimaera wand because just the core alone costs 500 galleons - that's 50 galleons for the scale and the rest is hazard pay for the witches and wizards hired to take down the beast. I stock the scales, but I've only ever made two wands with that core, one of which is my own."

"So, is there any benefit to having a chimaera scale core?" Roger asked.

"Oh there's a benefit, yes. A wand with a chimaera scale is basically an extremely strong all-purpose wand. While all cores will generally work for any spell you want to cast, with some exceptions, the chimaera scale excels in all areas with no limitations. It resonates with the elements of fire and earth, and will thus work best for witches and wizards whose magic resonates strongly with those elements, but unlike most other cores, it won't hesitate if you try to cast water or air magic with it. To use the other core Harry resonated with as an example, the Hungarian Horntail heartstring resonates with fire, but it'll tend to resist casting any water-based magic, because fire and water are in opposition of each other. If the wielder is strong enough, water-based spells will still work with the Horntail core, but they'll be weaker than they could be and the caster has to use more of their own power to coax the wand into casting the spell. But, because of the sheer power of the chimaera, it can bypass those limitations."

"So, the chimaera scale is the most powerful wand core?" Cedric asked.

"It's one of the two most powerful cores," Nick replied. "The other being the tail hair of a thestral, which resonates strongest with air and water magic. Those two cores are by far the strongest cores in existence, both making wands of immense power which have no limitations. The Hungarian Horntail core is probably the third most powerful core that I sell, but again it all depends on the wizard. Some witches and wizards simply do not possess enough innate power to be able to wield a chimaera or thestral wand effectively, while the horntail core will only work to its fullest potential for a fire resonator, so they're definitely not for everybody."

"And what about the woods?" Harry asked. "Which ones did I actually end up with?"

"Oak and Mahogany," Nick answered. "Oak is sometimes known as wizard wood and is quite possibly one of the strongest woods there is for wandcraft, producing wands which work quite well for protection and defense magic. It tends to seek a powerful companion who would act as a guardian or liberator. Mahogany on the other hand, according to my grandfather, excels with transfiguration. I've found, however, that in the right hands it will excel at whatever branch of magic the wielder chooses to use it for. It tends to work the best with those who have a strong or energetic personality."

"Hmm, my father had a mahogany wand I believe," Harry said.

"Indeed," Nick said. "A pliable 11 inch mahogany with the heartstring of a Common Welsh Green. Speaking of which, that's something else my grandfather doesn't mention to his customers. Every time he sells a dragon heartstring wand, the core is always from the Welsh Green. Some wandmakers would have you believe that there's no difference between the various breeds of dragon, but that's not true. Along with the Romanian Longhorn, the Welsh Green is a relatively weak breed of dragon. Still powerful, especially against a human, but the other breeds are stronger with the Horntail being the strongest and most deadly of the dragons. That strength extends to their heartstrings which is why I said earlier that the Horntail core is the third most powerful core I have available."

"Why doesn't he sell wands with cores from the other breeds?" Terence asked.

Nick smiled. "Simple economics. It should come as no surprise to you that in order to harvest dragon heartstrings, the dragon has to be dead. Well, not all dragon hearts contain the same number of heartstrings. The Longhorn and the Welsh Green contain the greatest number of them, however, which makes them the most common and therefore cheapest of the dragon cores. Conversely, the Horntail's heart contains the fewest number of heartstrings, making them rarer and more expensive to obtain. Anyway, Harry, I would suggest pairing the Horntail core with Oak, as both core and wood resonate with fire. The Chimaera scale I'd suggest pairing with Mahogany, since both core and wood resonate with fire and earth. I believe those pairings will provide you with the best results."

Nodding Harry said, "Works for me. You're the master here, Nick, so I'll take your word for it."

"Alright then, well, while I help Cedric find his core and wood," Nick said, "Harry, why don't you have a look at the various wands that are in the display cases. None of them are finished wands. They're simply display models to showcase the various aesthetic attributes available. That's another reason why I don't like making wands in advance like grandfather does. I believe that the person who will be using the wand should be allowed to decide what it looks like. Note that in most cases you can mix and match the handle and the shaft, as they're crafted separately and not put together until I put the core into the shaft."

"Okay," Harry said, as he began to browse the cases, while Cedric sat down at the table and closed his eyes as Nick began matching him. Roger, who was fascinated by wandlore, stayed nearby watching as Cedric repeated the core matching process. He was a Ravenclaw, though, so it wasn't really that surprising that he would stay where he might learn something. Terence, meanwhile, stuck close to Harry, looking at the various styles of wands on display. The two of them were soon engaged in an animated discussion, talking not only about the wand styles and which they preferred, but also their lives up until that point. There might be some at Hogwarts who would think it was impossible for a Gryffindor and a Slytherin to be getting along so well, but Terence had sworn an oath of loyalty to Harry, so that took precedence over any petty house rivalries. It also made Harry more willing to open up to Terence, despite not knowing him all that well, because he knew the older boy couldn't reveal anything Harry told him without permission. Athena, Rose, Emma, and Eudora, meanwhile, remained seated, calmly sipping tea and snacking on the biscuits and scones Nick's house-elf had put out as they quietly discussed some issues pertaining to the boys' training.

When all was said and done, all four boys ended up with two wands each. Like Harry, Cedric matched with a chimaera scale and mahogany, however, since he also matched with a hippogriff talon and zebrawood, Nick hypothesized that Cedric's magic resonated more with the earth element, since it was the one element that both cores and woods had in common. Roger matched well with thestral hair and a griffin wing feather. Based on this Nick said Roger's magic most likely resonated strongest with the air element, which immediately ruled out all of his zodiac woods, since none of the Leo woods resonated with air. Nick did have Roger try them, nonetheless, and as he suspected, not a single one of them was a match. It didn't happen often that someone wouldn't match with their zodiac wood, but rare or not, it did still happen occasionally. This left Nick with no choice but to begin the more arduous task of trying match Roger with a much wider selection of woods. Not an easy task, considering that Nick had over 70 different woods in stock. They were able to narrow things down by eliminating the fire and earth woods, but even then, that left quite a few possibilities to be tried.

Eventually, Nick was happy with the matches of Australian blackwood and hawthorn for Roger, pairing the hawthorn with the griffin wing feather and the thestral hair with the Australian blackwood. Finally, Terence had his go at selecting his cores and it became evident to Nick that Terence's magic resonated strongly with water when the Slytherin matched first with a thestral hair, followed by crystallized phoenix tears. When it came time to match woods, Terence did feel a slight draw toward apple wood, but Nick was less than pleased with the match, since he preferred that customers had a stronger draw to a wood then Terence reported feeling. This prompted Nick to repeat what he'd done with Roger, going through all the woods he had in stock, finally matching Terence with Australian blackwood and pine.

Once everyone had made their aesthetic choices, Nick said, "Okay, well, your wands will be ready in one hour, so, you're welcome to stay and wait, or go do some more shopping."

"We've still got a few things we need to pickup," Athena said. "So we'll be back, Nicholas."

"What about length?" Roger asked. "You never measured us, Nick, so, are our new wands simply going to be the same length as our old ones?"

"No, they'll be longer," Nick answered. "How do I know how long your wands should be? Well, I'm just going to call that a trade secret and leave it at that. I can't go around telling you all my secrets, after all."

With that, the trainers and the boys left the shop to finish their shopping. Once an hour had passed, they went back to Nick's shop and picked up their new wands, with Harry and Cedric especially being somewhat shocked at the length. Harry's new wands were sixteen-and-three-quarters inches long, with Cedric's being a quarter-inch shorter. Roger's were fourteen inches even, while Terence's were fourteen-and-three-quarters inches. Once the wands were paid for, the group headed for Tarik's store to check on the status of the clothing orders. Tarik and his assistants had finished four outfits each for Harry and Cedric and begun work on the others. Paying for the clothes, Athena said she'd send her house-elf, Barin, to pick up the rest of the clothes later in the day, before they headed for the Apparition Port to head back to Britain. 

They arrived at the British Apparition Port in London seconds after leaving the one in Egypt. They didn't stay long, however, as the four trainers almost immediately Side-Along Apparated their four charges to Athena's home where they'd be living and training for the foreseeable future. Terence already had his Apparition license, but for this first trip, Emma took him Side-Along since he'd never been to Athena's house before and thus wouldn't be able to visualize it well enough to safely reach it.

Moments later, they arrived in an expansive yard next to a large pond that looked like it would be a great place to have a swim on a hot summer day. Looking straight ahead, there was a large garden visible which appeared to have various fruits and vegetables growing in it. To the right of the garden, was the house. It was a two-story cottage in the Tudor style and was covered in climbing ivy. Across from the house, a large two-story building was visible and from the shape, it was clearly a barn. Next to a staircase leading to the second floor of the barn, there was a smaller building enclosed in a fence. Multiple chickens were moving around inside the fence, so the small building was clearly a chicken coop.

"Welcome to my home," Athena said as she let go of Harry. "It's called Forest Cottage. Eudora has something for you all to wear, I believe."

Eudora nodded as she pulled a small box from inside a pocket of her dress and waved her hand over it, enlarging it, before opening it and showing its contents to the four young men. There were four jeweled pendants in the box, two on silver chains and two on gold. In the center of each of the pendants was a large gemstone, easily the size of a galleon.

"What are they?" Cedric asked.

"Pendants," Eudora said. "Each one is keyed to your individual magic signatures, so you can only touch the one that was crafted for you. They have a series of protective charms cast on them, as well as a charm that will allow you to Apparate onto the grounds here without being brought here Side-Along. Additionally, there's a charm that will allow you to contact the other trainers and I if you're ever in danger. It will allow us to zero in your exact location so that we can come to your aid. As such, I would strongly advise all of you to wear them at all times."

The four young men nodded in understanding as each of them reached out and took a pendant from the box. It was easy to tell which one was theirs' and which wasn't since anytime they touched a pendant that didn't belong to them, they received a small electrical shock. Once each of them were holding their pendants, Athena smiled and said, "Before you put them on, peer into the gemstones."

Doing as they were told, they were all shocked to see an image in the stones. In Harry's, a phoenix appeared, flying through an inferno of flames. On Cedric's, there was a male unicorn standing next to a pond, bathed in moonlight. Roger's depicted a griffon soaring through the clouds, while Terence's depicted a basilisk, rearing up and looking quite fearsome.

"The images you see are all connected to your magic," Rose explained. "Each of the creatures is associated with one of the elements." After each of the boys said aloud what creature they'd seen, she nodded and added, "The phoenix represents fire, the unicorn represents earth, while the griffon and basilisk represent air and water respectively."

"You will find that those are the elements your magic most closely associates with," Emma said. "I know you had already probably figured that out based on your wand selections, but here you have further proof of which elements your magic resonates best with."

Nodding their heads in understanding, the four young men each put on their pendants, hiding them under their shirts, before looking at their trainers.

Athena said, "First things first, I will give you all a quick tour of the house and show you to your rooms. Then, Harry, I need you to change into the nicest of the robes that Tarik has provided you with."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Forest Cottage is located in the Marquisate of Levenmore," Eudora explained. "It is considered to be common courtesy for the Heads of Noble Houses to present themselves to the lord of the land if they are going to be living on that lord's lands for an extended period of time. To that end, we must pay a visit to Kinloch Hold, ancestral home of the Marquis of Levenmore and his family."

Since he wasn't yet versed in which titles belonged to which family, Harry asked, "Who is that anyway?"

It was Cedric who answered. "My uncle, Bruce McLaggen - my mum's older brother." Turning to the trainers, he said, "I know my uncle would make time to see Harry no matter how busy he is, since he's a Duke, and thus my family connection isn't necessary to get us an audience but I'd still like to go, if I can."

Nodding, Athena said, "Yes, I rather assumed you might. I have no objection, he is your uncle after all. From everything I've heard of him, he isn't as prone to talking about things he shouldn't talk about as your parents are, so, I think we may be able to leave without Obliviating him."

"That's true," Cedric agreed. "Uncle Bruce is much more level-headed and discreet than Mum and Dad. He's told me before that Mum wasn't nearly as bad until a few years after she married my father. I guess his talkative nature rubbed off on her over the years."

Nothing further was said, as the trainers led the group towards the house, indicating they'd all get a tour of the yard at a later time. Entering the house, they found themselves in a large room which was clearly the kitchen and dining room. The center of the room was dominated by a large oak table with a pair of long oak benches running the length of it, with a pair of oak armed chairs at either end. If Harry had to guess, he'd say that the table could easily sit twenty or even thirty people comfortably. Cabinets and counters lined one wall, along with an old-fashioned cast-iron stove and a large wooden icebox.

There was also a truly massive stone fireplace that took up most of the far wall with the exception of a pair of archways on either side of it, as well as a small door in the far left hand corner that Harry and the others would soon learn led into a half-bath intended for guests. There were two more doors into rooms along the left wall which Athena indicated led into the pantry and the basement stairwell, where she indicated a pair of classrooms were located, along with a potions lab and an infirmary. The archway to the left of the fireplace led into the ground floor sitting room, while the other led into a library. A third archway on an angled wall near the library arch led into a hallway that Athena informed them housed her study, along with the bedrooms belonging to the trainers.

Ignoring the library for the moment, she led the boys into the sitting room, which looked quite old fashioned with its Victorian-era furniture. A small organ sat along one wall between a window and a door that led to the yard behind the house. One thing that surprised Harry was the presence of a television set in the room, even if it was an early 1950's model built into a cabinet which also had a radio in it. Moving over to the stairs, Athena led the group to the second floor where there was a large common room. Unlike the fancier feel of the downstairs sitting room, this one had a more comfortable feeling to it as the furniture was decidedly more modern with a large overstuffed sofa and chairs. Near the western wall, was a pair of small tables, both had two chairs and wizard's chess set resting on them.

A pair of oak partner's desks sat in opposing corners of the room and there were several bookcases along the walls. Three doors led off of the room to what Harry assumed were the bedrooms that Athena had mentioned. A large stone fireplace was clearly the focal point of the room, however, and Harry was quite pleased to see his parents smiling at him from their frame, which now hung above the mantle.

"Hello again, son," James said. "It's good to finally be out of that vault."

Lily nodded and said, "I know I'm only a portrait now, but still, I can't tell you how much I've missed the sunlight."

Harry nodded. Then pointing at the three trainers that his parents hadn't met yet, he introduced each of them, followed by his fellow classmates.

James nodded to each in turn. "I've already met Mr. Higgs, of course. His father, Robert, was my seneschal. Still is, unless you decide to make a change, son."

"I haven't met him yet," Harry said. "I suppose I'll have to eventually. As to whether I keep him on as my seneschal or not, I don't know yet. It depends on just what his role in my living with the Dursleys all these years was. You said it was in your wills that I not be left with them. I'm assuming that as your seneschal he'd know that, right?"

Lily nodded. "Considering that Robert was one of our witnesses when we signed them, yes, he knew the terms. For him to stand by and do nothing while you were placed with my sister, knowing how vehemently against that we were, I'm not sure what to think."

"Speaking of witnesses," James said, "our other witness was your father, Cedric. Since our wills dictated that your parents raise Harry in the event that something happened to us and his godparents were unable to take him. Robert would have been bound by his oath of loyalty to the Potter family and Amos as a Potter ally to do everything necessary to insure our wishes were carried out. The fact that Harry was placed with Lily's sister against our wishes, however, raises some very serious questions."

"This is the first I've heard of my parents taking Harry in," Cedric said. "I'm not saying you're lying, but knowing my father, I just can't believe that he'd stand back and do nothing if he was supposed to be raising The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"The-Boy-Who-Lived?" Lily asked, as she quirked an eyebrow in question.

Harry sighed. "One of the many nicknames I've been given over the years. After Voldemort killed both of you, he of course attempted to kill me. He was unable to do so, however. The Killing Curse rebounded against him and destroyed his body, but apparently didn't kill him. So, I survived a supposedly unblockable curse with nothing but the scar on my forehead, so I've been nicknamed The-Boy-Who-Lived ever since."

"It didn't kill him?" Roger asked. He'd heard the rumors about Harry facing off against Voldemort in his first year, but like many people at Hogwarts, he didn't believe that the rumors were true since everyone knew that Voldemort was dead. Or was it just that people wanted to think he was dead?

Shaking his head, Harry said, "Nope. He's still alive, although just barely. He doesn't have a body. When he was at Hogwarts during my first year, he was possessing Professor Quirrell and drinking unicorn blood in order to keep himself going long enough to try and steal Nicholas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone from Hogwarts. He's also the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets during my second year. He had a diary which Ron's sister Ginny found that allowed him to respond to whatever she wrote in it. He befriended her and then began using her as his pawn to open the Chamber, planning on draining away her life force to restore his sixteen-year-old self to life."

"Wait just a moment," Lily said. "Restore his sixteen-year-old self? And you said that he's still alive even though he doesn't have a body?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Lily looked grave. "Before I died, I was the youngest person to ever receive a Charms Mastery, Harry. I've done extensive research on the topic, including the darker charms which I would never use but researched in an attempt to find better ways to defend against them. From what you've just said, it sounds like Voldemort cast one of the darkest charms that has ever existed. What happened to that diary you mentioned?"

"I destroyed it," Harry said. "Stabbed it with a basilisk's fang, which also destroyed the shade of sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle, who was at that point very close to being flesh and blood again as he drained Ginny's life force."

"There are charms which allow a diary to respond to a person who writes in it," Lily explained. "However, those are simple charms which act only as a search feature. Basically, you can write a question in the diary and it can respond with all details that you've previously written in your diary on the subject you asked about. Thus, you needn't spend hours searching to find the information. However, those charms most definitely cannot preserve the sixteen-year-old version of a person in the diary's pages nor can it facilitate restoring the person to life. The only way that could happen is if that diary was in fact something far more sinister than a simple diary."

"Like what?" Terence asked.

Lily sighed. "Like a Horcrux. The creation of which involves some of the darkest charms to have ever been created. It involves splitting off a portion of your soul and storing it in an object, thus creating an anchor which will prevent you from crossing over if you die. As long as you have at least one Horcrux, you're essentially immortal, because even if you're killed and your body destroyed, your spirit will remain on Earth, and there are ways to magically restore the body. There's several charms involved in creating a Horcrux, but the main one is Animus Fissura, or the Soul-Splitting Charm. Splitting the soul, however, requires a lot of power, more so than even an Archmagus would be capable of producing. However, the necessary power can be generated by killing someone and completely obliterating their soul. In other words, you're not just killing their mortal body, but also completely destroying their immortal soul. Thus, you're not just robbing the person of their life, but their afterlife as well, since without a soul, there can be no afterlife."

"So, what you're saying is that diary was one of these Horcruxes?" Roger asked and Lily nodded. "So, if Harry destroyed it, then that means You-Know-Who's gone right? If his anchor has been destroyed and he still doesn't have a body, wouldn't he have to cross over?"

"Your other trainers and I," Athena spoke up, "have suspected for awhile now that Voldemort had created at least one Horcrux, but I fear that he actually created more than one. Splitting off a portion of your soul is dangerous because every time you do it, you become less human. Morals and boundaries become vaguer and thus you have no qualms about crossing lines you would never have crossed before you created a Horcrux. Of course, it could be argued that only a truly corrupt individual would create one in the first place, considering the cost, so there were probably few lines they wouldn't be willing to cross already if they're willing to not only kill someone but basically expunge them from existence."

"Considering Voldemort's obsession with power," Rose said, "I've often thought it highly possible that he would create seven Horcruxes, as seven is the most powerful magical number in existence. I can't prove it, however."

"So, You-Know-Who survived that night because he's made at least one Horcrux," Roger said. "What about Harry though? Everything I've ever read said that the Killing Curse is unblockable, so, how did Harry survive?"

"I've often wondered that myself," Harry said. "Professor Dumbledore has led me to believe that it was due to Mum sacrificing herself to save me. Said that her sacrifice gave me protection from harm as long as I resided with her blood, in other words, my Aunt Petunia."

Shaking her head, Emma said, "As usual, Dumbledore is wrong. While there is a spell which would create the effects that Dumbledore mentioned, I can guarantee you that spell was not used on you Harry. It's a very powerful blood magic ritual and while some such rituals can be cast by regular witches and wizards, that spell is not one of them. Only a powerful blood mage, such as myself, is capable of casting that spell and even then it needs to be renewed on a monthly basis. Which means the mage who cast the spell would need to visit, draw blood from both you and your aunt, Harry, and recast the charm. Has Dumbledore ever done that?"

"No, he hasn't," Harry answered. "So, he was lying when he said that living with the Dursleys gave me blood protection?"

Emma nodded. "Well, it's certainly possible that he believes what he told you to be true, but I find it hard to believe that a wizard as learned as Albus Dumbledore would believe that. Even if he isn't a mage himself, there are tomes that he could get the information from. In fact, now that I think about it, I've seen some of them among his private collection in his office. So, if you ask me, he knew he wasn't telling you the truth, although I have no idea why he would lie to you, just as I don't know how you survived the Killing Curse."

"I can answer that," James said, as everyone in the room turned to look at him. "However, before I do, you will need to swear an oath of silence to Harry so that you're bound by magic not to reveal what I tell you. It's considered to be a state secret, so, I wouldn't ask otherwise, but in this instance, I don't have a choice. As I'm sure Terence has already given his oath of loyalty," at this Terence nodded, "he doesn't need to do so, but the rest of you do."

"What's the difference between an oath of loyalty and an oath of silence?" Harry asked.

"When a person swears an oath of loyalty," Lily explained, "they're bound by magic to not only keep any secrets they find out secret, but also to do anything and everything that the lord they've sworn loyalty to asks of them." 

"As an example," James said, a wicked grin on his face, "Terence has sworn an oath of loyalty to you, Harry, so, if you told him to run down Diagon Alley in broad daylight completely starkers, he'd have no choice but to do it."

"James!" Lily exclaimed as she swatted her husband upside the head.

Terence's eyes just about left his head at that comment, as his skin flushed a rather interesting shade of red. It was quite clear that he was uncomfortable with James' example and Harry couldn't say he blamed him, so giving his father a rather disapproving look, he said, "Don't worry, Terence, I have absolutely no intention of actually doing what my father just said."

It took a moment for Terence to say anything, but then he said, "Thank you, Harry."

"Anyway," Lily said, still giving James a rather dirty look since he didn't look even the slightest bit repentant, "an oath of silence differs in that the person is only bound not to reveal any secrets they learn from the person they swear it to. So, in a way it's similar to the Fidelius Charm, only the oath of silence doesn't make you hesitate if you try to say anything. The oath of silence will prevent you from even thinking about revealing any secret information, thus there's no hesitance and no way for anyone to detect that an oath was given. However, both an oath of silence and the oath of loyalty can only be sworn to the monarch, the heads of the noble families, and members of their immediate families, as the magic simply will not function otherwise."

Since he was standing the closest to Harry, Cedric decided to go first. Kneeling before Harry, he kissed the Potter ring, before he said, "I, Cedric Jeremiah Diggory, Earl of Charwell and Heir Apparent of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Diggory, do solemnly swear to keep any and all secrets that I learn from you or any member of your family in the strictest of confidences and to only reveal them with your express permission. On my magic, so mote it be."

Accepting Cedric's oath in much the same way that he'd already accepted Terence's oath, the process was repeated again with Roger, and then with Emma, Eudora, Rose, and finally Athena.

Once it was done, James said, "You are now bound to keep what I'm about to say a secret unless Harry personally tells you that you can reveal the information." Once everyone indicated their understanding, James said, "Simply put, Harry survived the Killing Curse, because Voldemort had already killed me."

Looking confused, Roger asked, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything," James said. "Harry, you are now the Duke of Granston because of the Last of the Line clause in the letters patent granted to the Potter family by King Arthur. However, that clause is not just a collection of laws and regulations governing the passage of the title to a minor heir left as the last of their line. It was also imbued with magic by Merlin himself. Magic which makes the last of a noble line impossible to kill. That doesn't mean you're immortal, Harry, as you can still die from old age. But every other possible form of death is rendered impossible by Merlin's protections so long as you remain the last of the line. As you get older, you will also notice a marked increase in your libido for every year that you haven't produced a male heir. Essentially, it's the spell driving you to procreate. Wait too long to have children and the spell will turn you into a sex addict willing to shag anything that moves."

Harry was blushing bright red by the end of his dad's explanation.

"So, if You-Know-Who had spared you, then Harry would have died?" Terence asked.

"Yes," James said. "If Voldemort hadn't killed me, then Harry would have died and Merlin's protections would have activated on me until such time I had another son."

"I'm my father's heir," Cedric said, "and he's never mentioned anything about this to me."

"It's not a well-known fact," James said. "As I already said, it's considered to be a state secret and thus the number of people trusted with it is limited to the monarch and the Privy Council. That's why the oaths of silence were necessary. The Privy Councilors are allowed to tell others, if they deem it necessary, but only those who've sworn either an oath of loyalty or silence to them."

"The Privy Council?" Harry asked.

"The King's closest advisors," Lily answered. "Traditionally, they're drawn only from the royal family itself. The only noble families to ever be granted seats on the council are the original three - the Potters, Longbottoms, and Ollivanders."

"So does that mean I'm a member of this Privy Council?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry," James said. "As Duke of Granston, you are a Privy Councilor, a Lord of the Wizengamot, and one of the Governors of Hogwarts. You do have to be officially invested for all three positions, which means a formal ceremony, but that's more a formality than anything else. The second you signed the necessary papers and put on the Potter ring, you got all the power and influence that goes with it."

"Well, we should be getting over to Kinloch Hold," Athena said. Then pointing at the door directly across from the stairs, she said, "Roger, Cedric, that's your bedroom. Terence, you're in the room next to it and Harry, yours is the one on the fireplace wall."

Nodding, Harry headed into his room which he found to be large and quite spacious. It had obviously been expanded by magic, because looking at the size of the cottage from the outside, he was sure there wouldn't be enough room otherwise. A large stone fireplace dominated one wall, obviously sharing a chimney with the common room fireplace. There was also a large oak four-poster bed which Harry thought was at least twice the size of the bed he slept in at Hogwarts. Honestly, he was sure that he could share the bed with Terence, Cedric, Roger and the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team and still have plenty of room. A large desk sat under a window which overlooked the front yard, while a bookcase and a large wardrobe occupied the remaining wall.

Choosing to leave looking in what he assumed was the bathroom until later, Harry pulled off Dudley's cast-offs and selected the best looking of the robes that Tarik had made for him. It wasn't until he was standing in front of the wardrobe, which had mirrored doors, trying to do something with his hair that he caught sight of the landscape hanging over the fireplace where his mother was currently standing among the field of wildflowers, looking particularly worried.

"Mum," Harry said, flushing slightly with embarrassment. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough, Harry," Lily said. "James told me to give you some privacy, but I had to see for myself. I thought you looked way too thin at the bank, but having seen you without those baggy clothes, I can tell it's much worse than I thought. Where did those clothes come from anyway?"

"They're Dudley's cast-offs," Harry explained. "Whenever he outgrows his clothes, they're handed down to me."

"I saw way too many of your bones for my liking," Lily said. "Does my sister not feed you?"

"I eat very little," Harry said. "If I didn't finish all my chores or if I accidentally used magic, I'd sometimes go two or three days without food."

"Stay right where you are, Harry," Lily said, as she left the frame. Moments later, she came back with James and there was a knock on the door, prompting James to say, "You should answer that, son."

Doing as he was told, he found Rose standing there. She smiled and said, "I'm trained as a healer, Harry. Would you mind if I gave you a quick examination? Athena has agreed to a delay."

"Well, okay, I guess," Harry said.

Twenty minutes later, Rose was nearly as livid as Lily was. "It's disgraceful that your body is in this state. You're several pounds below where you should be at your age and unless I'm very much mistaken, your improper diet has stunted your growth. Had you been eating properly all these years, I imagine you'd be nearly six feet tall by now, much like your father was at your age."

"Can anything be done for him, Rose?" James asked.

"Yes, I believe so," Rose said. "I'll get started brewing some nutrition potions immediately to help his body begin to correct the damage that's been done and help with the numerous vitamin deficiencies that he has." Turning to Harry, she added, "I'm afraid you'll have to take some rather foul tasting potions every day for at least a month, Harry, but it's for your own good. Had we realized the full extent of your health, we might not have selected you for mage training, because as it is, your body is not healthy enough to support the larger core that a mage must develop."

"So, does that mean I can't be a mage?" Harry asked, in a slightly crestfallen tone. From everything he'd heard so far, he rather liked the idea of becoming a mage. Plus, he didn't want to return to the Dursleys, which he was afraid he might have to do if he wasn't training to be a mage. He knew that he was supposedly a legal adult now that he'd claimed his birthright, but he still didn't fully understand what exactly that entailed. He had, after all, only just claimed his birthright a few hours ago. There was quite a bit he didn't know and needed to learn.

"No, you can still be a mage," Rose said. "We're just going to have to hold off on casting the blood ritual to increase your power level for a few weeks."

At Harry's questioning look, Rose elaborated, "Very few people are born powerful enough to be mages. All witches and wizards receive a power increase upon turning seventeen, known as the magical inheritance, but it's rarely enough to push you up into the mage power range. Thus, whenever students are selected for mage training, most often a blood ritual is performed which increases your power level by a maximum of four additional levels. This ritual can only be performed once per wizard or witch. Obviously the only people chosen for training are people who are already powerful enough that the ritual will increase their power level to at least the power range that classifies them as a mage."

"And how powerful am I?" Harry asked.

"When you were selected for training," Rose answered, "we determined your power level to be level thirteen, which classes you as a Master Sorcerer, Harry. That's one level below Professor Dumbledore, who is a Grand Sorcerer. Cedric and Roger are Sorcerers, one level below you, so the blood ritual will put you at level seventeen, which is the Mage level, while it will put Cedric and Roger at level sixteen - the Apprentice Mage level."

Noting that she hadn't mentioned Terence, Harry asked, "What about Terence?"

"Mr. Higgs is already seventeen and has thus gone through his magical inheritance," Rose explained. "So, he's more powerful by one level - he's a Grand Sorcerer, same as Professor Dumbledore. I suspect that is one of the main reasons that the Headmaster opted to make Terence the Head Boy this year. Usually, the people the Headmaster picks for Head Boy and Girl were nominated by a majority of the professors. The clear favorite for the position, a Gryffindor, was nominated by Professors McGonagall, Sinistra, Vector, McLaughlin, Landolt, and Burbage, while Terence was only nominated by Professors Snape and Babbling."

"So you think Dumbledore wants to keep a closer eye on him as a result?" Harry asked.

"Precisely," Rose said. "So, Terence will be a level eighteen after the ritual or a Master Mage, so more powerful than you by one level and by two levels in Roger and Cedric's case. But, that won't last long, as Cedric, Roger, and you will most likely become more powerful than him after you reach your seventeenth birthdays and go through your magical inheritances. Just how powerful, I have no way of knowing, but most commonly, people gain between one and three more power levels. There are recorded instances of people gaining four, five, or even six levels in their inheritance, but that's rare enough that most people erroneously believe that three levels is the maximum that can be gained."

"And this blood ritual has no ill effects?" Harry asked.

"None," Rose said. "I underwent the same ritual sixty odd years ago when I entered mage training and it's never caused me any problems whatsoever. Blood magic is often classed as being dark magic by many people, but that's only because they don't understand it and because there are several blood magic spells which are decidedly dark. But that doesn't mean that the whole of the subject should be banned. Some of the most common spells that defend against various magical creatures repel them by actually causing them pain. If they were used on a witch or wizard, they'd be classed as dark, but used on a magical creature, they're not. On the opposite side of the scale, there's a powerful blood magic mage-level spell that regular witches and wizards can't cast which is essentially a much more powerful version of the Blood Replenishing Potion. If a person loses too much blood, the potion won't help because it can't replenish the body's blood supply fast enough to prevent system damage. But if you're lucky enough to have a mage-trained healer, there's a good chance that you'll pull through."

"So, are there any mage-level spells that can save me from taking those potions you mentioned?" Harry asked in a hopeful tone. He really didn't like the thought of taking foul tasting potions every day for a month.

Shaking her head, Rose said, "I'm sorry, but no. While there are some powerful spells that might help you, it is my opinion that even as bad off as you are nutritionally speaking, you're not bad off enough to warrant the spells. And trust me, you don't want to be bad off enough to warrant them because if you were you'd essentially be a desiccated corpse teetering on the very precipice of death. You're nowhere near that point."

"Well thank Merlin for that," James said, as Lily nodded forcefully.

"Alright, well, I guess I'll just have to take the potions then," Harry said with a sigh. "Just why do they have to taste so bad?"

"Most medicine does," Rose answered. "A couple of Potions Masters over the years have experimented with ways to make potions taste good, but the results have been mixed. It works in a few cases, but not in all. It depends on the potion, but any tampering to make it taste better often results in the effects being diluted to the point that treatment lasts longer. In some cases, that's not a good thing as some of the potions are highly addictive and taking them longer may result in you becoming addicted."

"Well, that's not good," Harry said.

"No, it isn't," Rose said. "Anyway, we're done here, so put yourself back together and get ready to go to Kinloch Hold."

Harry nodded, as Rose left the room and his parents retreated out of the landscape's frame. Once he was alone again, Harry adjusted his clothes to try and make himself look as presentable as possible. It was while looking through a drawer for a comb to try and do something with his hair that he found a bottle of hair gel which promised to tame even the most unruly hair. Following the directions, Harry was amazed when a few minutes later, his hair was laying perfectly flat and actually looked neat for once.

Noticing that the bottle was manufactured by a Wizarding company, Harry couldn't help but think, 'I love magic,' as he left the room.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, ten and a half miles away in the master's study at Kinloch Hold, Bruce McLaggen was concentrating intently on the wizarding chess board in front of him trying to figure out what his next move would be. On the other side of the table, Bruce's son and heir, Cormac, was clearly getting annoyed by the delay as he'd been waiting for his father to make his next move for nearly twenty minutes now.

"Were you planning on moving anytime this century?" Cormac asked after another ten minutes had passed and he couldn't stand being quiet anymore.

"Patience is a virtue, son," Bruce said, his eyes never leaving the chess board. He was either blind or he simply chose to ignore the fact that even the chess pieces themselves were looking quite aggravated by the delay if the looks they were giving the lord of the manor were anything to go by.

"I realize that, Father," Cormac said with a smirk. "But you're only delaying the inevitable by not moving. Just admit that I've got you beat and move on."

"I admit nothing," Bruce said, as he directed his bishop to take Cormac's knight who had checked Bruce's king.

Cormac shook his head as he surveyed the board. "Bad move, old man," as he directed his queen to take his father's bishop. A smile spread across his face as he looked up and said, "Checkmate."

Bruce didn't want to admit defeat, but after looking at the board, he quickly realized that his son was correct. The only piece he had that was even remotely close to Cormac's queen was one of his pawns and he'd have to move it backwards by two spaces in order to get himself out of check, which obviously wouldn't be a legal move. There were also no squares his king could move to without moving into check with Cormac's other knight, bishop or rook.

Sighing, Bruce had no choice but to say, "I yield," as Cormac's queen advanced diagonally across the board to Bruce's king and pulled the other piece into a loving embrace. This lasted for all of about two seconds, before the queen pulled a dagger out of the folds of her robe and stabbed the king in the back, his golden crown clattering against the board as he fell to the ground, muttering a slew of rather colorful curses at Bruce.

Before Cormac could celebrate his victory, however, there was a soft popping noise as one of the house-elves appeared in the room.

"Excuse me, Master," the elf said.

Turning to look at the creature, Bruce said, "You know better than to disturb me when I'm spending quality time with my son."

The elf nodded and said, "Pokey knows Master and is sorry, but you has guests."

"Who?" Bruce asked, as he tried to think who might have come to see him. He wasn't expecting anyone today that he could remember.

"The Duke of Granston, Master," Pokey answered. "Master Cedric and Ms. Gracey is with him."

Bruce's eyes widened slightly when he heard the title, before he stood and said, "Show them in, please, Pokey."

"Yes, Master," Pokey said, as he bowed and then disappeared.

"The Duke of Granston?" Cormac asked. "That's Harry Potter isn't it? I wasn't aware he'd claimed his birthright yet."

"I wasn't either," Bruce answered. "It must be a fairly recent development. It is long overdue, though, as he should have claimed it a year ago already."

"I don't know him very well," Cormac said. "We're in the same house, of course, but different years. And he spends the vast majority of his time with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, to the exclusion of almost everyone else." After a moment of silence, he added, "Honestly, from the way he dresses when not in his uniform, I'd almost gotten the impression that he didn't know that he's nobility."

"How could he possibly not know that?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know, Father," Cormac said. "But, I have heard mention of him living with Muggle relatives since his parents died. That might explain it."

"Perhaps he can shed some light on it then," Bruce said. "Provided it's okay with his grace, you're welcome to stay, son."

Cormac nodded, but otherwise said nothing as the doors into the study opened and Pokey showed three people in. Stopping before Bruce, Pokey bowed and said, "Lord Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston, Master." And then almost as an afterthought, Pokey added, "With Master Cedric and Ms. Gracey, sir."

"Thank you, Pokey," Bruce said. "Please go to the kitchens and bring tea and some refreshments."

Bowing again, Pokey popped out of the room, as Bruce crossed the room and bowed to Harry, as he said, "Your Grace, you honor me with your visit to my humble home."

"I would hardly call it humble, Bruce," Harry said. While he had never met the man before him, Athena and Cedric had told him on the carriage ride over from Forest Cottage that it would be inappropriate to call him 'Mr. McLaggen' as he'd initially thought to address him.

"Basically, anything you like, Harry," Cedric had said when Harry asked what he should call him instead. "You outrank him, so, you needn't show any deference to his title or call him His Excellence as commoners or lesser peers would have to. You can call him by his first name without his permission or just call him Levenmore, if you prefer."

Harry had thought about it and decided to call the man Bruce, as he just couldn't wrap his head around the thought of calling the man Levenmore. Harry understood that the man was the Marquis of Levenmore and thus it might be an appropriate thing to call him, but he personally didn't care for it as he would rather people not call him Granston. Of course, he was willing to admit that his dislike for that idea was possibly because the whole title thing was still too new for him.

"Compared to Seacliff, it is quite humble, your grace," Bruce said, as he motioned for them all to take seats.

"Please, call me Harry," he said, as he sat down. "As to Seacliff, I wouldn't know as I've never seen it. At least not that I can remember."

"I see," Bruce said. "Have you met my son Cormac? He's a Gryffindor, one year ahead of you."

Looking at the younger man, Harry nodded and said, "I've seen him in the tower, but I've never spoken with him. It's nice to meet you, Cormac."

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you," Cormac said with a smile.

"So, what brings you here today, Harry?" Bruce asked a moment later, after Pokey had delivered the tea and left again. "I must admit I was rather taken aback when my elf said you were here. I wasn't aware you'd even claimed your birthright yet."

"I only did it a few hours ago," Harry said. "As to why I'm here, I'm told it's a common courtesy for me to present myself to you since I'll be living on your lands for a time."

"May I assume that has something to do with your presence then, Ms. Gracey?" Bruce asked.

Athena nodded. "Yes, Your Excellence, my associates and I have selected Lord Potter for training as a mage. We're also training your nephew, along with two other students."

"Cedric, I am so jealous of you," Cormac said as he playfully punched his cousin in the arm. "How do you rate? Getting to be a mage?"

"Guess it just proves what I've been telling you for years now, Cormac," Cedric said with a grin, as he returned his cousin's playful punch. "I'm better than you."

Cedric was not normally one to say such things, but he made an exception with Cormac, because they were cousins and competing with one another was just the nature of their relationship. They'd been trying to one-up each other ever since they were very young children and that was not likely to change anytime soon.

"I assume then that Harry and Cedric have temporary replacements?" Bruce asked. He was not a mage himself, but since he had given Athena permission to train mages on his lands, he was familiar with many of the concepts of the training.

Athena nodded. "Yes, my lord. Also, as usual, the training is under the Fidelius and I'm the Secret Keeper. However, to ensure they don't slip up and accidentally reveal that the Fidelius is in use, you should know that I have Obliviated Lord and Lady Diggory. As Cedric will attest, they did give their permission for him to enter training, but they do not currently remember that or that the Cedric that is living with them now is not their real son."

Bruce nodded his head. A part of him wanted to be angry about anyone Obliviating his sister, as he was the older brother and had always been fiercely protective of his baby sister as a result. However, he understood that Amelia had gotten very prone to gossip in the years she'd been married to Amos and he didn't doubt the possibility that she might start to say the wrong thing to the wrong person. The Fidelius would stop her, yes, but depending on who she said it to, the damage could already be done even if the person didn't know the actual secret.

"I love my aunt and uncle," Cormac commented, "but they could really use some lessons in discretion."

"Very true," Cedric said. "They're my parents, but their wagging tongues can definitely be a liability at times."

After a few moments of silence, Bruce asked, "Harry, if you don't mind my asking, you said you've never seen Seacliff and I can't help but wonder how that's even possible? I was under the impression that you've been living there all of these years, but then Cormac mentioned thinking he'd heard something about Muggle relatives?"

"I don't mind you asking," Harry answered. "Although, on the advice of my father's portrait, before I can answer you, we need to formally renew the alliance between our houses."

"Of course, Harry," Bruce said. "Our families have been allies for three centuries now and I for one have no qualms whatsoever about renewing that bond."

Harry nodded as he stood up, as did Bruce. Since Bruce was the head of a lower house, it was tradition for him to go first. Cedric explained the details to Harry on the carriage ride over from Forest Cottage, so even if he had been expected to go first, he knew what to say, but he was glad that Bruce was going first, just in case he accidentally forgot something. At least with Bruce going first, everything that needed to be said would be fresh in his mind.

Standing up straight and clasping their ring hands so that the Potter and McLaggen family rings were touching each other, Bruce clearly spoke his part of the ritual.

"I, Bruce William McLaggen, Marquis of Levenmore, Earl of Glencoe, Viscount Dalness, Lord of Kinloch Hold, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of McLaggen, do hereby pledge my house's strength and support to yours, Harrison James Potter, and promise to do everything within my power to assist, protect, and shelter your family, vassals and friends as if they were my own. From this day onward, your allies will be my allies and your enemies my enemies. Your secrets will be my secrets and I vow to safeguard them with my life. As our families have stood together before, so shall we stand together again, now and into the future. On my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be."

"I, Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston, Marquis of Brynmoor, Earl of Mathry, Lord of Seacliff Castle, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, do hereby pledge my house's strength and support to yours, Bruce William McLaggen, and promise to do everything within my power to assist, protect, and shelter your family, vassals and friends as if they were my own. From this day onward, your allies will be my allies and your enemies my enemies. Your secrets will be my secrets and I vow to safeguard them with my life. As our families have stood together before, so shall we stand together again, now and into the future. On my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be."

As they'd spoken, each man was encased in a nimbus of golden light, their rings flashing as golden chains extended outward from the rings to bind first their hands and then their bodies. Once both men had said what they needed to, the golden nimbuses of light surrounding them brightened to an almost blinding level as several swirls of green, gold, and red rose up from the floor and encircled them, before a pulse of magic shot outward in all directions.

Standing off to one side of the room with Cedric and Athena, Cormac commented, "I've seen that ritual twice before, but it never ceases to amaze me."

Cedric nodded. "Yes, it is quite impressive isn't it?"

Once everyone was seated again and had been poured a fresh cup of tea, Harry said, "Now, Cormac was right in what he's overheard. While all the official records list me as living at Seacliff Castle, in reality I've been living in Surrey with my mother's Muggle sister, Petunia, her husband Vernon, and my cousin Dudley. Dumbledore placed me with them as a baby, believing it best that I grow up away from the media attention that I was sure to get for being The-Boy-Who-Lived. Of course, I only just found out today from my parents' portrait that their wills specifically forbade me to be raised by them if something happened to my parents. I was supposed to be raised by my godparents and if not them by Cedric's parents."

Shaking his head, Bruce said, "What does Dumbledore think he's playing at? Chief Warlock or not, it's against the law for him to so blatantly disregard the wishes of the head of one of the Thirteen Houses. Especially when it's one of the three original houses, which are arguably the most powerful and important of the Thirteen. As for an agreement for Amos and Amelia to raise you, that's news to me. I've never heard a word about that and given Amos and my sister's penchant for talking, that's a miracle." 

"Well, I'm not entirely sure what he did was against the law," Harry said.

"Why do you say that, Harry?" Cormac asked.

"Because on the day I turned eleven," Harry answered, "the Potter family barrister went to Gringotts' with a letter signed by me, Dumbledore and King Edward dictating that the goblins were to not bother me at Hogwarts and to continue sending all bank statements and correspondence to Seacliff. Problem is I never actually signed the letter. I couldn't have since it's signed as Harrison Potter - until today, I thought my legal first name was Harry, as that's how my Hogwarts letters and other mail that I do get are addressed. The goblins checked the signatures though and they all register as being genuine."

"Hmm, with Edward involved, it's true it might have been legal," Bruce said. "However, I find it hard to believe that he would have signed an order to disregard your parents' wishes and place you with your Muggle relatives instead of Amos and Amelia. Especially considering that in 1981, Edward himself was only eleven years old. At that age, I really don't see him caring where a baby is placed, especially when his noble parents had already made arrangements. I do know his father and grandfather would never have made the decision to disregard the arrangements made by the Duke and Duchess of Granston for the care of their heir, but Edward probably doesn't remember them, being only two when Crown Prince Michael and King Charles were murdered, along with the rest of the royal family. So, they never really had a chance to teach him much of anything."

"A truly sad affair," a feminine voice said from the direction of the door. "Two-year-old Prince Edward was the only survivor. Nobody knows why he alone was spared, since You-Know-Who made it clear he wanted the entire family dead, but for some unknown reason, Edward lived, while the rest of his family died."

"Ah, Caroline, darling," Bruce said, as he motioned the woman over. "Harry, this is my wife, Lady Caroline McLaggen. Caroline, this is Lord Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston."

"A pleasure to meet you, your grace," Caroline said, as she curtsied. "And it's good to see you, as well, Cedric dear. You too, Ms. Gracey."

"Hello Aunt Caroline," Cedric said with a smile, hugging the tall, blonde-haired woman. Since Bruce was a brunet, Harry imagined it must have been from his mother that Cormac got his blond hair. He did resemble his father in some small ways, but it was clear that he took more after his mother's side of the family than his father's.

"Wasn't there a rumor about Edward and a Death Eater?" Cormac asked.

"Yes, son," Bruce said. "There was a rumor that when Edward was found crying in his crib, there was a dead Death Eater lying on the ground. Although I don't see how that could possibly be true."

"Actually, I'm that pretty sure that rumor is true," Harry commented, drawing curious looks from the three members of the McLaggen family. "Much like what happened when Voldemort tried to kill me as a baby, I imagine that Death Eater tried to kill Edward, but failed."

"What are you talking about, Harry?" Bruce asked, clearly confused, and obviously a bit shaken from hearing the Dark Lord's name spoken, but he wasn't about to tell a Duke what he should and shouldn't say.

"Well, since our families are allied," Harry said, "I trust I can share a secret with you?"

"Of course, Harry," Cormac said. "As Potter allies, neither myself, my father, or any other member of our house can divulge any secrets you share with us."

Bruce nodded and said, "Yes, Harry, doing so would constitute a breach of the alliance, which as I'm sure you can imagine is not something I'd wish to do, seeing as how not only would it be highly dishonorable, but I'd also lose my magic and my life. It would also put the House of McLaggen in a terrible position, as no noble house can afford for it to be known that they can't be trusted to uphold their end of an alliance."

"Athena and Cedric already know this," Harry said. "They've both sworn oaths of secrecy to me. You see the reason I lived that night when I was a year old and why I imagine King Edward lived, is because of a little known fact about the noble houses. It's considered to be a state secret known only to the royal family and the Privy Council, but my father's portrait tells me that the councilors are allowed to divulge the information if they wish, provided the person they're telling has sworn an oath of loyalty or silence to them."

"An alliance counts as the same thing," Cedric said, as both Bruce and Cormac nodded.

"Apparently, centuries ago, Merlin placed powerful protections on the noble families," Harry said. "These protections protect the last of a noble line from dying of anything but old age and as they get older, the drive to procreate increases. My father said if you wait too long to do so, the spell would turn you into a sex addict. So, anyway, because Voldemort killed my father before he attempted to kill me, I was the last of the Potter line and Merlin's protections kicked in, which is why I survived the Killing Curse as a baby. Now, I don't think it's that far of a leap to believe that if Merlin protected the noble houses in such a way that he'd also protect the royal family in the same manner."

"You're right, Harry," Athena said. "That would only make sense. One could think of the royal family as being the ultimate noble family. So, it does make sense that Merlin would have placed those protections on the Pendragon family, as well, which would suggest that Edward was the last living Pendragon when he was attacked. Thus, Harry, you may very well not be the only Boy-Who-Lived."

"Interesting," Caroline said, as both her husband and son nodded in agreement. "Very interesting."

After a moment of silence, Bruce said, "I still can't believe that Dumbledore would disregard your parents' will so blatantly, however. Or that the King would give him permission to do so. It just doesn't seem possible."

"Well, I'm not going to worry about it for now," Harry said. "Ragnok said he'd launch a full investigation, so until the goblins turn up something, I'm just going to concentrate on learning all the things that I need to learn about being the head of a noble house." He didn't bother mentioning his mage training, since he knew the magic of the Fidelius wouldn't allow him to in the presence of Caroline McLaggen, who Athena had not yet shared the secret with.

"I'm sure your father's portrait will help you there," Bruce said, "but if there's anything at all that I can do, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you," Harry said.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there's Chapter 2 of the rewrite of The Journey Begins. I hope it was at least moderately enjoyable.
> 
> Questions, comments, suggestions? Feel free to contact me. I love hearing from my readers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Chapter Warning: Mention of past attempted suicide
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, Original Characters, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Three

-o-0-o-

By the time the carriage returned to Forest Cottage, it was nearly six o'clock at night. Getting out in the carriage house as Athena's house-elf, Barin, handled unhitching the horses and stabling them for the night, Harry moved to the open door and looked out at the sky.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Cedric asked, as he came up behind the younger man.

"Is that the going rate for a Duke's thoughts?" Harry asked with a grin, prompting Cedric to grin as well. Before the older boy could say anything, however, Harry said, "I was just thinking about how much my life has changed today. When I woke up this morning, I was on Privet Drive. After making breakfast for the Dursleys, watching them eat it, and then cleaning up after them, I went up to my room until they needed me for something else. Never once did I think that anything that happened after you and the trainers arrived was going to happen."

Cedric nodded. "My life before today wasn't as bad as yours, Harry, but I know the feeling. When I woke up this morning, I didn't really have anything in particular to look forward to. Except perhaps the Opening Ball that's going to be happening in a few days time and even that isn't much to look forward to. If it wasn't for Nick and a couple other people, I'd be bored out of my mind."

"The Opening Ball? What's that?" Harry asked.

"One of the many social functions that brings all the nobles' families together," Cedric replied. "In this case, it's to celebrate the opening of the autumn session of the Wizengamot. Now that you've claimed your birthright, you'll be expected to attend, of course. Unfortunately, it's not much of a party - watching paint dry is usually more fun."

"I don't suppose I could just let my double go in my place?"

Cedric hadn't thought of that, honestly, but before he could get too excited about the possibility of not going to the ball and being bored out of his mind, Athena said, "No, you can't. You're both going in person."

"Why?" Harry asked. Honestly what was the point of having a double if you couldn't have them go to all the boring social functions you didn't want to be bothered with?

"Because it's a law, Harry," Athena said. "While the doubles created for mage training are allowed to do a great many things, such as going to work or school in your place, attending the nobles' social gatherings or meetings of the Wizengamot are not something they can do. You'll have to attend all of those personally, and, of course, you can't tell anyone about your training."

"Well, don't worry, Harry," Cedric said with a companionable smile. "I'll try to keep you entertained as much as possible. Nick and I will be there, of course, as will Cormac, Neville, and the other heirs. Plus two of the other lords are fairly young, so, at least you'll have someone to talk to."

"Define fairly young," Harry said at that point.

"They're actually not that much older than me," Cedric said. "First off, you have Lord Erik Bones, the Marquis of Waringsford. He's the last person that the Last of the Line clause was used for when he took up the Bones lordship when his parents were murdered by Death Eaters during the first war. He's nineteen now and has a cousin at Hogwarts, a fellow Hufflepuff named Susan Bones and his aunt, Amelia Bones, is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry."

"I've met Susan a couple of times, she's in my year," Harry said. "And the other?"

"Lord Callum McKinnon, the Earl of Whitecross," Cedric answered. "He's twenty-four. His parents were also killed by Death Eaters, but he didn't become the McKinnon lord via the last of the line clause. At the time of his parents' deaths, he was living with his grandparents in Greece. His grandfather was the head of the family, but he died in his sleep shortly after Callum turned twenty, so with his father already dead, Callum assumed the lordship."

"I see, well, I suppose they are fairly young," Harry said. At least this meant he'd have someone to talk to who wasn't old enough to be his parent. "I suppose Malfoy will be there, right?"

"Yes, unfortunately, he will be," Cedric said. "However, he can't really do anything to you anymore. He's only a courtesy Viscount, while you're a Duke. Won't stop him from talking about you behind your back, but he'll have to be respectful to your face, if only to avoid getting punished by his father for embarrassing the family if he caused any incidents with you."

"Not to mention the fact," Athena said, as she motioned for the two of them to follow her to the house, "that because Draco is from a lower house, as the head of House Potter, if he says or does anything to you that you, in your sole discretion, deem as being too inappropriate or insulting, you have a great many options available to you."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

"You can demand an apology, for one," Cedric answered. "If he isn't willing to apologize, you can challenge him to a duel or demand financial reimbursement. Most of the time, one of those options will result in satisfaction of whatever slight he's made against you. If he still refuses to give you satisfaction, however, assuming his father doesn't step in and order him to, at which point he'd have to whether he wants to or not, you also have the option of making him a guest of Seacliff's dungeons for however long you want. He'd have to be housed in the noble section, but even then, it's not something he's likely to want to experience, so he'll do what he can to avoid it."

As they entered the house, Harry asked, "Seacliff has a dungeon?"

"Yes, Harry," Athena confirmed. "While every property you own probably doesn't have one, Seacliff definitely does, and your manor houses in Brynmoor and Mathry likely have them as well, although on a smaller scale."

"What do you mean the noble section?" Harry queried.

"It's a nicer section of the dungeons," Cedric replied. "Reserved for prisoners of noble birth. They get more creature comforts, better food, and a manservant to assist them. Their rank, of course, dictates just how lavish their appointments have to be. Essentially, you're depriving them of their freedom, but you still have to treat them like the nobility that they are."

Before anything else was said, Eudora came into the room from the parlor and said, "Ah, you've returned. We have guests."

"Guests?" Athena asked with a raised eyebrow. "And just how did they get past the wards?"

"House-elf magic," Eudora answered. "It's Tilly, head-elf of Seacliff Castle, along with Terence's father and step-mother. Tilly knew the second that Harry claimed his birthright."

"Have any of them said anything?" Harry asked. "About my mail or my parents' will?"

"No, Harry," Eudora said. "While you have to renew their oath of loyalty, they're still bound by the one they all swore to your father. So, they can't discuss family business without you being present."

Harry sighed. "Well, then, I guess I'll have to meet with them."

Heading into the parlor, Harry saw a house-elf sitting on the sofa, along with a middle-aged man with brown hair which was graying at the temples. He was dressed quite impeccably in crimson robes with silver accents and trim. Next to him, was sitting a slightly younger woman with blond hair, looking like she'd just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. When they saw Harry, they all moved to stand up and offer their oaths to the teenager but stopped when he raised a hand and said, "All of you will stay seated for now. Before I even consider renewing your oaths, there's questions that I need answers to."

"I scanned them all, Harry," Emma said from her place in one of the armchairs. "They've all had their memories modified, to quite a substantial degree. I also detected the residual magic of multiple Imperius Curses. I've removed what blocks on their memories that I can without causing any permanent damage and bolstered their minds against future uses of the Imperius Curse, so it'll be much harder for them to fall under its effects now."

"Can you tell who cast the spells?" Athena asked.

"No, Athena, I can't," Emma said. "Whoever did it masked their signature very well, but I can tell you that the person who did it is a mage. A fairly low power one, but still a mage."

"Well that rules out Dumbledore," Harry said.

"No, actually, Harry it doesn't," Eudora said. "Dumbledore is a Grand Sorcerer and the person who cast the charms on these three was at most a Master Mage. However, I can't rule out the possibility that Dumbledore may have received mage training either here in Albion or abroad. Master Mage is four power levels above a Grand Sorcerer, after all, so it's possible that he found a mage to perform the power increase ritual on him and then simply never told anyone."

"He's always said that he's a Grand Sorcerer," Rose added, speaking for the first time. "However, it's conceivable that he may be lying about his true power level. As the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation, all of his personal records have been sealed in the vaults of the Confederation's headquarters in Geneva for decades. Even King Edward wouldn't have the authority to unseal them, as they're housed in neutral territory and sealed under international law."

"Hmm," Harry said, as he turned towards the three people on the couch and said, "I assume my trainers have told you about how I grew up?"

Shaking his head, Robert Higgs said, "No, your grace. They felt it wasn't their place to reveal your secrets."

"We're bound by the oaths of silence anyway," Athena said. "Basically anything you consider to be a secret, Harry, is protected by the oath, even if we knew it before we swore the oath. Of course, it only applies to your personal or family secrets. Anything already protected by the Fidelius prior to the oath, however, remains outside of the scope of the oath."

Remaining silent for a moment, Harry considered everything he'd been told. If the elf and Mr. and Mrs. Higgs had been under the Imperius Curse and had their memories modified, they could hardly be blamed for not doing what was laid out in his parents' wills. "Alright, I'll take your oaths now and then we'll talk."

Once the oaths were given and accepted, Harry began explaining how he'd lived with his Muggle relatives since his parents' deaths and their treatment of him. Robert and his wife, Katherine, were mortified as they listened to the details and Tilly was near tears, trying several times to punish herself for not helping her Master. Harry refused to allow her to do this, however, reasoning that it wasn't her fault she didn't do something she was charmed to forget having to do in the first place.

"If we've been enchanted," Katherine said, "it's almost certain that Lord and Lady Diggory have been as well."

"Question is why?" Harry asked. "Dumbledore told me his reasons for putting me with the Dursleys, but it seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through. Not to mention the fact that he lied to me about the presence of powerful blood wards that supposedly keep me safe as long as I continue to call the Dursleys' house home."

"Yes, those blood wards of his are complete nonsense," Emma said. "The kind of spell he's suggesting was cast is way beyond his ability to cast even if he did lie about his power level. The spell in question can only be cast by a mage who has specialized in blood magic and you're not powerful enough to do that unless you're at least a Magister. There's no way that Dumbledore is that powerful."

"What exactly are the different power levels?" Harry asked, as he looked over at where the trainers were sitting. "I never even heard of them until you started talking about them."

"That's because they're not taught to third years, Harry," Athena said. "They're usually touched upon starting in fifth year and then covered in more detail in sixth and seventh year. Basically, there's a scale of power, ranging from one to thirty."

When it became apparent that Athena didn't plan on elaborating, Harry asked, "Is that all you're going to say?"

"She's not saying anything more because she knows I'm covering this tomorrow morning in class," Eudora said, as she looked at the boys. "Report to classroom #1 in the basement tomorrow morning at 9AM. As for now, I think it's time we start getting dinner ready and then you boys can have the rest of the night off to get settled in before classes tomorrow."

"Tilly be happy to cook," the elf said.

Smiling, Athena said, "You're welcome to help, Tilly, though I think my own elf, Barin, would not be happy if you took over his kitchen."

Nodding, Tilly said, "I's go and help Barin, then. If that okay, Master?"

"Yes, Tilly, you may go help Barin," Harry said. "And please, when we're in private, just call me Harry."

"Yes, Mas... er, Harry," Tilly said, before popping out of the room.

Once the elf was gone, Harry turned to Robert and said, "If possible, Robert, I would appreciate it if you could round up any and all mail you can locate at Seacliff which has been delivered there over the years as I'd very much like to see what I haven't been getting all this time."

"Of course, sir," Robert said. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I'll also need you to put me in touch with the family barrister," Harry said. "Considering that he's the one who delivered the letter to Gringotts that diverted all my mail to Seacliff, I imagine he must also have been charmed."

"I'm afraid we may never know the answer to that," Robert said. At Harry's questioning look, he said, "The Potter family barrister at the time you were eleven was Kendrick Pierce, but he contracted dragon pox and died last year. His grandson Ethan has taken over most of his cases and clients, but he is not officially the Potter family barrister unless you as the new Lord Potter name him such."

"Well, what do you know about this Ethan?" Harry asked.

"His name is Ethan Pierce," Robert said. "He's only twenty-eight, but he does have a relatively good reputation and he was a full partner in his grandfather's firm. All in all, I'd say he's trustworthy, or at least as trustworthy as any lawyer can be."

Once the laughter died down, Harry said, "Okay, well, set up a meeting with him for me. Growing up the way I did, I know next to nothing about the Wizarding world beyond what I was taught or picked up at Hogwarts, which doesn't include anything about law." Sighing, he added, "And since I'm on the Wizengamot now, I suppose it would be helpful to know something about it and a lawyer seems like a good person to ask."

"Yes, that's true," Athena said. "Perhaps we should look into sending word to Hogwarts to get your double placed in the Wizarding Law elective. You'd be about a year behind in it, but I know your friend Hermione has the class, so she should be able to help your double to catch up."

"Could I drop Divination and take Wizarding Law instead then?" Harry asked. "I took it because I thought it would be an easy class, but having had it for a year, I think it's useless. Plus, Trelawney likes to start every single class by predicting my imminent death. She obviously doesn't have the Inner Eye she loves going on about, because I'm still alive, despite her dire predictions which get very annoying after awhile."

"Yes, Sibyll is not my favorite person," Athena said. "I'll make the arrangements for your double to drop Divination while you're in class tomorrow, Harry. Even though your double will be taking it, I'll also pop over to Diagon Alley and get you a copy of the textbook for you to peruse here."

"Cedric and I took the class, Harry," Roger said. "So, we'll help you study, right, Ric?"

Nodding, Cedric said, "Yeah, that won't be a problem. Don't know how I did on my OWL for the class, but I think I passed."

"You did," Eudora said with a smile to Cedric.

"How do you know?" Cedric asked.

"Your other trainers and I are on staff at Hogwarts, remember," Eudora said. "Truth is the Wizarding Testing Authority finishes grading the OWL exams by the second week of July. We just don't send out the results to the students until we send their Hogwarts letters for the next school year."

"Can we see our results then?" Roger asked.

"I don't see why not," Athena said, as she called out, "Barin!"

A moment later, Barin appeared in the room and asked, "Yes Mistress?"

"Please go to my study," Athena said, "and fetch Roger's and Cedric's OWL results. They should be in an envelope from the Wizarding Testing Authority in the top left hand drawer of the desk."

Nodding, Barin popped out of the room, only to return a moment later with the envelope, which he handed to Athena, before popping back to the kitchen to continue making dinner. Opening the envelope, Athena pulled out two folded sheets of parchment, which after checking the names on them, she handed to Roger and Cedric.

Opening his, Cedric read over his results with a smile.

> Ordinary Wizarding Levels Results for Cedric Jeremiah Diggory, Earl of Charwell

> Ancient Runes - Outstanding  
>  Arithmancy - Outstanding  
>  Astronomy - Exceeds Expectations  
>  Charms - Outstanding  
>  Defense Against the Dark Arts - Outstanding  
>  Herbology - Outstanding  
>  History of Magic - Exceeds Expectations  
>  Magical Languages - Outstanding  
>  Potions - Outstanding  
>  Transfiguration - Exceeds Expectations  
>  Wizarding Law - Exceeds Expectations

Roger was also quite pleased with his results, even if there were fewer Outstanding marks then he would have liked. As a Ravenclaw, he'd rather hoped to have all Outstanding marks, but alas, it apparently wasn't meant to be.

> Ordinary Wizarding Levels Results for Roger Michael Davies

> Ancient Runes - Outstanding  
>  Arithmancy - Outstanding  
>  Astronomy - Exceeds Expectations  
>  Charms - Outstanding  
>  Defense Against the Dark Arts - Outstanding  
>  Herbology - Exceeds Expectations  
>  History of Magic - Outstanding  
>  Magical Finance - Exceeds Expectations  
>  Magical Languages - Outstanding  
>  Magical Literature - Outstanding  
>  Potions - Exceeds Expectations  
>  Transfiguration - Outstanding  
>  Wizarding Law - Exceeds Expectations

"So, what did you all get?" Terence asked.

"I attempted eleven OWLs," Cedric said. "I have 7 Outstandings and 4 Exceeds Expectations."

"Congratulations, Cedric," Harry said, as he looked at Roger and said, "And what about you Mr. Brainiac?"

Grinning at the nickname, Roger said, "Attempted and earned thirteen OWLs - 8 Outstandings and 5 Exceeds Expectations." After a moment of silence, he added, "Damn it, I was sure I'd aced all thirteen of them."

Katherine smiled and shook her head, "Only a Ravenclaw would complain about those grades."

"Or my friend Hermione Granger," Harry said. "She's a Gryffindor, but I think she totally expects to get Outstanding in everything and I think she'll be quite upset if she doesn't."

"If you boys know which classes you'd like to continue for your NEWTs," Athena said, "I can send the information along to Hogwarts when I send off the instructions to amend Harry's schedule."

"Won't that look odd?" Cedric asked. "You said you don't usually send the results off until you send out the Hogwarts letters and those usually don't come for another week or so."

Shaking her head, Athena said, "No, it won't look strange, as I happen to know that sometimes certain students' results are sent out early. Even though the majority are sent with the Hogwarts letters, about a fourth of the results have already been sent out. The students in question are usually the children of past Hogwarts alumni who are well off enough that they can afford to donate to the school. Your family certainly falls into that category, Cedric, and your father has been quite generous over the years. Now, while Roger's family isn't nearly as wealthy, his father did make a fairly good size donation towards the end of last year. So, for both of you, your results were among the ones sent out early. I imagine they probably arrived at your houses earlier today."

"I've been thinking about what I want to take," Cedric said. "I think I'll continue with Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Wizarding Law. And add Specialized Charms, Medical Magic, and Spell Creation." He was silent for a moment, before adding, "If I'm remembering the requirements correctly, I qualify for all of them."

Writing Cedric's choices down on a blank sheet of parchment, Athena nodded, "Good choices, Cedric, and yes you qualify for all of them. Roger, what about you?"

"As much as I love learning," Roger answered, "I'm sick of having to use a Time Turner to get to all of my classes, so, I'm going to only take ten NEWTs: Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Magical Languages, Spell Creation, Magical Research & Archiving, Magical Finance, Wizarding Law, and Specialized Charms."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked. "Remember, it'll be your double attending your classes and using the Time Turner, not you."

"Well, I've been thinking for awhile now about only taking ten," Roger said. "If my double is suddenly signed up more than that, won't he question why?"

"Oh that's very easily rectified," Eudora answered. "While your double does have free will, as the real Roger Davies, your decisions take precedence over his. So, even though you won't gain all the memories and knowledge that he gains until after you rejoin with him, he has limited access to your memories. So, if you change your mind and decide you want to take more NEWTs, he'll remember just that. He won't remember this conversation but he'll remember wanting to take more NEWTs."

Roger grinned. "Question is, am I really sadistic enough to make my double sit through more classes with Professor Binns? You know the only reason I got an Outstanding in History of Magic is because my father hired a private tutor for me. If he hadn't, I doubt I would have gotten even an Acceptable on my OWL for the class because well over half the stuff on the test wasn't even covered in class. Binns is too preoccupied with the goblin wars to teach everything else that he's supposed to cover."

"Well, I am one of the school governors now," Harry said. "Maybe at the next meeting, I'll strongly suggest we sack Binns and get someone competent, and alive, for the job. If everyone is having to hire private tutors anyway, I don't see how any money is really being saved in not having to pay Binns."

"You think while you're at it you could do something about Professor Snape?" Terence asked. Noticing the looks, he said, "Yes, I know he's my Head of House, but that doesn't mean I can't see his flaws. He makes it abundantly clear that he absolutely hates teaching. Seems to me that doesn't make him a good candidate for the job. I'm not suggesting that he be sacked, but maybe there's another job available that he'd enjoy more."

"Well, what could he do instead?" Cedric asked. "I know he's always wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."

"That position has been filled," Athena interjected. "The Headmaster got Alastor Moody to teach it. He's a very famous, retired Auror, so you'd find it next to impossible to get Professor Snape into the position instead."

"Well, what about Master Brewer?" Eudora asked. "I know in the past, Hogwarts did have one on staff. He'd basically spend all of his time brewing potions for the hospital wing. He does that now, but with his teaching and head of house duties, he can't brew all the potions that the hospital wing needs, so the ones he doesn't have time for have to be bought. Many of the ingredients required for the most commonly used medicinal potions are grown in the school greenhouses, so it doesn't really make much sense to buy finished potions at a markup and pay to have them shipped in at regular intervals when they could be brewed on site for less money. Not to mention the fact that Hogwarts can sell any excess potions at a profit."

"Well, that could work, I suppose," Harry said. "Any suggestions as to who could take over for Snape though? If I'm going to suggest relieving him of his teaching duties, I should probably have a replacement in mind."

"Well, there's Professor Horace Slughorn," Emma said. "He was the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin for just over sixty years until he retired in 1981 to concentrate on other projects he wanted to finish. He's still very much alive, however, and in good health last I'd heard. So, yes, he's in his mid nineties now, but by Wizarding standards, give or take a few years, he's still considered middle-aged. The Headmaster is over a hundred, after all, and his age hasn't given anyone pause."

"Most ghosts tend to calculate their age based on their deathday," Rose added, "but if you calculate Binns' age based on his birthday, he's about 227 years old now. He died in 1920 at the age of 153."

"Well, then," Harry said. "Robert, track down this Horace Slughorn and see if you can convince him to come back to Hogwarts. Use my name if you have to. Obviously the board will have to approve it, but before they can do that, he needs to be willing to return to the post. And put out some feelers for the position of History of Magic professor. Surely there must be someone out there whose alive, qualified and willing to take the job."

"Of course, sir," Robert said. "And might I suggest that with the Opening Ball happening in a few days, that you might consider using the occasion to get some more votes? All thirteen of the family heads are on the board, after all. If you can persuade some of them before the next governor's meeting, which is on the 17th of August, to vote your way, it can't hurt anything."

"A good point," Harry said, and then looking at Cedric, he said, "I'm going to be counting on you to make sure I don't make a complete and total fool of myself you know. You at least have some experience with this whole noble thing."

Cedric grinned. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't look like a total prat."

"Thanks," Harry said in a mildly sarcastic tone.

"Well, assuming Binns isn't teaching it," Roger said, "I'll take the NEWT level History of Magic class. I'll also continue with Astronomy, Herbology and Transfiguration. And I guess if Harry manages to get Slughorn in and he doesn't require an Outstanding for the NEWT level Potions class, I'll take that as well. So, that's fifteen NEWTs I'd be taking. Definitely will need a Time Turner, but as you said, it'll be my double doing all the work. Might as well take advantage of that and get all the knowledge I can."

"Noted," Athena said, as she wrote the classes down on the parchment. Then looking up at Roger, Athena added, "At any rate, I'm sure Madam Pince will be quite pleased to have you in her class."

Roger nodded, before noticing the questioning looks that Harry, Terence and Cedric were giving him. "We don't advertise it, but Madam Pince and I are related. She's my paternal grandmother's younger sister."

Before anyone else could say anything, Barin popped in and said, "Dinner is served," before popping back out. Shortly afterward, everyone stood up and headed for the combination kitchen and dining room to eat. Like most meals he'd eaten that had been prepared by house elves, Harry was thoroughly pleased and left quite full afterward.

-o-0-o-

When the four students came downstairs the next morning around 8:30, none of the trainers were anywhere in sight. Entering the kitchen, they found breakfast waiting for them, so they ate in relative silence for a few minutes, before finally Terence asked, "What do you think we'll be learning today?"

"Eudora said she'd cover the power scale," Roger said. "I would imagine there will be more covered than just that." Grinning at Terence he said, "Otherwise, you'd probably be bored out of your mind."

"Possibly," Terence allowed. "We did cover the scale in more detail in sixth year. I haven't looked at the seventh year books, so I don't know how much of it is covered in seventh year."

"So, only one more year of Hogwarts for you," Cedric said. "Or perhaps, more accurately your double, since Athena said our mage training would probably take a few years. Any plans for after that?"

"I've been talking with Professor Flitwick about a Charms apprenticeship," Terence answered. "Of course, ever since they named him their reserve keeper, Oliver has been trying to convince me to try out for Puddlemere United's reserve team."

"Oliver?" Harry asked. "As in Wood?"

Nodding, Terence said, "Yes, Harry, as in Wood."

"How do you know Oliver?" Harry asked.

"Much better than most people, I think," Terence said with a grin, "seeing as he's been my boyfriend for the last three years."

"You and Oliver are a couple?" Harry asked, clearly shocked. "I never knew Wood was into blokes. Of course, all I ever heard him talk about was Quidditch, so honestly, I didn't think he dated at all. Or if he did, I figured he was dating the quaffle."

All four of the young men around the table laughed at that comment, before Terence nodded and said, "Yes, Will is quite Quidditch obsessed. As for your not knowing he liked blokes, he's always been very straight acting. He doesn't volunteer the information, but if someone asks him, he doesn't lie about it either. He's had to dash a few girls' hopes, as there were a few at Hogwarts who asked him out. Once word got out that he preferred males, there were a handful of blokes started asking him out, but he turned them down too, just saying that he was involved. Since he was a Gryffindor and I'm a Slytherin, we chose to keep our relationship under wraps while we were in school to avoid any unpleasantness with our housemates."

Raising an eyebrow, Harry asked, "Will?"

"It's Oliver's nickname," Cedric said with a grin. Being friends with both Oliver and Terence, he knew they were a couple before today, so he also knew their nicknames. "Oliver's middle name is William, same as Terence's. And because Oliver hates Ollie and Terence hates being called Terry, they prefer to use shortened versions of their shared middle name: Will for Oliver and Liam for Terence."

Looking at Harry with a grin, Roger added, "He can't do anything to you, Harry, because of the oath he swore to you. But anyone else calls him the common nickname for Terence and he's quite likely to hex their bits off." He'd worded it this way instead of saying Terry as he couldn't help but notice the scowl with accompanying growl from Terence when Cedric had said Terry. "And I don't know about you, but I like mine right where they are."

"Same here," Harry said, as Cedric nodded as well. The only reason that Cedric had been brave enough to say it was because it would be illegal for Terence to hex the bits off the heir of a noble house before said heir had produced an heir of his own. So he was confident that Terence did not want to spend the rest of his life in the dungeon of the Diggory's ancestral home, Willowglen Manor. Terence just shook his head, the hard look in his eyes countered by the small grin on his face.

"Anyway," Terence said, "yes, Will is definitely fond of Quidditch, there's no doubt about that. He talks about it often, but he usually shuts up about it when we're alone together, not only because we're usually too busy snogging at that point, but he also knows that I'm still a bit bitter about being so unceremoniously kicked off the Slytherin team. I made the team as a second year and other than the Gryffindor/Slytherin game in your first year, Harry, which was my second year on the team, I had a perfect record for catching the snitch."

Thinking back to his first year, Harry remembered Terence and asked, "You were only a third year? You looked older."

"Well, that year I was old enough to be a fourth year," Terence explained. "My birthday is September 15th, however, so I had to start Hogwarts a year late. I celebrated my seventeenth birthday last year while I was a sixth year, so, obviously I'll be eighteen this year."

"I'm in the same boat," Cedric commented. "My birthday is two days after Terence's, so I'll be turning seventeen on September 17th, even though I'll be starting my sixth year this year. Well, my double will be, but same difference."

Nodding, Roger said, "My birthday is on the 12th of August - I'll be sixteen. As for you getting kicked off the team Terence, yeah, it does suck that they did that when you were a proven player and all Flint had to recommend Draco for the spot was seven new brooms and his word that he was a good player."

Shaking his head as he refilled his pumpkin juice, Cedric said, "Actually, that's not all Flint had to recommend Draco." At the questioning looks from the others, Cedric said, "It's by no means correct, but I imagine that Marcus Flint, Viscount Sarn, figured that Draco Malfoy, Viscount Bratton, would be a better player than Terence Higgs, commoner. I personally don't believe it, but I know some of the nobles think they're better than others because they're nobles. Given the option, they'll choose nobility over commoners every time."

"Yeah, Will said something similar," Terence said, after sipping his tea. "He's not noble, but like me he does have experience with the nobility, since his brother Cameron is Lord McKinnon's seneschal."

"Oliver has a brother?" Harry asked. "I didn't know that."

"Actually, he was twin elder brothers, and a younger half-brother," Terence said. "Bryce and Cameron Wood are four years older than Oliver, so they finished Hogwarts before you started, Harry, and their half-brother, Gavin Wood, who's a year and a half younger than Oliver, never went to Hogwarts."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Not strong enough," Terence answered. "Gavin does have magic, but he's what's referred to as a hedgewizard. One level below the minimum level of magical power required to attend any magical school throughout the world. Basically he's powerful enough to own a wand, but he's extremely limited in the spells he can cast. He can do most of the first year spells and a couple taught in second year, but anything higher is beyond his ability."

'That sucks,' Harry thought to himself, before he remembered his conversation with Rose from the previous day. "What about the blood ritual that Rose told me about it? Couldn't that be used on Gavin? He'd never became a mage, but at least then he'd be powerful enough that he should be able to cast most spells, right?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Roger said, as the others indicated they didn't either. "I suppose it's possible, but I don't know enough about the ritual to know whether or not it could be used on Gavin. It's possible that there's a minimum power level that you have to be before it can be used."

"Yeah, that's possible," Terence said. "Besides that, Gavin is sixteen. So, I assume he'll get stronger in his inheritance next year. He just won't attend Hogwarts, because at seventeen, he'd be too old to be a first year. His parents hired private tutors for him though, so, if he does get stronger, I imagine they'll teach him everything he needs to know."

"Unfortunately, your assumption may be wrong, Mr. Higgs," Athena said as she walked into the room. "Hedgewizards like Mr. Wood do not always have a magical inheritance. Some do, but the majority of them don't. Now is not the time to discuss such things, however, as I believe you four were supposed to be in the basement with Eudora by now."

Looking at the clock on the fireplace mantle, Harry realized that it was 9:03 AM, which meant that, yes, they were all late for their first class which was supposed to start at 9:00 AM. Quickly taking one last sip of his pumpkin juice, Harry stood up as did Cedric, while Roger finished what little milk was left in his glass and Terence drank the last swallow full of tea in his cup, before all four of them headed for the basement stairs and their first class. Thankfully, unlike at Hogwarts, it wasn't hard to find the classroom, since there were only two of them in the basement and all the rooms were accessible from a single hallway.

Also adding to the not getting lost factor was that the staircases in Forest Cottage were completely stationary and did not change and lead to different locations on different days. It was Harry's opinion, that whoever came up with the idea of staircases that move and entire rooms that were capable of moving to different floors needed to be shot. The person was clearly out of touch with reality if they did not understand just how hard that would make it for students to get to their classes on time, especially in a castle with well over a hundred rooms and seven floors, not counting the numerous dungeon levels.

-o-0-o-

As Harry, Cedric, Roger, and Terence entered the basement classroom, a total of five minutes late, Eudora looked up from her desk and said, "I see you four decided to come to class after all. I must admit I was beginning to wonder."

Other than Eudora's desk, there were only four desks in the room lined up in a single row one right next to the other. Taking their seats, Terence said, "I apologize for our tardiness. We lost track of time talking over breakfast."

"Yes, I figured it was something like that," Eudora said. "Not to mention the fact that I imagine you're all still in summer vacation mode, seeing as how it is only August 2nd. You will have time off to enjoy the weather before it gets too cold, though I warn you that making a habit of being late to my class is not conducive to you earning any free time."

Once all four of her students acknowledged that they understood, Eudora stood up and said, "Okay, as I said yesterday, today we will be covering the magical power scale in detail. If you're to become mages, it would be best if you understood exactly what the means. You'll find parchment and ever-full quills in your desks, so please copy down the power scale, exactly as it's written on the blackboard. I was going to give you twenty minutes to do that, but since you were five minutes late to class, you have fifteen, at which point I will explain the various power levels in more detail. Begin."

Opening the single drawer on his desk, Harry found parchment and the quills that Eudora mentioned, so pulling them out, he began to copy down the list.

> The Magical Power Scale

> 1\. Muggle  
>  2\. Squib  
>  3\. Adept  
>  4\. Savant  
>  5\. Hedgewizard/Hedgewitch  
>  6\. Apprentice Wizard/Witch, minimum required to attend any magic school. +1 metamagic skill  
>  7\. Wizard/Witch  
>  8\. Master Wizard/Witch  
>  9\. Grand Wizard/Grand Witch  
>  10\. Archwizard/Archwitch, +1 metamagic skill  
>  11\. Apprentice Sorcerer/Sorceress  
>  12\. Sorcerer/Sorceress  
>  13\. Master Sorcerer/Sorceress  
>  14\. Grand Sorcerer/Grand Sorceress, +1 metamagic skill  
>  15\. Archsorcerer/Archsorceress  
>  16\. Apprentice Mage  
>  17\. Mage, +1 mage specialization  
>  18\. Master Mage, +1 metamagic skill  
>  19\. Grand Mage  
>  20\. Archmage, +1 higher arcana  
>  21\. Apprentice Magister  
>  22\. Magister, +1 metamagic skill, +1 higher arcana, +1 mage specialization  
>  23\. Master Magister  
>  24\. Grand Magister, +1 higher arcana  
>  25\. Archmagister  
>  26\. Apprentice Magus, +1 metamagic skill, +1 higher arcana  
>  27\. Magus, +1 mage specialization  
>  28\. Master Magus, +1 higher arcana  
>  29\. Grand Magus  
>  30\. Archmagus, maximum attainable power level, +1 metamagic skill, +1 higher arcana

Once exactly fifteen minutes had passed, Eudora stood up from her desk and said, "Quills down. If you haven't finished copying the list, you can stay after class to do so."

Walking around to the front of her desk and leaning against it, Eudora cleared her throat and began.

"Now, first off, some facts about the various levels of power. Muggles, obviously, have no magic whatsoever. Squibs also have no magic, however, as they are born to magical families, as long as they're allowed to study magical theory, they're better off than Muggles, as they'll have enough knowledge that they can exist in the magical world, even without the ability to do magic. Even then, most squibs choose not to stay in our world, however, since watching others do what they can't is often too hard for them to handle. That's why the Kwikspell home study course is so popular among squibs. It doesn't work, of course, but those who buy it won't know that until after they've bought the course. And then by the time they realize that they've wasted their money on something that doesn't work, the trial period in which they could have gotten their money back has expired. Yes, Cedric?"

"Why is that even allowed?" Cedric asked. "It doesn't seem fair. If it's known that it doesn't work, why is the company allowed to continue selling it?"

"That's a good question," Eudora said. "This is not a commonly known fact, as the company that makes Kwikspell is owned by a shell company, that's owned by a shell company, that's owned by yet another shell company. If you have the patience, however, to go through the maze of paperwork, which is designed to be very hard to navigate and thus make you want to give up, you'll find that the company is a joint venture between the Burke, Malfoy, and Lestrange families. Most people never get far enough through the maze of misdirection to figure that out and those that do choose not to pursue the matter, since it would require suing three of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses and the majority of people simply do not have the resources to do that.

"Not to mention the fact that Lords Burke and Malfoy, with their numerous donations to worthy causes, otherwise known as bribes, have the Minister and several high-ranking officials in their pockets. That's also how Borgin and Burke's in Knockturn Alley gets away with their shady and corrupt way of doing business. They'd say they're practicing good business, buying low and selling high, but the levels they take it to are beyond ridiculous, since they're often buying things for knuts on the galleon, and then selling those same items for as much as six hundred percent above the highest appraisals of what the item is actually worth."

Shaking her head, Eudora said, "Anyway, back to the power scale. Next you have the Adept and Savant levels. People at these levels are still basically Muggles, as they do not possess a strong enough magical core to use a wand or cast spells. Adepts often have psychic ability, usually limited to seeing the future or talking to the dead. Savants take it further in that they sometimes develop other psychic abilities such as mind reading, empathy, hypnosis, and telekinesis. In rare instances, some of them even manage to master such techniques as hydrokinesis and pyrokinesis, which are the abilities to control water or fire with the mind. However, it's very rare for them to actually develop those abilities. I think there's only about four or five recorded cases of it happening in the last two thousand years. Of course, that doesn't mean there weren't more instances that simply were not recorded."

Pleased to see her students taking notes, Eudora gave them a moment to write, before moving on. "Now, level five on the scale is the Hedgewitch or Hedgewizard. These are people who are right on the border line between being muggle and magical. They are in possession of a strong enough magical core that they can use a wand and cast spells, but they're usually limited to the simpler spells and those spells will be weaker than they would be if they were cast by someone who had a bigger and stronger core. They're not invited to attend Hogwarts because they'd have to drop out after only a year or two because the practical work would quickly grow beyond their ability. Most parents who have children at this level, assuming they keep them and many don't, hire private tutors to teach them theory and how to control their powers. They then go into trade schools to learn how to do jobs in the magical world that are within their magical abilities to perform. Some also choose to leave the magical world and live as Muggles, feeling that they'll have better opportunities for advancement in the Muggle world, which sadly is probably true.

"One example of a hedgewizard that you may or may not be familiar with," Eudora continued, "is Stan Shunpike, the conductor of the Knight Bus. He's capable of performing simple spells, but if you asked him to conjure a patronus, for example, he wouldn't be able to do it even if his life depended on it. Of course, the Knight Bus travels much faster than a Dementor can, so he shouldn't have a problem." Then noticing that Terence had raised his hand, Eudora nodded and asked, "Yes, Terence?"

"We were actually discussing this topic at breakfast," Terence said. "My boyfriend Oliver's half-brother Gavin is a hedgewizard. Rose told Harry about the blood ritual for increasing the power level yesterday during his exam and he in turn told us last night. Would the blood ritual work on Gavin?"

Shaking her head, Eudora said, "Unfortunately, no, it wouldn't. It was created specifically for the purpose of creating new mages when the number of people reaching mage level began to drop off around four hundred years ago. So, the ritual will only work on people who are already within four levels of the mage power range, which as you can see from the list, the Hedgewitch and Hedgewizard are not."

"What about the magical inheritance?" Harry asked after Eudora had called on him. "Athena overheard our conversation and said that most hedgewizards don't go through the inheritance, but she didn't elaborate since we were already late for class."

With a nod of her head, Eudora said, "She's correct. Only about one in a hundred people at that level go through the magical inheritance. Terence, do you know if Gavin has ever, however briefly, shown bursts of magic which would seem to otherwise be beyond his normal abilities?"

Thinking about it for a moment, Terence said, "Honestly, I'm not sure. I've met Gavin and spent time with him, but he's never shown any bursts of magic in my presence and Oliver has never mentioned anything, but then we don't really talk about Gavin that much. What time we do have together is usually spent talking about Quidditch or," clearing his throat and blushing slightly, he added, "doing other things."

With a knowing look on her face, Eudora said, "There's no need to be embarrassed, Terence. You're seventeen, you're legally an adult, as is Mr. Wood. Anyway, the reason I asked is because those on level five who do tend to have a magical inheritance usually show some signs of being able to perform magic at a higher level before they're old enough to actually have their inheritance. Most often this is because something went wrong in the womb and their cores got blocked somehow. If that's the case, sometimes the block will disappear as they get older, but in those cases when it doesn't, the inheritance can be a very risky, potentially lethal event."

"Why?" Roger asked.

Ignoring the fact that Roger hadn't raised his hand, Eudora said, "Because as Terence can probably tell you, when you go through your magical inheritance, you'll feel extremely nauseous, tired, achy, and when the time comes for your power to actually increase, your entire body will be shaking. Depending on how much power you're gaining this can range from very minor shaking more akin to shivering to much more violent shaking. People gaining four or more levels tend to completely lose control of their limbs and are flailing around so violently that they need to be tied down to prevent them from injuring themselves and others. In that event, a spell also needs to be cast to insure that they don't bite their tongue in half. In the case of people on level five whose magic was blocked in the womb, if that blockage hasn't released by the time of the inheritance, their core basically turns into a ticking time bomb. Depending on how much power is held behind the blockage, combined with the inheritance increase, it can blow the blockage with enough force that the magical core will go into critical overload, burning them alive from the inside out, much like what would happen if you break an Unbreakable Vow."

"Do you think I could get permission to contact Oliver?" Terence asked, suddenly worried. "Gavin will be turning seventeen in January. He's a good kid and I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep unless I know for sure that he's not going to die on his next birthday."

"I'll talk to Athena," Eudora said. "I can understand your concern, Terence, and I share it. However, you contacting Oliver would require telling him about your training. As the Secret Keeper, that's Athena's call, not mine. I would just see to it that the message is passed onto your double, but then there would undoubtedly be questions as to how you'd found out the information. Questions that your double would have no way of answering. Further complicating matters is that in the vast majority of cases when these magical blocks are still intact after nearly seventeen years, it's because it's a very strong block that would require a mage to get past. So, you have my word that I will discuss it with Athena, however, for now don't worry yourself about it too much, as we don't even know if Gavin's magic is blocked. He may very well just be a normal hedgewizard who will not have an inheritance. Now let's turn our attention back to the lesson."

Terence nodded and did his best to do what Eudora suggested. She was right in that they didn't even know for sure that Gavin's magic actually was blocked, so it wouldn't do any good to worry about it. He'd feel a lot better when he knew for sure though, because he knew what a tight-knit family the Woods were. If something were to happen to Gavin it would devastate them and Terence loved Oliver, so he didn't want him or the rest of the family to have to go through that kind of pain.

"Now, level six, Apprentice Witch and Apprentice Wizard," Eudora continued. "That's the minimum level required to attend any magic school throughout the world. At that level, you are in possession of a magical core strong enough that you can cast all the spells taught in the seven years at Hogwarts. You won't necessarily be able to cast them all well, but none of them should be beyond your ability to cast, unless you simply never study and don't practice. The spells will get a bit easier, of course, as you move up the scale. Now, eighty percent of the students currently attending Hogwarts fall somewhere on the power scale between levels six and ten. Of that number, only about half of them will actually gain enough power in their inheritances to push them up into the Sorcerer range and less than a quarter of them will go beyond the Apprentice level of that range."

Pausing to take a sip of water from a glass on her desk, Eudora said, "It's from the other twenty percent that the majority of those selected for mage training come from, as they most often start Hogwarts in the higher end of the Wizard range or already in the Sorcerer range. Even then, only about five percent of that number will gain enough power in their inheritance to actually push them into the Mage range naturally. So, most people selected for mage training must go through the power increase ritual. Yes Roger?"

"You said earlier that the ritual was created when the number of naturally occurring mages began to drop off around four hundred years ago," Roger said. "Does anybody know why the number dropped off?"

"There is a theory," Eudora said. "Some mages don't want to believe it, but that has more to do with their upbringing than the facts of the matter. If you ask me, it's not a theory, it's fact. Your other trainers all agree with me on that, but not everyone else does. It's believed that many of the pureblood families who are insistent on keeping their bloodlines pure, especially those who keep marrying into the same families, not looking beyond Albion's borders for perspective mates and then only having one child, are the reason for the decrease in naturally occurring mages. The fanatical purebloods believe that keeping their bloodlines pure will insure the continued survival of magic, but if you ask me, it's actually guaranteeing magic's extinction. At least, here in Albion."

After being called on, Terence asked, "You say at least here in Albion, does that mean that it's different in other countries?"

Nodding, Eudora said, "Yes, it is. In Egypt, for example, the Pharaoh has made it illegal for his subjects to marry or have children with any person who is within five or less degrees of relation. So, the closest cousin that an Egyptian witch or wizard can marry is their sixth cousin. The law has reduced the amount of inbreeding going on in the country and consequently the number of people reaching the mage level naturally has been improving. A few other countries have similar laws and their rates of producing mages have also been improving. None of these countries have reached the levels that mages once occurred at centuries ago, but there has been some improvement, unlike here in Albion where for the most part the rates have continued to get worse."

Walking around to the other side of her desk and sitting down, Eudora said, "Anyway, since we've talked about both the inheritance and the power increase ritual, there is something I feel I should also tell you. Contrary to popular belief, magic does not get stronger or weaker with age. The inheritance is the only time in a wizard's life where their age has any affect on their power level, so barring the increase ritual, following their inheritance, a wizard's power remains the same throughout their life. The only thing that changes is the amount of experience they have in wielding the power that they possess.

"So, for example, Terence, you are a Grand Sorcerer. This places you at the same level as Professor Dumbledore. However, I would not suggest that you challenge him to a duel, because it'd be a safe bet that even though you're ranked the same on the power scale, you'd lose. The reason for this is because you only went through your inheritance less than a year ago while Dumbledore went through his in July of 1898. It's safe to assume that in the ninety-six years since then, he's accumulated much more experience in wielding his power and has very likely learned more spells than you have. So, even though you're technically the same power level, he would appear to be more powerful because of his greater knowledge and experience."

Nodding, Terence said, "That makes sense." After a moment, he added, "And just to be clear, even after Harry told me that, I never once even considered the idea of challenging the Headmaster to a duel. I may be many things, but I like to think that stupid isn't one of them."

"That's good," Eudora said. "In the same vein, it may sometimes appear that witches and wizards of great age have gotten weaker. This is not true, they are still the same power level that they have always been. However, with age, it's possible for the mind to deteriorate and the reason they thus appear to have gotten weaker is because they've forgotten some of their knowledge and experience."

Leaning back in her chair, Eudora took another sip of water, before she said, "Now, are there any questions?"

Both Harry's and Roger's hands went up. Gesturing towards Harry, Eudora said, "Harry."

"On the scale we copied down," Harry said, as he looked down at his paper, "there's several things listed after the various levels like metamagic. What is that?"

"I'm glad you asked," Eudora said. "Metamagic is a collection of seven different skills which alters magic in some way. As you can see, you gradually gain access to these skills as you increase in power, gaining a new skill every four levels after six. Now, that doesn't mean that you can't use the skills earlier, but several of the skills are very power intensive and require larger amounts of power and concentration than you'd have available at lower levels on the scale. So, it is highly suggested that you stick with the progression listed on the scale and master each skill one at a time and only begin studying a new skill if you're powerful enough to do so. Now, all of you are currently powerful enough to learn two of the forms of metamagic and Terence is powerful enough to learn three of them.

"Only one of these skills is actually taught at Hogwarts. It's proper name is Silent Casting, although at Hogwarts it is never referred to as metamagic and its taught as Non-Verbal Casting to the sixth and seventh year students. As I'm sure you can figure out, it's the ability to cast spells without speaking their incantations aloud. Silent Casting is the easiest of the metamagic skills to master, which is why it was chosen as the skill that is taught to you as part of your Hogwarts education. The other forms of metamagic are Stilled, Extended, Persistent, Quickened, Empowered, and Maximized Casting and it is generally accepted that they should be learned and mastered in that order.

"Stilled Casting is the ability to cast spells without a wand. Now, at first glance that would appear to be what's known as Wandless Magic. However, what some people commonly learn as Wandless Magic is not truly Stilled Casting, because many witches and wizards who practice Wandless Magic still need to make the correct wand movements with their hand in order for their spells to work. A true master of Stilled Casting needn't make any movements at all to cast a spell. Thus, they can stand perfectly still, not moving a muscle, and still cast a spell. For targeted spells, they don't even need to point at their target, as they can visualize where they want the spell to go and it goes there.

"Obviously, when paired with Silent Casting, Stilled Casting is extremely useful, especially in a dueling situation. This is because many of the best duelists have been trained to listen for incantations and watch wand or hand movements in order to try and anticipate which spell their opponent is going to use against them so that they can meet the spell with the counter before it hits them. While shield spells are certainly useful, any experienced duelist will tell you that the ultimate goal is to prevent your opponents' spells from hitting you at all. However, that becomes much harder if you can't anticipate what they're about to throw at you. Now, I think the names of the rest of the metamagic forms are relatively self-explanatory, so hands up if you think you know what Extended and Persistent Casting are. Terence?"

"They'd affect the duration of a spell's effects, wouldn't they?" Terence asked.

"Correct," Eudora replied. "As their name implies, Extended and Persistent Casting both effect the duration of a spell's effects, making them last longer. However, Persistent Casting takes this a step further in that the spell becomes persistent which means that it will go on without end, using a small amount of the caster's core power at intervals to maintain the effect. The fact that a persistent spell needs to draw power from the caster's core at intervals also means that it is inadvisable for a witch or wizard to have several such spells active at the same time if they're still going to be actively casting spells or to leave persistent spells active for too long. It's also interesting to note however, that a persistent spell cannot be dispelled by such spells as Finite Incantatum - only the caster can end the spell's effect. Now, Extended Casting is a prerequisite of learning Persistent Casting, so these two skills must be learned in that order A person trying to reverse the order would find only failure as you need to have mastered the art of making your spells last longer before you can make them persistent."

The sound of quills scratching on parchment filled the room as the four boys took notes. Before Eudora moved on, however, Roger raised his hand, prompting her to ask, "Yes Roger?"

"I was just curious if the Permanent Sticking Charm was a form of Persistent Casting?" he asked.

Nodding, Eudora said, "A good question, Roger, and yes the Permanent Sticking Charm is indeed a form of Persistent Casting, thus the spell is perhaps misnamed as it is not actually permanent. Now, I said that the spell would feed off of the caster's magical core at intervals to keep the spell active. However, it is also possible to cast a persistent spell which draws the power to keep it active from another source. A wand core for example. It would also have to be a relatively powerful core for this to work and it has to be a fairly simple spell to last for any great length of time as wand cores don't regenerate their power if they're essentially being used as what Muggles call a battery. Normally, when you cast spells, a very small amount of your own core power is used to keep the wand's core working, but if it isn't getting this regular power, it would eventually drain completely, at which point the effect would end.

"Now the Sticking Charm is a simple spell, considering that it can only make objects stick together, unlike the stronger Adhesive Charm which is powerful enough to make a person stick to an object or even another person. Theoretically, a person who has mastered Persistent Casting could actually cast a persistent version of the Adhesive Charm on two people and essentially turn them into conjoined twins. Now, if that were to happen, those two people would be stuck together until such time that the caster decided to release them, or the power source for the spell, whether it be the caster's core or something else, ran out of power, as no spell or surgical procedure, magical or mundane, would be able to separate them. Harry?"

Lowering his hand upon being called on, he asked, "Wouldn't it just be the clothes the people were wearing that were fused together?"

Shaking her head, Eudora said, "If it were to occur, I'm sure the people involved would very much wish that was true, Harry. But, when cast by a competent and powerful enough person, unless the people in question were lucky enough to be wearing dragon hide or better yet basilisk leather, the spell's magic would easily seep through their clothes and bind flesh to flesh."

"Basilisk leather?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry," Eudora said. "Unlike dragon skin which is highly resistant to magic, basilisk hide is impervious to it. So, a person wearing a complete set of clothes made of basilisk leather would be almost immune to magic unless a spell hits them in an area that isn't covered. Of course, due to the ban on breeding basilisks, which is actually an international ban enforced by the International Confederation of Wizards, basilisk leather is extremely rare and prohibitively expensive. Even the richest of the rich families would find it nearly impossible to buy more than one or two full sets of basilisk leather clothing. Many other parts of the basilisk can also be used for various things. It's fangs can be crafted into wand cores and it's eyes, venom and a few other parts are highly sought after potions ingredients."

Thinking about the basilisk that he'd killed, Harry asked, "Do you know if there's a time limit after a basilisk is killed as to how long the various components are still useful?"

"The hide and venom will remain useful almost indefinitely," Eudora said. "The fangs and other components will probably cease to be useful after about five years after the creature's death, with that time frame increasing depending on the age of the basilisk."

Realizing that the basilisk he'd killed in the Chamber of Secrets was a veritable treasure trove, Harry called out, "Dobby!"

A moment later, the excitable elf popped into the room and said, "Harry Potter, sir, called for Dobby?"

Smiling at the elf and ignoring the looks from Eudora and his classmates, Harry said, "Yes, Dobby. I know you're not a Parselmouth, but can you get into the Chamber of Secrets?"

Nodding, Dobby said, "Yes, Harry Potter, sir. There's nowhere in castle house elves can't go."

"And do you know if Dumbledore or anyone else at Hogwarts ever ordered the elves to go into the Chamber after the end of my second year?" Harry asked.

Taking a moment to think about it, Dobby said, "No, Dobby thinks he not heard Dumbledore or anyone asking. Why?"

"Well, in that case," Harry responded, before calling out, "Tilly!"

By this point the other three students were looking at Harry with confused looks and Eudora looked a bit miffed. Honestly, the only reason that she was even allowing Harry to do this during class was because he was Lord Potter. If any of the other students, noble heir Cedric included, had interrupted her class like this, she would have put a stop to it by now. As it was, however, Harry was Lord Potter and thus had to be given certain considerations that she wouldn't give anyone else. She assumed he must have some reason for interrupting class time to call for and talk to house-elves, so technically speaking it was against the law for her to interfere as to do so would be interfering in the business of a Most Ancient and Noble House.

"Lord Potter calls Tilly?" Tilly asked as she popped in a second later.

"Yes, Tilly," Harry said. "Tilly, this is Dobby," as he motioned at the other elf. "He's a free elf on staff at Hogwarts. I need you to take a contingent of house-elves and go with Dobby to the Chamber of Secrets hidden beneath Hogwarts Castle. In the chamber, you should find a basilisk corpse. I want you to harvest any and all useful components you can from it."

"You is sure it dead?" Tilly asked with a slight note of fear in her voice. Basilisks were extremely dangerous creatures, after all, even to house-elves.

Harry nodded and said, "Yes, Tilly, I'm sure it's dead as I'm the one who killed it towards the end of my second year at Hogwarts. It was also blinded by a phoenix before it died, so it should be safe. I wouldn't send you if I thought I was putting you at risk." After a moment, he added, "Oh and in the Chamber, there should be a room of some kind behind the statue of Salazar Slytherin. I was never in there, but when the creature was alive, that would have been its lair. The entry is through the statue's mouth. Make sure to check in there, as well."

Nodding, Tilly said, "Tilly and Dobby go to Seacliff, gets more elves, and do as Lord Potter asks."

Dobby nodded his agreement with what Tilly said and a moment later, there were two pops as the elves disappeared. Turning to Eudora, Harry said, "I'm sorry for the interruption, Eudora, but after what you said about basilisk components, I figured perhaps it would be a good idea to do something with the corpse of the one I killed. If the creature's age has anything to do with the volume of components that can be harvested, this basilisk would be a veritable treasure trove, considering that it was Salazar Slytherin himself that bred the beast."

Eudora's eyes widened with shock for a moment, before she nodded and said, "The age of a basilisk does indeed determine how many useful components can be harvested from it. The older it is, the more components it has to offer. If what you say is true and it was Salazar Slytherin who bred it, the creature would be over a thousand years old. Due to the rarity of basilisk components due to the ban, treasure trove is a vast understatement. Priceless would be a better term as the amount of money you stand to make is astronomical. Normally, the crown would have claim on any treasure found in the kingdom, but that only applies to inanimate objects. Since a basilisk would have been a living creature and you're the one who killed it, you have total control over what's done with the corpse and the components it can yield." Then with a smile, she added, "Honestly, Harry, I must commend you. You haven't even been Lord Potter for a full day and yet you've already managed to very likely double or even triple the family fortune. The goblins will be quite impressed and trust me when I say, they are not easily impressed, especially by wizards."

"You really think the components are worth that much?" Harry asked, clearly a bit awed. "I don't really even know exactly how much I'm worth. I saw all the gold in the family vault, of course, but seeing as how I've never seen any of my statements, I have no idea how much is actually there, other than a lot."

"I don't know how much you're worth," Eudora said, "although I would venture a guess to say that it's at least several hundred thousand Galleons, but likely more. Being one of the oldest noble families and a favorite of King Arthur's, the Potters have always been one of the richest of the old, noble families. As for the basilisk components, as I said, with the ban, they're extremely rare and hard to come by. One full set of basilisk leather clothing is likely to run anywhere from 100 to 120 thousand galleons. More so, depending on if it winds up in an auction situation where it'll go to the highest bidder and you get a bidding war. I'm sure I needn't tell you that clothes that essentially make you immune to magic are highly sought after, especially by duelists who can afford the expense. That isn't many, of course, but to those who can afford it, it's well worth the cost."

With a nod, Terence said, "Depending on the age and thus the size of the basilisk, one skin is usually enough to make two full sets. A basilisk that's over a thousand years old would be huge and would thus probably produce more than what is normal for most basilisks that don't live half that long. It also wouldn't just have the skin on its body. If you can find all the skins its shed over the years, and what Eudora said is true about them keeping indefinitely, then all of them could be used as well. You could very well have enough skin to make a hundred or more sets."

Roger whistled at that and said, "Whoa. If there's enough for a hundred suits, at 100,000 galleons a piece that would be ten million galleons and that's not counting the value of the venom or the other components." Knowing that Harry was raised by Muggles and might be able to better understand the magnitude of the value in Muggle money, Roger then added, "At the current exchange rate, ten million galleons would be roughly fifty million pounds."

"How do you even know the exchange rate?" Terence asked.

"One of my uncles is married to a Muggle woman," Roger answered. "I've gone shopping with her and my cousins in Muggle London several times. So, obviously, we had to go to Gringotts and get galleons exchanged because Muggle stores won't accept Wizarding money."

"Well, let's get back to today's lessons," Eudora said. "Now, Quickened Casting. Can anyone tell me what they think that does? Roger?"

"I'd think it would either shorten the casting time for a spell or shorten it's duration," Roger answered.

"You're actually correct on both counts," Eudora said. "There are several spells and rituals that take longer than a minute or so to cast. Some of the longest and complicated rituals can take over an hour. However, those who have mastered the art of Quickened Casting, can speed up the casting so that it takes less time. Of course, that does often result in the spell not being as powerful as it could be. So, for durational spells, that will make the effects last a shorter amount of time. Now, Empowered and Maximized Casting, anyone?"

All four hands went up, but of course, Eudora could only call on one student at a time. "Cedric."

"I'd assume that they make your spells stronger," Cedric said.

"Correct, Cedric," Eudora said. "Empowered and Maximized Casting do indeed allow you to channel more power from your core into a spell, thus making it stronger. Not all spells can be made stronger and you will have to learn through trial and error which ones will work well and which ones won't. Now, while it's certainly true that your other trainers and I could simply tell you which spells will and won't work, we believe that it's better that you learn that for yourself, as knowledge gained through practical experience is often more easily retained than knowledge gained from a lecture in a classroom setting. It's also important to note that much like Extended and Persistent Casting, Empowered and Maximized Casting must be learned in that order. It is also highly suggested that they be the last metamagic skills you attempt to master as they are the hardest to master and require the most power."

Looking over at the clock, Eudora said, "Well, it's nearly eleven now, so, I'll bring this class to an end now. You are all to report to Classroom #2 next door at 1pm this afternoon for class with Emma. She will be teaching you about the higher levels of the power scale, the basics of mage-level spells, mage specializations, and the higher arcana. Class dismissed."

-o-0-o-

Twenty minutes later, the boys were sitting in the common room on the second floor, waiting for lunch which Barin had popped in and said would be ready at noon, when Athena walked up the stairs.

"Mr. Higgs," Athena said. "Eudora told me of your concerns regarding Mr. Gavin Wood. I will consent to allowing the youngest Wood to come here so that Rose can test him for core blockage. If the test is positive, we will unbind his core and test his power level. Since he has been denied a Hogwarts education, should he fall anywhere near the mage range, we'll take him on as a fifth student, if he so wishes. Should he test negative for core blockage, he will be Obliviated and returned home."

"Thank you, Athena," Terence said as he sighed in relief. "It would really put my mind at ease to know one way or the other. I love Oliver and I couldn't stand to see him going through the pain of losing his brother. The Woods have already suffered enough when Bryce, Cameron, and Oliver's mother died and then their stepmother, Gavin's mom, died giving birth to him. Mr. Wood did remarry eventually, of course, but I rather think they've had enough loss for one lifetime."

Athena nodded and said, "You know, Mr. Higgs, I was unaware of the fact that you were romantically involved with anyone."

"Oliver and I have been together for three years now," Terence said.

"It's a serious relationship then?" Athena asked.

"Yes, Athena, it is. We've talked about getting married. We know it wouldn't be legal in most of the country, but Lord Ollivander legalized it on his lands, so, I guess we'll have to move somewhere on his lands." At this, Terence couldn't help but scowl, as he added, "Of course, I suppose now it would actually be my double that Oliver marries. Can't say as I particularly care for the thought of him being with anyone other than me, even if it is my magical extension."

Athena sighed. "In that case, I will bring Oliver here in addition to his brother. We will test Oliver's power level and possibly train him as well. There is precedence for it. Many mage trainers like taking significant others of their students for training, if it's possible. It has been known in the past to cause rifts in even the strongest of relationships when one partner finishes mage training and comes back more powerful and skilled then they were when they left. Not only does that often leave the non-mage partner jealous of that power, but also feeling betrayed since they realize that they've been with a copy for the last few years and not the real person. Some people simply cannot deal with that. My goal in taking on students is to pass on my knowledge, not break up happy relationships."

"And if Oliver isn't strong enough to be trained?" Cedric asked.

"I shall refrain from Obliviating him," Athena said. "Even if he isn't strong enough for training, I will allow him to live here, if he so chooses." Fixing Terence with a serious look, she said, "You're both adults, after all, so I see nothing wrong with allowing you to share a bedroom. So long as you remember to use Silencing Charms, I don't care what you two do in the privacy of that room. I would, however, ask that you refrain from doing anything more than kissing or hugging in the public areas of the house."

Terence blushed slightly and said, "Of course, Athena. I can guarantee you we'll keep the more intimate activity confined to my bedroom. Thank you, Athena."

Shaking her head, Athena smiled and said, "Don't mention it, Mr. Higgs. You're not the first student I've taken on who had a lover and I'm sure you won't be the last. I've learned from experience, however, just how difficult it is for students to concentrate on their training when they're used to - how would you young people put it? Getting some on a regular basis?" Terence's blush deepened at this as he had never been one to enjoy talking about his sex life, especially around someone who was old enough to be his grandmother.

Looking around at the others, Athena said, "Now, please understand that this does not mean that all of you are allowed to bring others here to help you with your overactive teenage hormones. I'm allowing it for Mr. Higgs because he's an adult in a serious relationship that pre-existed his entering training. I am not in the habit of making such concessions for relationships that start after you begin training, so, I'd remember that if I were you. Now, I'm going to go and get started on the arrangements. If all goes well, the two Wood brothers will be here by dinner time."

With that, Athena turned on her heel and left the room. Silence filled the room for a moment before James, who had been watching quietly from his frame, said, "Terence, you're as red as my wife's hair."

"Oh leave him alone, James," Lily said. "You know perfectly well that if it was your sex life that was being talked about, you'd be just as red as Terence right now. And don't bother arguing with me."

James smiled, "I'm a great many things, Lily. Devastatingly handsome, for example. But stupid I'm not."

Looking over at Harry, Lily said, "Being dead has done nothing to quell his arrogance."

Harry grinned. On one hand, it hurt that his parents were dead, but on the other hand, he was glad to have them in whatever form he could get them. He'd always wondered what they were like when they were alive. Yes, he'd heard about them from people that had known them, but actually getting to know them himself, even if it was just their portrait, was nice.

Recovering from his embarrassment, Terence shook his head and then said, "Just to warn you all, so you're not shocked when you see him: Gavin strongly resembles Oliver."

"Well, they are brothers, I'd expect them to look similar," Roger commented.

Shaking his head, Terence said, "No, Roger, it's more than that. If you met Oliver and his three brothers on the street for the first time, you'd think it was Oliver and Gavin that are twins, not Bryce and Cameron."

"Bryce and Cameron are twins though right?" Cedric asked. He'd met Cameron Wood briefly at one of the noble social gatherings, since Cameron was Callum McKinnon's seneschal, but he'd never met Bryce that he could remember.

"Yes, they're twins," Terence confirmed, "but they're fraternal twins. There's a resemblance but they're not identical. The same cannot be said for Oliver and Gavin. It's strange because they're only half brothers but Gavin looks like a younger Oliver. There's a year and a half age difference between them, but if you didn't know that, you'd almost swear they were identical twins."

"So does Gavin play Quidditch?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, he does," Terence answered. "He's a chaser. Unlike his brother, however, he isn't obsessed with the game. He enjoys playing it, but it doesn't dominate his life the way it does with Will. As bad as this may sound, I sometimes find myself jealous of Oliver's broom." Terence realized, of course, the second that the words were out of his mouth that he shouldn't have said that.

Raising an eyebrow, Roger grinned and said, "You trying to say that Oliver rides his broom more than he rides you, Liam?"

Terence groaned, as Harry, Lily, and James snickered, and Cedric said, "You walked right into that one, mate."

"I know," Terence said. "I'm just surprised it's the Ravenclaw study boy that has a dirty mind." Grinning, he looked at Cedric and said, "I'd expect it from a Hufflepuff, but..."

"Hey!" Cedric exclaimed. "I resent that remark!"

Roger, meanwhile, had a big grin on his face, as he said, "Ravenclaws don't just study books, you know. We're all about learning and wisdom. We make knowledge it all its forms fun - especially carnal knowledge."

"You're not kidding are you?" Harry asked.

Shaking his head, Roger said, "Nope. Carnal knowledge is actually our specialty." Looking around at the others, at this, however, he added, "Just don't be expecting me to share any of that knowledge with any of you. First of all, the techniques are a secret. All Ravenclaws are sworn to absolute secrecy. Besides that, I'm straight, so none of you do a thing for me."

"Well, I'm gay, obviously," Terence said. "But, I'm totally committed to Oliver, so I guess I'll just have to be content with what I have. Thankfully, Will is no slouch in that department and all of his various Quidditch strategies make for some interesting bedroom scenarios, if you catch my meaning."

While he couldn't help but blush when talking about anything even remotely related to his sex life around older people like Athena, he didn't have that problem with people who were around his own age due to the time he'd spent talking about it with his dorm mates. Yes, Lily and James Potter's portrait was listening, but they weren't that much older than Terence when they died, so he didn't count them as older people.

Harry groaned at this. "Hello, Liam, I was one of his teammates whose familiar with his strategies. I so don't want to hear this." Despite his words, he couldn't help but think of just how some of Oliver's strategies might translate to the bedroom. He was fourteen, after all. Sex was always on his mind, but he did his best not to think about it, since he obviously wasn't getting any. Well, unless you counted his hand. 'Talk about pathetic,' Harry thought. 'Please someone say something and save me from my thoughts.'

While James had been following the conversation with a grin on his face, as watching these four reminded him of his own school days, he perked up at the mention of teammates. "Does that mean you play Quidditch, Harry?"

Turning to his father, Harry was extremely grateful for the interruption to his decidedly dirty thoughts he knew would lead to nothing good. Nodding, he said, "Yes, Dad. I've been Gryffindor's seeker since my first year."

"First years never make the house teams," Lily said with a proud smile. "You must be a very good player, Harry."

James nodded in agreement and asked, "What's your record?"

"I've caught the snitch in every game I've ever played in," Harry said, "except for one."

Hanging his head a bit at that, Cedric said, "And you probably would have caught it in that game too if it wasn't for the Dementors and you falling off your broom."

"Dementors?" Lily asked. "What in Merlin's name were Dementors doing at Hogwarts?"

"That was this past year, Mum," Harry said. "Sirius escaped from Azkaban, so the Ministry launched a massive manhunt to find him. Since its commonly believed that he's the one who betrayed you, it was feared that he'd try to get into Hogwarts to kill me, so the Ministry insisted on having Dementors stationed at the school all year." Noticing his Mum's displeased look, he added, "Thankfully, Remus was our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor last year. He was sacked when it got out that he's a werewolf, but not before he managed to teach me the Patronus Charm."

James nodded, impressed. "That's advanced magic, Harry. Especially for a third year. Are you any good at it?"

Harry grinned as he pulled out his wand. He had a feeling that his father would get a kick out of this. "I'll let you be the judge," as he raised his wand and said, "Expecto Patronum!"

Almost immediately, the giant silver stag that Harry had nicknamed Prongs after his father's Marauder nickname leapt from his wand and not seeing any Dementors to attack, cantered over to Harry and nudged him affectionately. The mouths of his fellow students were hanging open in shock, while Lily looked extremely proud and James looked amazed.

Finding his voice, James said, "That looks just like me in my Animagus form."

Harry nodded and grinned as he said, "Yeah, I've nicknamed him Prongs."

James laughed. "Prongs, huh? So, does that mean you know about the Marauders?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Harry answered, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

"Oh sweet Merlin," Lily said. "You've revived the Marauders, Harry? That was one tradition that I'd hoped would not continue."

"Actually, no, I haven't revived them," Harry said. "Since I got it last year though, I have used the Marauder's Map to sneak around the school a bit, along with Dad's Invisibility Cloak. And the map was very useful last year because it pointed out the fact that Peter Pettigrew was in the school."

"Marauder's Map?" Cedric asked, as Harry dismissed Prongs.

James smiled. "One of our finest creations." Clearing his throat he said, "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, purveyors of aids to magical mischief makers, are proud to present the Marauder's Map."

"Basically," Lily said, as she shook her head at her husband, "it's a magical map that shows the entirety of Hogwarts castle and the grounds. It also shows the locations of everyone in the castle." And then almost grudgingly, she added, "An impressive bit of Charms work, I must admit."

"Peter Pettigrew?" Roger asked. "He's dead isn't he? Isn't that who Sirius Black was convicted of killing? Along with twelve Muggles?"

Turning to Roger, Harry said, "Sirius was never convicted - he was sent to Azkaban without a trial. He also never betrayed my parents as he wasn't their Secret Keeper."

Lily nodded at this and said, "It's true. We were going to go with Sirius, but we changed our minds at the last minute. We figured Sirius would be too obvious of a choice, since he was James' best friend and almost brother from the time that Sirius spent living with the Potters after he ran away from home."

"So, we went with Peter Pettigrew," James said. "He was always quiet and unassuming. Never drew too much attention to himself. At the time, he seemed perfect, but in retrospect, it wasn't the best choice, since he betrayed us to Voldemort."

"Why does everyone think he's dead though?" Cedric asked, confused.

"Because he's an unregistered Animagus," Harry answered. "Right before the authorities showed up, Peter cut off one of his fingers and left it behind with the bodies of the twelve Muggles that he killed during his confrontation with Sirius, who was angry with him for betraying my parents. He then turned into his Animagus form, a rat, and disappeared down a sewer drain, leaving Sirius to look guilty of the murders."

"Well, how'd he get into Hogwarts though?" Terence asked.

"With my best friend, Ron Weasley," Harry explained. "Since he was thought to be dead and he was afraid that Remus might come after him if that turned out not to be the case, he stayed in his rat form for thirteen years. Eventually, he found himself living with the Weasleys as Scabbers, first Percy's and then Ron's pet rat. However, he was running scared that year because not only was Remus in the castle, but Hermione bought a cat she named Crookshanks, which was part kneazle and could thus detect that something wasn't quite right about Scabbers."

"Sirius is actually Harry's godfather," Lily added. "Unfortunately, being in prison prevented him from raising Harry as we'd intended."

Looking thoughtful for a moment, Cedric said, "You know, Harry, you should probably petition the King to intercede on Sirius' behalf."

"Why the King?" Harry asked.

"Because Sirius is entitled to High Justice," Cedric answered. "On his death bed, Lord Arcturus Black reinstated his grandson, Sirius Black. That means Sirius is the Lord Black and is entitled to High Justice. The heads of the noble families hold the rights to justice, high, medium, and low, on their lands. So, the Lords can pass judgment for any crimes committed on their lands. Those decisions can be appealed to the Wizengamot and overturned, though that rarely happens. However, in the case of the family heads themselves, only the King can pass judgment on them, since the lords are members of the Wizengamot and can't be tried by that body as a result."

"With Peter missing we don't have any evidence," Harry said.

"Actually, Harry, that's not true," Terence said. "You have your memories, Remus' memories, and Sirius' memories, plus I'm assuming Ron's and Hermione's, as well. Memories can be magically extracted and viewed in a Pensieve, so they can be entered into evidence. If what you say is true, Sirius would probably be found innocent just based on those memories. However, if you add in the testimony of the portrait of the former Duke and Duchess of Granston, who would obviously know who their Secret Keeper was, then it's almost guaranteed that Sirius would be cleared of all charges."

"Well, that's assuming, of course, that King Edward is a fair-minded person," Roger said. "And honestly, I have no clue if he is or not. Even though he's twenty-four now, he's still letting the Minister basically run the country and he hasn't been seen in public by anyone since before he became King, twenty-two years ago. So, that makes him something of an unknown entity."

Before anyone else could say anything, however, there was a soft pop as Barin appeared and said, "Lunch is served," before popping back out.

"You boys go eat," James said. "We're worry about this later."

Nodding, Lily said, "Yes, go eat," and then in a stern voice, she added, "and try to be on time for your afternoon class."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, as he and the others headed downstairs to the kitchen.

-o-0-o-

Later that afternoon, at 12:57pm, the four students walked into Classroom #2, determined not to have a repeat of being late to class. Emma was nowhere in sight, but as the room was laid out much the same way as the other classroom, they all took their seats. Laying out their notes from the morning class, they opened the desk drawers, and found parchment and quills, so they got that out as well.

"Well, nobody can accuse us of being late," Terence said.

Cedric nodded. "Only thing I'm concerned about is that Emma isn't here yet. Eudora did say classroom #2, right?"

"Yes, she did," Emma said, as she walked into the room and made her way to the teacher's desk in the front of the room. "I just don't believe in coming in here until exactly the time class starts." Looking at the students, she added, "I'm glad to see you're all here on time and prepared. Let us begin then. Now, Eudora told me what she covered in the morning class, so I will pick up explaining the power scale at the mage range. Any practitioner of magic who is ranked at least sixteen on the scale is a mage. Now, what sets the mage range apart from those on the lower levels, is that upon becoming a mage the power in your core increases greatly. You are now powerful enough that a wand will not be able to handle all of the magic that you are now capable of using, as mages have a collection of spells which are far beyond the ability of lesser practitioners to cast."

Taking out her wand, Emma pointed it at the blank blackboard, as a stick of chalk floated up and began writing on it. Once it was finished, she said, "These are the spell schools for the mage range. Please write them down, along with their descriptions. I will then give you some examples of the spells that you will find in each school, although for some of them, the descriptions will probably make it rather self-explanatory. As the list is not very long, you have five minutes."

> Mage-Level Spell Schools:

> 1\. Arcane - various utility spells, in addition to spells that don't fit in the other schools.  
>  2\. Primal - spells enabling the use of the elements to defend allies and damage enemies.  
>  3\. Creation - spells used to cure and defend allies and damage enemies.  
>  4\. Spirit - Utility spells and spells which attack the body and magic of enemies.  
>  5\. Entropy - spells which weaken and cripple enemies.

Five minutes later, Emma said, "Now, the Arcane school. This is basically the catch-all school, which covers all spells that won't fit in one of the other four schools, while also containing various utility spells. A few examples of spells at this level are Arcane Shield, Time Spiral, Mind Blast, Invigorate, Mystical Negation, and Crushing Prison. Now," pointing her wand at the board again, the eraser floated upwards and erased the spell schools, before the chalk began writing again. "Write down these examples, as I'll be erasing them soon."

> 1\. Arcane Shield, a mage-level shielding spell, sometimes called the Dome of Protection, which is much stronger than Protego and Protego Maxima. It will block not only spells, but projectiles, such as arrows and bullets, as well. Incantation: Praesidium Tholus  
>  2\. Time Spiral, a useful spell during dueling, this spell slows down your opponent's perception of time, allowing you to move around and cast several spells before your opponent is aware of it. Incantation: Tempus Spiralis  
>  3\. Mind Blast, this spell releases a wave of telekinetic force that knocks enemies backwards and leaves them stunned for several seconds. Incantation: Mentis Discutere  
>  4\. Invigorate, a sustained spell which allows a mage to generate a field of invigorating energy which reduces ally fatigue and speeds up the regeneration rates of their magical cores, however, the mage using this spell will be unable to cast any other spells while this spell remains active, as maintaining it requires unbroken concentration. Incantation: Corrobarare  
>  5\. Mystical Negation, a sustained spell which allows a mage to generate a field of energy which dispels any dispelable magical effects created by enemy spellcasters. The mage retains the ability to cast spells while using this spell. Incantation: Negatio Agri  
>  6\. Crushing Prison, this spell traps the target in a collapsing cage of telekinetic force for ten seconds, dealing physical damage and preventing them from moving or casting spells. Incantation: Contusio Carceris

"Now, while I have provided you with the incantations for these spells," Emma said, "I strongly suggest that none of you even consider attempting to cast them. None of you are currently mage level and they are, quite frankly, beyond your abilities. If I, or any of the other trainers, catches you attempting these spells, there will be serious consequences that you will not enjoy. Do I make myself clear?"

Once everyone indicated that they understood, Emma nodded and said, "Alright then, let's move on. The next school is the Primal school, which deals with the elements of fire, earth, water, and air. As you already know, your magic resonates with one of these elements and you will find it much easier to cast spells that deal with your specific elements, while you will find it harder to cast spells in the opposing element. Fire opposes water and air opposes earth.

"This school contains a variety of spells which allow a caster to lessen the effect of the elements on themselves and their allies and also to attack their opponents. Now, when it comes to offense, this is one of the most powerful schools, containing both targeted spells that are cast on a single target and spells which affect multiple targets. Some of the more spectacular spells affecting multiple targets are often referred to as area of effect spells, as they affect a wide area of space and will harm anyone who enters the area. Now for some examples," Emma said as the board erased again before the chalk began writing by itself again.

> 1\. Fireball, the mage unleashes an exploding ball of fire which scatters and burns their opponents. Incantation: Ignis Globus  
>  2\. Firestorm, the mage calls forth a devastating shower of flames that blast down on the target area, damaging everything within. Incantation: Incendium Tempestus  
>  3\. Stonefist, the mage creates a fist-shaped stone and hurls it at an enemy, basically allowing them to punch them from a distance. This spell can kill if the target has been frozen solid, as it may cause the target to shatter. Incantation: Saxum Pugnus  
>  4\. Earthquake, the mage disrupts the earth, causing a violent quake that knocks everyone in the area to the ground. Incantation: Concussionis  
>  5\. Deep Freeze, the mage summons forth a cone of cold and ice, harming anyone in its path, with the added possibility of freezing them solid. Incantation: Conglaciatus  
>  6\. Blizzard, the mage calls forth a massive storm of ice and snow, which deals continuous cold damage, while also making it harder to see and has the potential of freezing targets solid. Incantation: Tempestus Nix  
>  7\. Chain Lightning, the mage shoots a bolt of lightning at a single target, electrocuting them, before the lightning arcs outwards and electrocutes nearby targets. Incantation: Vinculum Fulminus  
>  8\. Tempest, the mage conjures a massive electrical storm, which sends bolts of electricity crashing to the ground, electrocuting any target they hit. Incantation: Fulminus Tempestus

"Obviously, these are all offensive spells," Emma said. "When the time comes, you will also be learning the defensive side of the Primal school, but for the purpose of today's examples, I've given you two examples of spells dealing with each element. Fireball and Firestorm, obviously, deal with fire, while Stonefist and Earthquake are earth, Deep Freeze and Blizzard are water, and Chain Lightning and Tempest are the air element. There are many more spells than the ones I've listed, but this is just to give you an idea."

At this point, Roger raised his hand, prompting Emma to point at him and ask, "Yes, Mr. Davies?"

"All of those examples seem very dangerous," Roger said. "Especially in a battle situation. Is there a way to prevent these spells from harming your allies?"

"A good question, Mr. Davies," Emma said. "And the answer is yes. In my opinion, any mage who uses any damaging area of effect spell without insuring that said spell can't harm non-combatants or their allies is being highly irresponsible and should have both their wand and staff snapped and their cores blocked. Now, as to how they can insure their harmful spells don't affect their allies, a mage can place a mark on them, rather much like a tattoo or a brand, which serves to protect that person from any harmful magic cast by the person who placed it. This doesn't mean, however, that you will be covered in tattoos, as the actual mark fades from normal view within seconds of being placed and will only reveal itself if a spell to reveal magical effects is cast. Also, only the mage who placed the mark is capable of removing their mark, so it can't be dispelled in the heat of battle by opponents."

Raising his hand and waiting to be called on, Harry then asked, "Isn't that like the Dark Mark?"

"There is a certain similarity," Emma answered, "but no, this type of mark is not like the Dark Mark in that it doesn't connect people who a mage marks in any way. It doesn't allow for communication, or summoning of marked individuals, or any other purpose with the sole exception of making the marked person immune from any harmful magic cast by the mage who placed the mark. Now are there anymore questions?"

When nobody raised their hands, Emma said, "Alright then, moving on to the Creation school. Most mage-level healing spells are contained in this school, as well as several defensive spells. There are also spells in this school which can be used to harm opponents. Now some examples," Emma said as the board erased itself again, before the Primal examples were replaced with new ones.

> 1\. Heal, the mage imbues the target with restorative energy, staunching bleeding, knitting torn flesh and mending broken bones. Incantation: Curatus  
>  2\. Haste, the mage imbues the target with speed, allowing them to move and attack much faster than they normally could. Incantation: Acceleratus  
>  3\. Glyph of Paralysis, the mage magically creates a glyph on the ground which paralyzes the first target to cross it for twenty seconds, rendering them unable to move or take any action. Incantation: Enervare  
>  4\. Glyph of Repulsion, the mage magically creates a glyph which repels opponents with a strong wave of telekinetic force. This spell is most often cast on the ground beneath the mage's feet, thus repelling anyone who gets too close to them. Incantation: Repulsus  
>  5\. Grease, the mage conjures a grease slick, slowing down anyone walking through it, while also making it possible they'll slip and fall. If set on fire, the grease burns intensely for a short time and will burn anyone in the area. Incantation: Adipis  
>  6\. Stinging Swarm, the mage conjures a swarm of stinging insects which descend on a single target, biting them until the person loses consciousness. Incantation: Aculeatus Examinis

Giving her students a few minutes to copy down the examples, from the board, Emma rounded the desk and took her seat, watching them like a hawk. Once they'd put all their quills down, she said, "Moving on, the next school is Spirit. In this school you will find a few defensive spells, in addition to spells which attack your enemies' body or magic. Here are some examples."

> 1\. Spell Shield, this creates a shield around the target which provides protection from hostile spells, absorbing 25% of the power of every spell that hits it to recharge the shield, while rebounding the rest back at the caster of the hostile spell. Incantation: Incantamenti Armum  
>  2\. Transmutation, this spell dispels any negative effects on the target from hostile magic and converts the power from any dispelled effects into healing energy which will heal the target. This spell's healing effect is not as powerful as the healing spells in the Creation school, but it's still useful as it dispels harmful effects and provides some healing, which during an intense battle, can mean the difference between life and death. Incantation: Transmutationis  
>  3\. Magic Drain, the mage creates a parasitic bond with an enemy spellcaster, which drains their magical core to recharge the caster's. This spell lasts for a minute or until it's dispelled. Incantation: Haustus Magicum  
>  4\. Magic Clash, the mage temporarily sacrifices their own ability to cast spells in order to block the magical core of an opponent. The caster will be unable to cast spells for about thirty seconds, while the target will be rendered unable to cast spells for roughly three minutes. The block on the target's core cannot be dispelled. Incantation: Magicum Conflictus  
>  5\. Power Syphon, this spell draws in energy from nearby unconscious or dead enemies to recharge the caster's magical core and heal minor damage. Incantation: Potestas Siponis  
>  6\. Walking Bomb, this spell magically injects the target with a corrosive poison that causes continual damage for ten seconds. If the target dies while this spell is active, their body will explode and damage all nearby targets. Incantation: Incessus Pryobolus

"Okay, can I just say that last one is gross?" Terence asked, as he looked up after he finished writing down the list of examples. Roger, Harry, and Cedric nodded their heads in complete agreement.

"You just did, Mr. Higgs," Emma pointed out, choosing to ignore the fact that he had not raised his hand. "Although, honestly, I quite agree with you. It's not a spell that I or your other trainers have ever used personally, but I do know a few mages who have. There will be many spells that we teach you over the course of your training that you will probably never use, but it's best to know about them, even if you don't use them. That is perhaps one of the biggest problems with education at Hogwarts is that while they do teach you Defense Against the Dark Arts, I can tell you right now that there are plenty of spells taught at schools like Durmstrang that teach the Dark Arts that you're never taught how to defend yourself against as part of the Hogwarts curriculum.

"Now, sometimes this is because no defensive measure exists to counter the spell. But, more often than not, the reason it's not covered is because you can't cast the counterspell without knowledge of how to cast the spell being countered. In all of the cases where that's true, the Hogwarts curriculum completely ignores those spells, so that they're not teaching you the Dark Arts. At which point, you had just better pray that you don't run into anybody who knows how to cast any of these spells that you're not taught how to defend yourself against."

After taking a sip of water, Emma added, "While we're on the subject of the Dark Arts, I feel the need to impress upon all of you the falsehood of the philosophy that's taught at Hogwarts pertaining to the Dark Arts. You're basically taught that using the Dark Arts makes you evil and that is simply not true. Like all magic, your intent when you cast a spell is extremely important. Your choice of spells is only evil if you intend to use them for an evil purpose and even spells that are taught at Hogwarts and considered to be part of the so called Light Arts can be used for evil purposes. For example, you're taught the Stunning Spell at Hogwarts, however, if you cast that spell with the intention of making it so that your target can't fight back while you rape them, then that cannot under any circumstances be considered a good thing. I think you'll all agree that would definitely be an act of evil. Now, I'm not saying that all spells classified as Dark Arts aren't bad, as some of them most certainly are. The Unforgivable Curses, for example, are bad no matter how you try to justify their use. However, for other spells, I would strongly suggest that you apply some common sense and decide for yourselves whether any spell that is classified as dark is really a bad spell."

Cedric raised his hand at this, prompting Emma to say, "Yes Mr. Diggory?"

"How can one use the Dark Arts for good?" Cedric asked. "That seems to be a contradiction of terms. I mean, don't they all cause pain, suffering, and death?"

"No, they don't," Emma answered. "There are some spells that are actually quite useful that are classified as dark not because of their use or what they do, but because the creator of the spell gave them a rather unfortunate name. For example, two wizard-level spells immediately come to mind: Ghoul's Touch and Death Shield. If you attended Durmstrang, you'd already know both spells, as they're taught in the second and third year Dark Arts classes. What do they do? Well, read their descriptions and judge for yourselves whether they're actually bad or not."

Emma waved her wand at this causing the Spirit spells to erase and two new spells to appear on the blackboard.

> 1\. Ghoul's Touch, this spell makes the caster's hand glow with an unearthly radiance. Anyone they touch with this hand is then paralyzed for ten to twenty minutes, depending on the caster's strength. While paralyzed, the victim emits a noxious gas which slows down the reaction times of anyone within five feet who means to harm the caster and breathes in the gas. Incantation: Umbra Contingo  
>  2\. Death Shield, like the standard Shielding Charm, Protego, this spell will erect a shield against hostile magic. However, this shield also grants physical protection as it forces anyone who harms you to share your pain. If you punch someone in the gut whose protected by this spell, they'll feel only half the pain, while you're feel the other half. So, unless you enjoy pain, you're not likely to beat a person protected by this spell to a bloody pulp, as you'll be beating yourself to a bloody pulp in the process. Incantation: Protego Partiri

Giving her four students a moment to read the spells, which she noted each of them decided to write down after a few moments, Emma asked, "So, any thoughts on those examples? Feel free to comment without raising your hands."

After a moment, Roger said, "Those don't actually seem all that bad."

Terence nodded and said, "I think I'd have to agree with your assessment, Emma. The creator of those spells gave them unfortunate names, but they really don't sound that bad. They're really just protecting the caster from harm."

"That's true," Cedric said. "And while the second spell does cause pain, it's not really the caster of the spell that's causing the pain. Well, unless they asked the other person to beat them up and I don't know many people who would do that."

"And do you have any thoughts on these spells, Mr. Potter?" Emma asked.

"I'd have to agree too," Harry answered. "They were badly named, but I can't say that their effect is bad. They're certainly nothing like the Unforgiveables."

"Well, then, let's move on to the final mage spell school," Emma said. "Finally, we have the Entropy school. Now this school of magic allows you to weaken your enemies in various ways which will give you the upper hand in any confrontation. Here are some examples."

> 1\. Vulnerability Hex, this spell can be used to counter elemental protection spells, as it lowers the fire, water, air, and earth resistances of a single target. Incantation: Forabilis  
>  2\. Affliction Hex, this spell is the same as the Vulnerability Hex, except that the vulnerability extends to all enemies within five feet of the target. Incantation: Forabilis Lues  
>  3\. Misdirection Hex, this spell causes the target to suffer from a frustrating level of inaccuracy for thirty seconds, during which none of their attacks, magical or otherwise, will hit their intended targets. Incantation: Indiligentia  
>  4\. Weakness, this spell allows the caster to sap a single target of energy, making them tired and fatigued. Incantation: Debilitatus  
>  5\. Waking Nightmare, this spell traps all enemies within five feet of the caster in a waking nightmare for a minute or until dispelled, forcing them to cower in fear, unable to move or attack. Incantation: Somnia Tumultuosa  
>  6\. Leeching Cloud, the caster conjures a cloud of noxious gas which slowly leeches the magical core of any enemy who enters it. Incantation: Hirudinis Nubis

"Well, you now have examples of the spells you'll find in each of the mage spell schools," Emma said. "There's quite a few more that I didn't cover, but you'll learn those in time. Now, following the mage range on the power scale, is the magister range. Again, your core power increases. As I'm sure you're wondering, I'm an Archmagister, as is Athena. Rose is a Master Magister and Eudora is a Grand Magister. As far as we know, we are among the most powerful mages currently living in the world, as there haven't been any documented cases of anyone reaching the magus range on the scale in nearly a hundred and fifty years. And there hasn't been a documented case of anyone reaching the ultimate pinnacle of magical power and ability, the Archmagus level, in over a thousand years. Can anyone guess who the last Archmagus was?"

"Merlin?" Roger asked once Emma had called on him.

"Correct, Roger. There's a reason that Merlin Emrys is often called the greatest wizard who ever lived and why one of our country's highest honors is named after him. He was the last known Archmagus, which made him basically the most powerful practitioner of magic who ever lived. People who reach the magus level are so powerful that they can actually see magic, as if it was a tangible thing. Now you may be thinking that all of you have seen magic, as almost all spells create some type of visual effect when they're cast. But when I say that a magus can see magic, what I mean is that they are so in tune with magical energies that they can see the auras produced by magical people and objects."

Picking up a paperweight from her desk, Emma said, "So, for example, I could place ten random charms on this paperweight. Unless you saw which charms I placed on it, all of you would need to cast a spell, Specialis Revelio for example, in order to learn exactly which charms were placed on it. A magus, however, could simply look at it for a few moments and they'd know which spells were cast on it. The same applies for people. Anyone in the Magister or lower range would have to cast a spell to determine a person's power level, but a person in the Magus range can simply look at the person and know how powerful they are.

"Now, a Magus can't see through magical effects, say if a person is wearing Glamour Charms, the Magus will know that they're in use but they won't be able to see what's under them. Of course, there are a few documented instances when Merlin was said to be able to see through magical effects. If he could, then it can be assumed that the ability is limited to Archmagi, which is the plural version of Archmagus. For the other two mage levels, you simply add an 's' to denote the plural - Mages and Magisters - but for the Magus level, it becomes Magi, rather than Maguses."

At this point, Emma glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "I know I said I'd cover the higher arcana and mage specializations today, but looking at the time, I think it would be best to save that for another day. It's nearly 3:00PM now and as dinner will be served at 5:00PM, I imagine Athena will be arriving here with Oliver and Gavin Wood soon, so I will allow you all to go and freshen up for dinner. You will all be notified of when your next class will be held. Class dismissed."

-o-0-o-

Nearly an hour later, Harry stood in the kitchen of Forest Cottage with his fellow trainees, as they were introduced to Oliver and Gavin Wood. All of them already knew Oliver, of course, but all but Terence had never met Gavin before today. Even with Terence's warning about Gavin's resemblance to Oliver, Harry was still taken aback by just how much the two of them looked alike. You could tell that Oliver was about a year older, but even then telling them apart was difficult. Well, at least it was for the trainers and Harry, Roger, and Cedric. Having dated Oliver for three years now, Terence had no problem telling the brothers apart.

When Athena had gone to collect Oliver and Gavin, she hadn't told them or their parents anything about mage training. She'd simply disguised herself as Katherine Higgs and said she was there to pick them up for an outing with Terence. Since it was a rather common occurrence for the three of them to get together to have some fun, neither of them had questioned it all that much. It was perhaps slightly odd that Katherine Higgs would come to get them instead of Terence himself, but as they'd both been feeling rather bored, they chose not to think about that and go have some fun. Needless to say they were more than a little shocked when they arrived at Forest Cottage and Athena revealed that she was not in fact Katherine Higgs and explained what was really going on.

"So, you're going to train us as mages?" Gavin asked, a look of total disbelief on his face. "I can barely cast even the simplest of spells. Surely there's better candidates for such training."

"You don't want to learn to be a mage, Gavin?" Roger asked.

Shaking his head, Gavin answered, "I never said that. I'd love to learn how to be a mage. But, I'm a realistic person. I'm a hedgewizard. For many years, I hated myself because I was so weak compared to the rest of my family. I had to study and practice ten times harder to learn simple spells that they picked up as easily as breathing. It only got worse once they'd all moved on to the higher level spells that were beyond my ability. Honestly, for a long time I thought something was wrong with me and I'm ashamed to admit it now, but I did attempt suicide a few times."

"Our parents found him the first time," Oliver explained. "He'd broken into a cabinet in mum's gardening shed where she kept various fertilizer potions for her plants. Good for the plants, but toxic if ingested by a human. Gavin drank a couple of the stronger ones and was nearly dead when our parents found him. Thankfully, we had a few goats at the time, one of which dad slaughtered on the spot to get a bezoar and save Gavin's life. Bryce, Cameron, and I were away at Hogwarts when this happened and our parents didn't tell us until almost six months later when this knucklehead made another attempt."

Gavin grinned slightly at Oliver's nickname for him, and said, "It was a dark time in my life. I try not to think about it much, but after the third attempt, my parents got me a therapist who helped me work through my issues. Now I look back on it and I can't believe that I even considered it. It seemed like a good idea the three times I tried, but now I know that it would have been the absolute worst thing that I could possibly have done. In time, I accepted the fact that I was what I was and that it didn't make me less of a person, as I had thought. I'd still love to be able to do magic on the level that all of you can do it, but I accepted awhile ago that wasn't going to happen."

"Well, Mr. Wood," Athena said, "that is not necessarily true. Now it really isn't my wish to get your hopes up and then dash them, but there is a chance you might be able to cast more powerful spells, after all. It's rare, so many healers don't even check for it, but sometimes people are born hedgewizards or hedgewitches because something went wrong while they were in the womb and their magical cores got blocked. The reason that most healers don't check for this is because when that does happen, the blocks usually always dissipate on their own. However, there are documented cases in which the blocks did not dissipate."

Looking at Gavin, Eudora said, "We wish to perform a test on you, Gavin. The test will tell us if you're just a regular hedgewizard or a more powerful wizard with a blocked core. Now, it's totally up to you whether or not you want this test, we're not going to force you to let us perform the test. But, you should know that if your core is blocked, there's a very real possibility that you'll die on your next birthday."

"What?" Oliver asked, his face getting serious, as he cast a concerned look at his younger brother and then a questioning one at Eudora. "What are you talking about?"

"In the event that a core blockage doesn't dissipate by the time of a person's seventeenth year," Athena said, "it's often fatal. As you've probably been told, Mr. Wood, as a hedgewizard, you are not expected to undergo a magical inheritance. But, if your core is blocked, you will have an inheritance and depending on how much power is held behind the blockage, combined with the increase gained in an inheritance, your core could explode with enough force that it would kill you. Like if you were to break an Unbreakable Vow."

Looking over at Oliver, Terence said, "As soon as I found out about this, I asked if anything could be done. I couldn't live with myself if Gavin died on his birthday because of this and I didn't do anything." Grinning at Gavin, he added, "I've grown rather fond of the little runt over the last three years."

"Runt?" Gavin asked. "Who are you calling a runt, Liam?"

"You, runt," Terence said with a grin, as he reached over and messed up Gavin's hair.

"Ah, stop it!" Gavin said with a grin as he swatted Terence's hand away. After a moment, he looked over at the trainers and asked, "And if I don't have a core blockage?"

"Well, as mage training is a secret until it's finished," Athena said, "I'm afraid we'll have to Obliviate you and send you back home." Then turning to Oliver, she added, "As for you, Mr. Wood, if you consent, we'll also be testing your power level to determine if you're powerful enough for mage training. If you are, we'll be creating a double for you to live your life while you remain here for training. And if not, we will refrain from creating a double for you, but you will be allowed to move in here and come and go as you please in order that you can be with your real boyfriend and not his double."

"And just so you know, Mr. Wood," Emma said, "I did at one time play Quidditch professionally. I'm not giving you anymore details then that, but I will say that there is a regulation Quidditch pitch that meets all professional standards on the property. So, even if you do end up staying here for training, you'll still be able to play Quidditch. Perhaps not with full teams, but we should be able to round up enough people to cover each position for two teams."

"I have to admit, I'm intrigued by the idea of becoming a mage," Oliver said. "If it's even possible, that is. And I definitely want to know that Gavin is in no danger of kicking it on his next birthday." Turning to look at his brother, "As I said the last time you attempted to kill yourself, Gav, if you die on me I swear I will find a way to bring you back just so that I can tan your hide. Hedgewizard or not, I love you, you knucklehead."

Gavin smiled and gave Oliver a one-armed hug, as he said, "Yeah, yeah, I love you too, lunkhead." Turning to the trainers, he added, "Let's do this test then. I want to know myself."

Nodding, Rose said, "I've setup everything we'll need in the infirmary. If you'll just follow me, we'll get started."

Gavin and Oliver nodded, as the entire group headed down to the infirmary for the testing. Twenty minutes later, the test was finished. Walking over to Gavin, Rose said, "Well, Mr. Wood, I have the test results."

"So, what are they?" Gavin asked. "Am I a hedgewizard or a walking bomb?"

"Well, Mr. Wood," Rose answered, "your core is..."

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah, I know, you all hate me now, but I felt the need to toss in a cliffhanger. I will try to get the next chapter written and out asap. What do you think Gavin's test results will or should be? What about Oliver? Is he strong enough to be a mage? Anything else you'd like to see in the next chapter? Find out the answers to those questions and more, in Chapter Four of Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins.
> 
> Much like the previous chapter, I hadn't intended on posting this chapter this quickly, because this means I'm out of finished chapters and the waits between chapters will likely increase. My plan was to space out the finished chapters to give myself time to write more. But since I'm asking for opinions on how the next chapter should play out, it didn't seem right to write the next chapter before getting those opinions.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex
> 
> Author's Note: I do apologize for the previous chapter. The classroom scenes got more than a little out of control and as such I went back and edited the chapter to remove the sections pertaining to the higher arcana and mage specializations. They'll be back at some point in the future, probably rewritten and split between two separate chapters to keep things from getting too crazy again. I apologize if this means you end up reading the material twice. I did consider cutting the entire afternoon class, but after some thought I decided to just shorten it instead. There is a point in a future chapter where events will occur that may require some potentially lengthy explanation, but I will try to keep it from reaching the same level of insanity that the original version of chapter 3 reached.

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Four

-o-0-o-

Twenty minutes later, the test was finished. Walking over to Gavin, Rose said, "Mr. Wood, I have the test results."

"So, what are they?" Gavin asked. "Am I a hedgewizard or a walking bomb?"

"Well, Mr. Wood," Rose answered, "your core is blocked. So, at the moment, you are as you put it a walking bomb, however, we will begin unbinding your core shortly. There is, however, one issue that came up during your test. Quite frankly, I'm shocked your family healer hasn't picked up on this before now."

"What's that?" Gavin asked, genuinely curious.

"Terence said that you and Oliver are half-brothers?" Rose asked.

Oliver nodded at this. "That's right. We have the same father, but not the same mother. Bryce, Cameron's and my mother died twelve days after I was born. Faced with having to care for two five year olds and a newborn, our father remarried pretty quickly and then Gavin was born roughly a year and six months after me. Of course, Gavin's mother then died in childbirth and our father thought maybe the gods were punishing him for marrying again so quickly, so he waited several years before he remarried again and instead just hired a nanny to care for us while he was at work."

"Well, as I said, I don't know how your family healer missed this," Rose said, "because when I compared your test results side by side, it became blatantly obvious. Oliver, Gavin, you two are not half-brothers, you're identical twins."

"What?" Gavin asked. "How is that even possible? I mean, I know we look freakishly similar but, we can't be identical twins. We have different mothers for Merlin's sake."

"Actually, according to the test results you don't," Rose said. "That's why it took me twenty minutes to analyze the results. Usually that only takes five minutes at most, but I rechecked the results three times and they came back the same each time. You two are twins. Everything about the two of you is completely identical with the exception of three things."

"And what are those three things?" Terence asked, from where he was standing next to Oliver.

"Their age for one," Rose said. "Oliver is 18 to be 19 in July of next year, while Gavin is 16 to be 17 in January of next year. Another difference is that Oliver's core is not blocked, where Gavin's is. But, the most substantial difference is the power of your cores." At the questioning looks from everyone in the room, Rose elaborated. "Oliver, you're level fifteen on the power scale, that's an Archsorcerer. I determined that you were a Sorcerer before your inheritance, Oliver, so you gained three levels when you turned seventeen. Gavin, on the other hand, who has not yet undergone his inheritance, is already a level seventeen, making him a Mage. That places him among a very, very small group of people whose base power places them in the mage range."

"Wh... what?" Gavin stuttered out. "A Mage? How?"

"I think I can answer that," Emma said, speaking for the first time. "I'm a blood mage, so I've studied the subject extensively. In my research, I came across a very old and very obscure blood ritual that was a predecessor to the power increase ritual that's used now. This one never gained much acceptance, however, as it involved tying the mother's core to the unborn child's. Essentially, it called for the mother to sacrifice herself so that the child would be more powerful. At the moment of birth, the mother's core was ripped out of her body and merged with the baby's core, killing the mother in the process. Thus, the baby would essentially be getting an inheritance increase at the moment of birth."

"What does this have to do with us supposedly being twins?" Oliver asked.

"More than you might think," Emma answered. "In the information that I managed to dig up on it, there was one instance where a woman underwent a magically assisted pregnancy as she was incapable of having children normally. With the help of some extensive magic, she did manage to get pregnant, but since she couldn't produce viable eggs and her husband was dead, they magically obtained a sample from her stepson which was used to create the baby that she carried. She died in childbirth, obviously, but the important part is that when the mage who helped her with the ritual scanned the baby to see if it had worked, he realized the baby was identical to the stepson in every way, save for three key differences."

Looking over at Oliver and Gavin, she added, "Those three differences are the same ones that Rose has identified as existing between the two of you. Different ages, the stepson's core wasn't blocked while the baby's was, and their power levels were different. In that case, the mother was a Master Witch, so a level eight on the scale. Prior to the stepson's inheritance, the baby was exactly eight levels more powerful than him."

"So, you think this older ritual was used for Oliver and Gavin?" Cedric asked.

Emma nodded. "Yes, I do. The details of the test results fit with the details of the earlier instance. Now, I don't know if Gavin's mother's pregnancy was magically assisted or if she was capable of having children, but I do know that in the original case, it was determined that the reason the baby's core was blocked was because of the magical assistance during the pregnancy. The extensive spell work necessary to allow the mother to carry a child had a reaction with the baby's developing core and bound it. Much like Gavin, the baby was born a hedgewizard. The difference is that in that case the core block dissipated all on its own within a month, instead of remaining intact for nearly seventeen years."

"If a sample from Oliver was used to make Gavin wouldn't that mean that Oliver is Gavin's father?" Harry asked.

Shaking her head, Eudora said, "No, it wouldn't. For Oliver to be considered Gavin's father, a sample would have to be taken from Oliver and combined with a sample from someone else, thus making Gavin a combination of two people. Since, Rose has identified them as being identical twins, that means that if Emma is right, the sample obtained from Oliver was not combined with a sample from anybody else. Which would mean that Gavin is essentially Oliver's clone, not his son."

"Why choose me though?" Oliver asked. "Why not use a sample from my father or Bryce or Cameron? I was less than a year old when Gavin was conceived."

"I can't answer that question with certainty without testing them," Emma answered, "although I would hypothesize that of the four of you, Oliver, you're the strongest magically. Even being less than a year old, your base power level would have been determinable and was probably the highest. That being the case you were chosen as the donor in order to make sure Gavin would be as strong as possible when he was born and the magic from his mother's core was added to his."

"Another possible reason," Eudora interjected, "is because Bryce and Cameron were five years old at the time. As such, they could talk. It was possible that Gavin's mother was afraid they'd tell your father if she tried to get a sample from one of them and then she'd have to explain why she was harvesting genetic material from a five-year-old. Much easier to get it from a baby that was less than a year old who can't talk and possibly ruin her plans."

"But why would a woman sacrifice her own life to give life to a child that isn't even hers?" Roger asked. "I mean if Gavin's mother carried Oliver's clone, then she'd have no connection to the baby at all, other than carrying it. Not to downplay that role, but, I don't see why she'd be willing to die for a kid that's not her's. Had she raised and loved the child, I could maybe see it, but she would have died the second he was born. Unless you're suicidal I would think you'd never want to give birth at that rate."

"I doubt that is an answer we will ever know," Eudora commented. "Unless she kept a diary and actually laid out her reasons for doing as she did or we manage to find the blood mage that assisted her with the ritual, there's really no way for us to know."

After a few minutes during which nobody said anything, as they all tried to digest the information they'd just learned, Rose said, "Well, Mr. Wood, if you're ready, I will begin to remove the blockage on your core. Judging by the strength of the blockage, I would suggest that everyone but myself, Gavin, and the other trainers leave the room."

Shaking his head, Oliver walked over to Gavin and wrapped an arm around him. "I'm staying."

Rose looked about ready to object, when Athena raised a hand and said, "If you wish to stay, Mr. Wood, you may. Rose, I know you know how to unblock a core from your training as a healer, but you've never actually done it have you?"

"No, I haven't," Rose admitted. "St. Mungo's put me in the Janus Thickey ward when I worked there, so, I never had much to do other than regularly checking the vitals of the long-term patients."

Recognizing the name of the ward, Cedric asked, "Isn't that the ward where the Lord and Lady Longbottom are? I heard my father talking about it with Noah once, before he was disowned."

"Yes, Mr. Diggory, that's the ward they're in," Rose replied. "I never treated them, however, as I'd left St. Mungo's and gone to work at Hogwarts before they were driven mad by the Death Eaters."

"Lord and Lady Longbottom?" Harry asked. "Are they any relation to Neville?"

"Yes, they're his parents," Athena responded.

"His parents?" Harry asked, confused. "Neville lives with his grandmother, so I always assumed his parents were dead."

"Assumptions can be a dangerous thing, Mr. Potter," Athena said. "The truth is, Lord and Lady Longbottom are still alive, however, their minds are basically gone. During the first war, they were extensively tortured under the Cruciatus Curse until their minds broke beyond repair. However, because Frank Longbottom is still breathing, he's still Lord Longbottom, along with all the titles that go with the position, such as The Duke of Aldersey. As his only son and heir, Neville goes by Marquis of Claverton, and his grandmother, in her capacity as the Dowager Duchess of Aldersey, acts as a conservator, so to speak. She takes care of all of the Longbottom family business and votes in the Wizengamot and the Hogwarts Board in her son's place."

"There are no provisions in the letters patent that govern the passage of the title in the event of mental incapacity," Cedric said. "Basically, the only way that the title can pass to the heir, is for the current holder to die. So, as long as Lord Longbottom still lives, even though he can barely move or talk, he retains the title."

"Anyway, I've assisted in a core unblocking before," Athena said. "The healer who performed it had done it several times before and was of the mind that having a family member holding the patient during the process was beneficial. Not only to give the patient moral support, but also to help protect the people doing the unbinding, as there is usually some loss of motor control. Not as dramatic as during the inheritance if you're gaining a large amount of power, but some involuntary movement, such as the patient accidentally striking the healer."

Turning to Oliver, Athena said, "So, Mr. Wood, what I'd like you to do is hop up onto the exam table and sit behind your brother, so that his back is flush against your chest."

Oliver nodded. Rose was about to offer him a stool to assist him in straddling the exam table, but Oliver's years of Quidditch conditioning made it unnecessary, as he effortlessly swung his leg up over the table and moved into position behind Gavin.

"Now, wrap your arms around him as if you were hugging him," Athena said. "You don't need to hold on too tightly for now, but if you begin to feel any resistance from his arms, tighten your grip to ensure his arms stay at his sides."

"Okay," Oliver said, as he did just that. Some men had a problem with hugging or holding other men, but Oliver had no such problems. One reason, of course, was that he was gay and thus preferred hugging and holding other men, well, one in particular. Other than that, however, the Wood family was very tight-knit to begin with, so, they had no qualms about showing one another affection. Plus, as they were closer in age, Oliver and Gavin had always been closer to each other than they were to Bryce and Cameron. They still had a good relationship with them, but they were much closer to each other, just as Bryce and Cameron were closer to each other.

Wrapping his arms around Gavin, Oliver moved so that his head was resting on his brother's shoulder and he whispered, "It's gonna be okay, Gav. I'm here for you and hey, after this, you'll be able to do all the spells you've always wanted to do."

Gavin nodded, a happy smile on his face. Even though Athena had said they would have Obliviated him if it had turned out that his core wasn't blocked, Gavin had tried not to get his hopes up too much about the possibility that his core was blocked. Yes, the idea that it could have killed him on his next birthday had certainly scared him. He may have attempted suicide on three occasions, but he'd faced his demons and now dying was the absolute last thing he wanted to do. However, a blocked core would mean that once it was unblocked, he'd be able to learn and use all of those spells that he'd always wanted to use, but never could.

"Alright, as for the rest of you, out," Eudora said, as she made a shooing motion with her hands. "We'll let you know when we're done down here."

-o-0-o-

Heading upstairs, the boys bypassed the formal parlor and headed upstairs to their more comfortable common room on the second floor. Once they had all taken seats in front of the fireplace, Roger asked, "So, I know Oliver will be sharing with Terence. Where do you think Gavin will be sleeping?"

"My room is plenty big enough," Harry commented. "Maybe they'll put him in with me."

"No, I rather doubt that," Cedric said. "They said the reason you and Liam were given your own rooms to begin with is because you're legally adults, while Roger and I are still underage."

"Not for that much longer though," Roger commented. "You'll be turning seventeen next month, Ric."

"True," Cedric said. "I don't think I'll be getting my own room though. Unless the trainers double up there's only three rooms up here."

Before anyone could comment further, there was a soft pop as Barin entered the room. He ignored the four boys, however, as he walked over to the fireplace and concentrated on the empty wall on the opposite side of the fireplace from where the door to Harry's room was. The boys all watched curiously for a moment and gasped slightly when a door appeared out of nowhere.

"Adding another door to my room?" Harry asked, when Barin was finished.

Shaking his head, Barin pointed and said, "No. Left door lead to Lord Potter's room. Right door lead to extra dormitory."

"Extra dormitory?" Terence asked, as he cocked his head in confusion. "Where, Barin?"

"Above barn," Barin answered. "Years past there be more studying to be mages. More space needed. Second floor of barn made into dormitory. New door is portal. Connects house to second floor of barn."

At this point, Barin snapped his fingers and to their amazement, right before their eyes, the common room seemed to get a bit larger, as a third partner's desk appeared, along with seating for two more people in front of the fireplace. Bowing slightly, Barin then disappeared with a pop.

"A portal?" Roger asked after a moment. "I didn't even think such a thing was possible."

"It usually isn't, Mr. Davies," Emma said, as she entered the room. Looking at Terence, she said, "Athena, Rose, and Eudora are still working on unblocking young Mr. Wood's core, however, everything is going according to plan. The blockage is very strong. They can't remove the blockage all at once, as the change in power level would likely be too much for him, but they've taken the first steps. Within about two weeks time, he should be completely unblocked. In the meantime, we'll begin giving him some remedial lessons to allow him to catch up on his education."

"I know Gavin studied the theory behind the more advanced work," Terence said. "So, I'd imagine that, at least, should make it a little easier for him."

Emma nodded. "Yes, that it will. Anyway, as to the portal - it is highly advanced mage-level magic. If you look closely around the door frame, you'll see several runes inscribed. Eudora is the one who created this passage about fifteen years ago when we had a larger than normal group of students and needed extra space. At that time, we had two students in each of the rooms here, plus two in each of the six rooms above the barn. We wanted the students housed in the barn to have easy access to the common room, however, in addition to making it so that they could enter the house in winter without having to go outside, so the portal was created."

At this, Emma walked over to the door and opened it, allowing the four boys to see that behind the door was a shimmering field of blue light. Turning back towards the room's occupants, she added, "One might also call this a causeway, as stepping through this door does not instantly transport you to the barn. You'll actually be walking through a magically created tunnel. Follow me and I'll show you what I mean."

As they were all curious, Harry, Cedric, Roger, and Terence all stood up and followed Emma through the shimmering field of light. Harry was slightly apprehensive, as he didn't particularly care for Floo travel and was worried this might be similar to that, but he needn't have worried. Upon stepping through the field, Harry and the others felt a light, refreshingly cool breeze, but nothing more. On the other side of the door they all couldn't help but be awed by the fact that it appeared as though they were standing amongst the clouds, which reached roughly two feet above the ground. The walls and ceiling of the tunnel were nearly translucent. You could see a shimmering field of magic, but unlike the one they'd passed through to get here, you could see through it to see the yard between the cottage and the barn.

"The floor is also translucent," Emma explained, "so that's the purpose of the cloud cover, in case anyone using the passage has a problem with heights. We're only about ten feet off the ground, but for some that would be more than enough to make them panic if they could see that fact."

Walking down the magical corridor to the shimmering field of magic at the opposite end, Emma raised a hand and said, "Recludo," before turning to her students and saying, "You'll want to remember that incantation. While the magic to create the portal itself is mage-level, Recludo isn't - it's the wizard-level Opening Charm. As there are doors on each side of the portal which are charmed to close after you step through it, you need to use it before leaving this passageway - unless of course the thought of walking into a closed door is appealing to you. I warn you, however, that your trainers and I will not be sympathetic about fixing your noses if you do so. If you hurt your nose by walking into a closed door, you have nobody to blame but yourself. True, in this case, you can't actually see the door as long as you're on this side of it, but that's beside the point."

Leading the group through the portal and into the barn, Emma said, "As I mentioned, there's an additional six bedrooms over here. Unlike the rooms in the main house, however, these don't have private bathrooms. Over here there's only three bathrooms shared between the six bedrooms. The younger Mr. Wood will be taking one of them and, Mr. Diggory or Mr. Davies, if one of you wishes it, you may move over here as well. We'd originally opted to place you together because we don't usually use these extra rooms unless at least two of them will be used."

"Athena said that Oliver and I could share a room," Terence said. "So, how about Oliver and I move into one of the rooms over here and then Cedric or Roger can have the room I'm currently using? It might make Gavin more comfortable, having two people he knows and trusts just on the other side of the wall. Cedric and Roger are nice, but Gavin doesn't really know them."

Emma was silent for a moment, a contemplative look on her face, before she nodded and said, "Yes, that sounds like a workable solution to me. I'll talk to Athena and the others. I don't foresee any problems with arranging the room assignments that way, however, so, Mr. Davies, Mr. Diggory, either way it looks like you'll both have your own rooms soon."

"Cool," Roger said. "I don't mind sharing with Cedric. I mean, I have four roommates at Hogwarts, so I'm used to sharing, but I do enjoy the summers when I have my own room back home."

"Same here," Cedric agreed.

"Well, then, let's get back over to the house," Emma said, as she led the group back through the causeway. "The others are probably done with as much of Gavin's unbinding as we can do today and dinner should be ready shortly."

-o-0-o-

The next morning, Harry, Cedric, and the others, which now included Gavin and Oliver, came downstairs for breakfast to find Robert Higgs sitting at the table with Eudora.

"Hey Dad," Terence said with a smile.

"Good morning, Liam," Robert said, returning the smile. He knew all too well just how much his son hated being called Terry, so, even though he was relatively certain his son wouldn't hex his own father's bits off, he'd decided not to chance it. Turning to Harry, Robert said, "Lord Potter, I found the bank statements you wanted and have brought you the most recent to peruse at your leisure. I've also contacted Horace Slughorn and while he was initially reluctant to take up the Potions post, once I dropped your name, he rather quickly changed his mind, so if the Board approves, he's willing to take the job, so long as he can have Professor Merrythought's old office. I've got nothing to report on a replacement for Binns, however."

"Thank you, Robert," Harry said with a smile, as he took the sealed Gringotts' envelope. "I'll look at this after my morning class."

Robert nodded, as he took a sip of his coffee, before he said, "Oh and I almost forgot. Tilly reports that the harvesting of the basilisk is underway. She says it will take a few days, as there was apparently many more components there then she expected. She also added that there were several rooms behind the statue, including what was presumably the basilisk's lair, in addition to a suite of rooms which were presumably used by Slytherin, among them a large library full of very old books. She's assigned a pair of elves to catalog them for you."

"A basilisk?" Gavin asked, curious, since he and Oliver obviously hadn't been in class when Harry explained about the basilisk to the others.

"Yes, a basilisk," Terence said with a grin. "Harry here slew a basilisk in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts when he was twelve."

"That wasn't just a wild rumor?" Oliver asked, clearly shocked.

"No, it wasn't a rumor," Harry answered. "However, most of the ways that I supposedly did it were nothing but wild and ridiculous rumors. For example, I did not strangle it to death with my bare hands while starring it directly in the eyes and somehow avoiding instant death. The bloody thing was over thirty feet long and at least five feet around. My hands wouldn't fit around something that big. Truth is I stabbed Godric Gryffindor's sword through the roof of its mouth and almost died in the process because I got one of its fangs in my forearm."

"Basilisk poison is deadly," Gavin said. "How'd you survive?"

"Professor Dumbledore's familiar," Cedric said. "Fawkes, a phoenix."

Harry nodded. "Their tears have healing powers. And before you ask, Fawkes is the one that brought me the sword, which is now on display in Dumbledore's office."

"A most impressive feat, Lord Potter," Robert said.

"Thanks," Harry said. "Anyway, Robert, I have something else for you to do."

"Yes, sir?" Robert asked. "I'm always pleased to be of service."

"I need you to contact His Majesty the King," Harry said.

"The King, sir?" Robert asked. "For what purpose?"

"I wish to setup a meeting with him at his earliest convenience," Harry answered. "I'm petitioning him for a pardon for my godfather, the Lord Sirius Black. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't kill Peter Pettigrew and it was Peter who killed those Muggles. He also didn't betray my parents, as Peter was their Secret Keeper, a fact which my parent's portrait will substantiate."

"Forgive me, but do you mean Peter Pettigrew is still alive?" Robert asked.

"Yes, Robert, he is," Harry confirmed. "As recently as my last school year. Sadly he escaped, but not before he admitted to everything, including betraying my parents to Voldemort. I'm told my memory of that event, along with the memories of my friends Ron, Hermione, our former Defense teacher Remus Lupin, and Sirius himself can be entered into evidence to prove his innocence."

Nodding, Robert said, "Yes, yes, that's true. Of course, Lord Potter, I will contact the palace and inform His Majesty of your request. I will let you know as soon as I hear something."

"Well, now, if you're done discussing business," Eudora said, "may I suggest that you all eat something? Terence, Cedric, Roger, Harry, you need to report to Classroom #1 in half-an-hour for your next lesson, with Rose. Oliver, you will report to Classroom #2 at the same time, where Emma and I will go over with you what the others have already learned to catch you up with them."

Oliver and the others nodded, as Gavin asked, "What about me, Eudora?"

"You will report to Athena's study," Eudora answered. "Just down the hallway there," she said, pointing towards the archway on the diagonal wall near the entrance to the library. "It's the first door on the right. She'll be testing you on various subjects to determine how much remedial training you will require and begin instructing you on some of the more advanced spells that you previously couldn't do."

"You going to be okay, Gav?" Oliver asked.

Gavin scowled at his brother and said, "Will, I'm going to be seventeen in a few months. I'm not a baby, so don't treat me like one. I'll be fine."

Once everyone was finished eating and Robert had left, Eudora stood and went over to the counter, grabbing a potion vial and saying, "Rose told me to give this to you after you ate, Harry. It's the first of the nutritional potions that she told you she'd brew."

"Great," Harry said as he accepted the vial. If it hadn't already been clear from his tone that he wasn't looking forward to drinking it, it would have been by the way he just stared at it silently for two minutes, before taking a deep breath, pulling out the cork, and downing it in one gulp. Or trying to, anyway. He quickly found himself closing his mouth as his cheeks swelled up from the liquid in his mouth, fighting the urge to spit it out. After a moment, he managed to swallow. "That was the most foul thing I've ever tasted in my life and that includes Skele-Gro."

Eudora nodded, her face sympathetic as she said, "Yes, Rose told me that it was foul tasting. But, most medicines are. Vitamin potions usually do taste terrible in my experience and Rose said this was a mixture of several different ones to help your body with the numerous deficiencies it has. So several mixed together is bound to taste terrible."

"And I have to take one of these every day for a month?" Harry asked, already feeling queasy at the thought.

"Unfortunately, yes," Eudora said. "However, I think you'll be glad you did in the end. Rose said you should expect an increase in appetite and that by the end of the month, you'll be nearly six feet tall and all of the damage done by the malnourishment you've suffered while at your relatives' home will have been reversed. Normally, these kinds of nutrition potions would take months to reverse the level of damage you've suffered, but there are advantages to having a mage-trained healer brew these types of potions for you, as they can be made more potent And no, before you ask, Harry, they can't be made any more potent than they already are so that you can take less of them. Rose made them as potent as she possibly can without the risk of addiction."

Harry nodded and from the look on his face, it was clear he was about to ask just that, but Eudora cut him to the quick. Oliver and Gavin had been filled in on the details of Harry's childhood after they'd both sworn oaths of silence to him the previous night, so, they weren't left wondering why Harry needed to take nutrition potions everyday for a month. They had both been quite shocked by what they'd heard, as nobody in the Wizarding world had ever thought for even a fraction of a second that the great Harry Potter, heir to one of the most powerful of the noble houses and defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, would be living with abusive, magic-hating Muggles. It was thought that he'd grown up in the lap of luxury at Seacliff Castle and had simply chosen not to leave it until he started at Hogwarts.

Of course, some people did question why he looked so scrawny and just who the hell had dressed him, but for the most part, they continued to believe what they always had. In fact, the vast majority still thought Harry had lived in luxury all those years and honestly, Harry didn't really have an overwhelming desire to disabuse them of those notions. The last thing he wanted was pity, so, as far as he was concerned, the fewer people that knew the truth the better. He'd entrust it to friends and close associates that he'd be interacting with on a regular basis, such as his fellow trainee mages, and leave the rest of the masses to think whatever they wanted.

"Are the changes these potions make going to cause any issues with Harry's double?" Cedric asked.

Shaking her head, Eudora said, "No, as magical extensions, your doubles are linked to you and are self-updating. So any natural changes to your appearances will be reflected in your doubles, as if they're the ones who enacted the changes."

"Natural changes?" Roger asked.

"That means only your body's natural changes are reflected," Eudora said. "If, however, you were to disguise yourself with Glamour Charms or drink Polyjuice, your doubles would not reflect that."

"Can the doubles themselves enact any changes?" Gavin asked. "I mean, you said they had free will, so couldn't they decide to start lifting weights or something and bulk up?"

"A good question, Gavin," Eudora said. "You must remember that your doubles have your personalities and all of your memories, experiences, and knowledge up to the point of their creation. So, that all plays a part in what they decide to do. If, for example, you generally avoid physical activity, your double isn't likely to start lifting weights. It really all depends on whether or not that course of action is something you yourself might do. If it's not, then it's not likely they will choose that course of action either. And as I explained when Roger and Cedric were picking their NEWT classes, your doubles have limited access to your memories. Your choices take precedence over theirs, so if during the course of your training you find yourself making choices that you normally wouldn't have made, then your doubles will remember that and they will adjust accordingly."

Looking over at the clock, Eudora said, "Anyway, it's time all of you got going to where you need to be, so Oliver you can follow me, the rest of you know where you're supposed to be, so get moving."

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, on a small, uncharted island in the Northern Atlantic that had been his home and sanctuary for the last fifteen years, a young man in his early thirties sat in his study. On his desk, was a letter that arrived the previous day from his mentor, urging him that it was time for him to return. After sleeping on it and then spending half the following day thinking about it some more, he finally made up his mind. His mentor was right - it was time. Pulling out a piece of blank parchment and dipping his quill into the inkpot on his desk, he scribbled out a quick note.

_Athena,_

_I'll return for the Opening Ball. If I'm going to return from the dead, I may as well be splashy about it. I am nobility, after all. And as I'm sure you know, we nobles do so love our grand entrances. I, for one, can't wait to see the reactions._

_-R._

-o-0-o-

Later that day at lunch, Athena walked into the kitchen to find her charges eating and discussing their days up to that point. She smiled, as she remembered all the students she'd trained over the years, both at Hogwarts and here at Forest Cottage. Clearing her throat to get their attention, she said, "Well, as I suspected, it's made the papers," as she held out a copy of the Daily Prophet to Harry.

Taking the paper, Harry took a deep breath before reading the article, which was accompanied by a large picture of him in his Hogwarts robes, talking with Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor common room. Since he didn't remember posing for the picture, Harry had the sneaking suspicion that a certain camera-happy housemate had taken the picture. He'd gotten so used to Gryffindor's resident shutterbug snapping pictures, that he didn't even pay attention to it anymore.

_**THE BOY WHO LIVED INVOKES LAST OF THE LINE CLAUSE  
CLAIMS HIS BIRTHRIGHT AS LORD POTTER** _

_**By Rita Skeeter, Staff Reporter** _

_**In a move that is considered to be long overdue by many people, Harrison Potter, 14, the only son of the late James and Lily Potter, has finally claimed his birthright and become His Grace The Lord Potter, Duke of Granston, Lord of Seacliff Castle, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. The move also makes him Marquis of Brynmoor and Earl of Mathry, in addition to being the youngest head of one of our country's ancient and prestigious Thirteen Houses.** _

_**For those of you not familiar with the Last of the Line clause, it's a centuries old provision in the letters patent of the Thirteen Houses, stating that if a minor heir under the age of seventeen is left as the last living member of their line, they shall immediately be emancipated and treated as a legal adult upon reaching their thirteenth birthday. Minor children are not usually allowed to hold titles in their own right, but the Last of the Line clause makes it possible for the last of a noble line to take up their title and all the duties and responsibilities that go along with it.** _

_**What kind of responsibilities, you may ask? Well, first and foremost, as Duke of Granston, Marquis of Brynmoor and Earl of Mathry, the new Lord Potter is in charge of the management of those lands and its people. On his own lands, he holds a great deal of power, including the ability to set the marriage laws, tax rates, and act as judge for any crime committed on his lands, for he now holds the rights of justice high, medium, and low over all inhabitants of his lands. In addition, he is expected to be officially installed as a Lord of the Wizengamot in the upcoming autumn session and he also gains the interesting distinction of being the newest Governor of Hogwarts, while still being a student of the vaunted institution. Will he use any of the power he now holds at his fingertips?** _

_**Well, it seems like he is planning on doing just that, as this reporter has learned that Robert Higgs, seneschal to the Lord Potter, has been in contact with one Professor Horace E. F. Slughorn, who retired from his position as Hogwarts Potions Master in 1981, after holding the position for nearly sixty years. Professor Slughorn also held the position of Head of Slytherin House for just over forty of those years. According to sources inside Hogwarts, the Lord Potter does not enjoy a civil relationship with Hogwarts' current Potions Master, Professor Severus Snape. Could Lord Potter be planning on asking his fellow board members to sack his hated teacher and replace him with the professor who taught his parents?** _

_**It would seem, however, that the position of Hogwarts Potions Master is not the only position that the new Lord Potter has taken an interest in, however, as his seneschal has also been making discreet inquiries, looking for people who would be qualified and willing to take on the position of History of Magic professor at Hogwarts. This position has long been held by Professor Cuthbert Binns, whose ghost has continued to teach the subject following the Professor's death in April of 1920. My sources inside Hogwarts, who wish to remain nameless, tell me that replacing Professor Binns may not be a very popular move and will upset a majority of the Hogwarts student body, as the professor's classes are apparently a favorite of the students who eagerly look forward to the ghost's riveting history lectures.** _

Reading this, Harry couldn't help but burst out laughing. Cedric, who was sitting next to Harry and could see the paper, laughed as well. "A favorite class?" the Hufflepuff asked. "The only reason any student would think of Binns' classes as one of their favorites is because they can catch up on their sleep during it."

Getting control of himself, Harry nodded and said, "I wonder just who this woman's sources are? I mean, really? Sacking Binns would be a very popular move, despite what she says. True, there may be some lazy students who'd prefer to spend the class period sleeping, but to say that a majority of the students will be upset about it? I doubt that."

"And calling Binns' lectures riveting?" Cedric asked. "That's just crazy. There's nothing riveting about his lectures, unless his goal is to rivet his students' heads to their desks as they're lulled to sleep from the sheer boredom of listening to his monotone droning about the goblin wars."

Athena smiled. "Rita Skeeter is a notorious gossip monger. She's very much into sensationalism and isn't above embellishing the facts or even making them up. Actually, that article is rather tame compared to some of her others. I imagine Editor-in-Chief Barnabas Cuffe kept her on a leash for this article considering that Harry owns the Daily Prophet."

This was news to Harry. "I do?"

Deciding to make his presence known, James, who had been listening from the painting hanging over the kitchen fireplace, said, "Yes, Harry, you do. Your great-great-grandfather, Nathaniel Potter, provided the last bit of financing necessary to found the paper in 1850 in exchange for a 20% stake. Our family continued to be a minority and mostly silent shareholder until 1948 when it printed an article that didn't cast us in the best light. I don't know the exact details, as it was before I was born, but I do know that it had something to do with Grindelwald. Your grandfather, Julian Potter, didn't like what was printed and immediately went about buying out all the other partners, becoming sole owner of the paper in 1951. There have been some purchase offers made over the years, including a few by Barnabas Cuffe himself, but your grandfather and I always refused to sell."

"Well, I can't say as I blame you," Roger said. "Owning the paper is certainly the best way of keeping anything that might be in any way damaging to the family reputation out of the papers." Then, perhaps realizing that might sound different then he'd intended, he backtracked with, "Not that I'm trying to say there is anything potentially damaging, I'm sure their isn't."

"It's okay, Roger," James said with a smile. "I know what you meant and you're right. Owning the paper does have advantages in that we can keep things we'd rather not have printed out of it."

"Well, it's something to keep in mind, at least," Harry said, as he looked at the paper. "I may also have to consider doing something about this Rita Skeeter woman. I'm not sure I want a woman on staff who makes things up and then passes them off as fact."

"Yes, that could be a bad thing," Lily said, as she joined James in the painting. "At any rate, Harry, your father and I were talking and we think it would be prudent for you to pay a visit to my sister and her family."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"To make sure she doesn't talk," James said. "While I applaud Athena and Eudora on their most excellent prank of making Petunia think she was swearing an Unbreakable Vow, I'm afraid the fear of death is not going to be enough to protect her if Dumbledore is determined to find out what's going on."

"As a Muggle," Lily said, "my sister has no way of protecting herself against magic. Now, while she can try to avoid making eye contact with him, it would be child's play for a wizard of the Headmaster's power to compel her to make eye contact with him. Honestly, we're not all that worried about her after what she and her family did to you, but if Dumbledore compels her, it wouldn't take long at all for him to realize that the Fidelius was in effect. He wouldn't get the secret itself, since Petunia isn't the Keeper, but I think it's preferable that he not find out about the Fidelius if it can be avoided."

Athena nodded. "Yes, that's true. I don't really trust that man, even if I can't prove he's done anything wrong."

"Can't prove he's done anything wrong?" Harry asked, his tone incredulous. "What about him placing me with the Dursleys? Or that letter redirecting my mail?"

Athena shook her head and sighed. "Harry, none of that counts as tangible proof. Leaving you with the Dursleys against your parent's wishes, yes that would appear to be wrong. The problem, however, is that you were left with them less then twenty-four hours after your parents died. It's highly unlikely that in the chaos that followed the attack on Godric's Hollow, that your parents' will was accessed and read. So, Dumbledore can believably claim that he didn't know what was in it."

Lily nodded. "The only people who were present when James and I signed the will were Kendrick Pierce, who's now dead, Robert Higgs, and the Lord Diggory. Those three people were the only ones, other than James and myself, who physically saw the will before or after it was signed. James was the last one to see the original because once it was signed and sealed, he took it down to the vaults at Seacliff and locked it away. Only the Lord Potter can open Seacliff's vaults, as the Potter ring is the key. So, Dumbledore would not have had access to the original will."

"Kendrick would have had to file a copy of it with the Office of Estates and Inheritance at the Ministry," James added, "but wills are private matters, kept under high security, especially when it's the last will and testament of the head of one of the Thirteen Houses. Even as Chief Warlock, Dumbledore would not have been able to get access to the copy until after Lily and I were dead. So, it's conceivable that in the chaos following Voldemort's defeat, he never actually went to the Ministry and got our will, at which point he wouldn't know the terms."

"Well, obviously someone knew the terms," Roger said. "Robert, Katherine, and Tilly were all placed under the Imperius Curse and had their memories modified so that they wouldn't seek Harry out and Robert couldn't come forward about the will."

"And my parents never once mentioned the fact that they were supposed to raise Harry if his godparents couldn't," Cedric added. "That is extremely out of character for my parents. If they were supposed to raise a future Duke who also happened to be The-Boy-Who-Lived there's simply no way they would have kept quiet about it and never mentioned it to Noah, Aunt Caroline, Uncle Bruce, Cormac or me. So, I think my parents must be enchanted as well."

"Noah's your brother, right?" Harry asked, remembering a Noah Diggory being mentioned when he was in the Potter family vault.

"Yes, Harry," Cedric confirmed. "I have two siblings. Noah and Lucy."

"Lucy?" Harry asked.

Cedric sighed. "My younger sister, Harry. Her name is actually Lucinda, but we all call her Lucy. She's only two-years-old, so she obviously hasn't started Hogwarts yet. After they disowned Noah in 1991 and I became the heir, my father wanted another spare heir, just in case something were to happen to me. Mum did manage to get pregnant, but gave birth to a girl, Lucy, in July of 1992, instead of the hoped for boy. She couldn't have any more children after that, however, as she'd suffered complications which left her unable to do so. As for Noah, my father forbid him to have any further contact with us, so he's never even met our sister."

"That's just not right," Lily said with a sad shake of her head, as James nodded.

Cedric grinned and said, "Well, I found a way around that, actually."

"Oh?" Oliver asked, his eyebrow raised in curiosity. He did know Noah after all, since unlike Cedric, Noah Diggory had been a Gryffindor at Hogwarts and played chaser for the house Quidditch team until he finished school in June of 1991.

"Yes, well, you see while Father forbade Noah to contact us," Cedric said, "he never specifically told me not to have any further contact with him. Of course, I'm not stupid enough to openly remain in contact, as my father would surely find out and be furious with me. So, I've written letters to Noah and included pictures of Lucy, so he at least knows what she looks like, and Cormac has sent them on to Noah along with his own letters."

"My, my, Cedric," Terence said with a grin. "Sneaky, sneaky, that's almost Slytherin of you."

"I take it your Aunt and Uncle don't agree with Noah being disowned?" Gavin asked.

Shaking his head, Cedric said, "No, they don't. Cormac is straight, but, Uncle Bruce and Aunt Caroline both agree that they could never disown him over something like who he fell in love with. They've tried to convince my parents to contact Noah and reverse the disownment, but they refuse to budge so long as Noah remains in Romania with Charlie."

"Romania? Charlie?" Harry asked. "Are you talking about Charlie Weasley?"

Cedric nodded. "Yeah, Charlie Weasley is Noah's boyfriend. Actually, in his last letter, Noah said that they're engaged now. It's not legal in Romania, but they've been considering coming back home to visit Cormac, my aunt and uncle, and the Weasleys. At which point, Noah said they may very well stop in at the village hall in Gwaren and get married."

"Gwaren? Where's that?" Harry asked.

"It's the capital of the Duchy of Whitehaven," Cedric answered. "Lord Ollivander is the Duke of Whitehaven and he's legalized same-sex marriage on his lands, which also include the Marquisate of Coulderton and the Earldom of Eskett, presumably because Nick is gay. Nick told me he was terrified when he came out to his grandfather, and it didn't help when it appeared as though Lord Ollivander hadn't heard a word he said. Nick was worried that his grandfather hated him and decided that they simply wouldn't talk about it, as if doing so would make it not true. So, obviously, Nick was rather shocked when the very next day he found out that his grandfather had signed the order authorizing the immediate legalization of same-sex marriage throughout his lands. Nick says he and his grandfather still don't talk about it, but he figures the legalization counts as acceptance."

"Wow," Gavin said. "What about the Weasleys? What do they think of Noah and Charlie?"

"As near as I can tell from Noah's letters," Cedric answered, "the Weasleys are accepting of it. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley fully support Charlie and Noah says ever since he was disowned, Mrs. Weasley treats him like he's her son. It sounds like Bill, Fred, and George support them, as well. Noah mentioned in one of his letters that he thinks Percy, Ron, and Ginny aren't as accepting about his relationship with their brother or Charlie's sexuality, but chose to remain silent for fear of their mother's reaction."

After a few moments of silence, Athena said, "Well, at any rate, while we know that Terence's parents and Tilly were charmed and we assume that Lord and Lady Diggory have been as well, we have no proof that says it was Dumbledore who charmed them. All we know for sure is that it was a mage who charmed them and that Dumbledore is powerful enough that it could have been him if he's been lying about his true power level all these years. But, we can't go before the Wizengamot and charge him with a crime without proof. And suspicions don't count as proof."

"Well, what about the letter redirecting my mail?" Harry asked. "Interfering with the mail is a crime isn't it? Surely we've got him there?"

"No, Harry, we don't," James said. "King Edward's signature on that letter acts as a royal seal of approval of its contents. Unlike Muggle Britain, Albion is not a constitutional monarchy. As sovereign, Edward is Head of State and Government and holds ultimate executive, legislative, and judicial authority, so he is essentially above the law because he is the law. There isn't a single thing that he could do that would be considered illegal because he holds all the power in this country. He may be letting the Minister take care of the day to day minutia of running it, but the Ministry has no authority to do anything to Edward because all of their power comes from him."

Lily nodded and added, "Even though the position of Minister is an elected post, the King has to sign off on the person that's elected and he has the authority to dismiss them anytime he wants. He could then call for another election, or if he so chooses, he could even completely abolish the office of Minister. The same goes for the elected members of the Wizengamot. While they were elected by the people, they all serve at the pleasure of the King and can easily be dismissed at any time. Whether they're replaced or not is completely up to the King."

"And the people go along with that?" Harry asked.

"Of course they do," Terence said. "Why wouldn't they? Witches and wizards take tradition very seriously and one of the oldest and most sacred traditions here in Albion is that we are ruled first and foremost by the Pendragon dynasty, followed by the Lords of the Thirteen Houses. It's been that way for over a thousand years and isn't likely to change. If it did, the change would come in the form of a proclamation from the crown, in other words, Edward himself, and not the people."

"While King Edward is a rather unknown entity," Roger said, "with the whole not appearing in public in over twenty years thing, I doubt he would ever give up his power. Just like the people of Albion itself, I'm sure he views his family's rule as a sacred tradition and thus he is not going to simply dismiss over a thousand years of tradition, especially since he'd know that such a decision would make him extremely unpopular among the people. Well, all of the traditionalists, at least, which means pretty much every witch or wizard raised in the Wizarding world. I suppose the Muggle-borns and Muggle-raised would say such a decision was a good thing, but that's because most of them don't understand any of our longstanding traditions and as such have little or no respect for them."

"That's true," Lily said. "When I first entered the Wizarding world and began learning about it, I was almost appalled at how mired in tradition everyone was, because everything in the Wizarding world seemed so out of date compared to what I was used to. However, with time, especially after I married James and became Duchess of Granston, I grew to respect the traditions. Partly because I knew they were important to James, but also because once I really took the time to learn and understand them, I realized that they're really not as bad as I initially thought."

'Hmm, might be something to bring up to the governors,' Harry thought, but decided not to say anything aloud, because he had other things on his mind he wanted answers to. "So, even though I know I didn't sign it, we still have nothing? What if I were to swear an oath on my magic that I never signed it?"

"That's not a good idea, Harry," Cedric cautioned. At Harry's questioning look, he added, "You don't know how your signature got on that document. For all we know, you could have been put under the Imperius, ordered to sign it and then Obliviated. If that was the case, you'd lose your magic because you'd be swearing that you didn't do something when you actually did do it and don't remember it."

Looking at Athena, Harry said, "Emma was able to detect that Robert, Katherine, and Tilly were under the Imperius and had their memories modified. Has either been done to me?"

Taking out her wand, Athena mumbled something under her breath and said, "Not as far as I can tell, Harry, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. The reason Emma was able to pick up on the Imperius Curses on Robert, Katherine, and Tilly is because they'd all been placed under the Imperius several times over a period of many years. That causes a buildup of magical residue which becomes detectable. If you were only placed under the Imperius once it wouldn't be detectable. If you were scanned immediately after the event, there's a chance, but it's been over three years now. Any residue of the spell would have dissipated long ago."

"As for the memory modification," Lily said, "that would only be detectable if you were Obliviated and had a large number of memories removed. Basically, the more memories that are removed via the spell, the easier it becomes to detect that it's been used. If only a single memory was removed, it would be almost undetectable unless you managed to scan the person within minutes of them being Obliviated. So, until we can figure out how your signature ended up on that letter and we can say with certainty that you absolutely did not put it there, I have to agree with Cedric. It would be a very bad idea to swear an oath saying that you never signed it."

As the clock began chiming the hour, Athena said, "Well, finish up your food." Standing up, she said, "Try to be on time for your afternoon classes. Gavin, I'll be in my study to continue your testing when you finish eating."

-o-0-o-

The days passed and soon it was Saturday, August 6, 1994. The trainers had said that the boys would have the day off from classes and that they could go flying on the Quidditch pitch on the property. Unsurprisingly, Oliver was especially looking forward to it and immediately began putting together plans for a pickup game. Athena, Rose, and Eudora said they regrettably had things they had to do, so they wouldn't be able to play, but Emma said that she would act as referee. This left only six players, however, so the plan was to split into two teams and forego using the bludgers, since they wouldn't have any beaters. Cedric would play seeker for one team, with Terence chasing and Oliver as keeper, while Harry would play seeker for the other team, with Roger chasing and Gavin playing keeper. Cedric had suggested asking Cormac to join them, since he knew about their training, but as he was only one person and that would result in one team having more players than the other, they decided against it.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Mother Nature had decided to teach the boys a lesson about how even the best laid plans could fall through and the day dawned to be an especially gloomy day with the sun hidden behind several very large, dark clouds. Not long after breakfast, the skies opened up and it was soon pouring rain. Now, Oliver was enough of a Quidditch nut that he immediately said they shouldn't let a little rain stop them, but the others weren't so keen on playing in such inclement weather. Harry even more so than the rest, since he had rather bad memories from the last time he'd played Quidditch in bad weather. In the end, the trainers put an end to the discussion once the lightning started, saying it wouldn't be safe.

In order to give Oliver something else to concentrate on, Terence grabbed his hand and led him upstairs and through the portal to their new bedroom above the barn. Any complaints that Oliver had about not being able to play Quidditch that morning were quickly silenced when Terence pushed him down on their bed. With a grin on his face, because he knew what was coming, Oliver sat back and watched as Terence walked over to the door out to the hallway and locked it, with both the key and several locking spells. He then repeated that process on the bathroom door since it wasn't a private bath and connected their bedroom to Gavin's. Flashing Oliver with a lascivious grin, Terence said, "I know you're upset about missing Quidditch, but I've got something better in mind that we can do."

Oliver grinned. There was a time before he got together with Terence and subsequently lost his virginity that he would have said that nothing was better than Quidditch. A week after his first time, however, which saw Oliver and Terence doing it about ten times thanks to their raging teenage hormones, Oliver was willing to admit that he'd been wrong. Turns out there was something better than Quidditch, namely a certain Slytherin's very talented tongue. Kneeling on the floor in front of his Gryffindor boyfriend, Terence's hands were soon busy undoing Oliver's belt, as he said, "Put up the Silencing Charms would you?"

Nodding, Oliver pulled his new wand out from the holster on his left arm, both of which he'd bought from Nick when Eudora had taken him and Gavin to Cairo the night they arrived to buy new wands, since their doubles were now using their old ones. Considering how much he loved to be up in the air on a broom, it didn't come as much of a shock to anyone that Oliver's magic resonated the most with the air element, as Nick matched him with a griffin wing feather. When testing him for woods, Nick tried the zodiac woods first, so Cancer in Oliver's case, even though he knew that only one of them, ebony, actually resonated with air. Oliver did feel drawn to it, but Nick decided to then test the other air woods as well, since ebony actually resonated with all four elements and Nick wanted to see if the Scot would feel a bigger draw to something more specialized to the air element. 

In the end, Oliver ended up with a twelve inch wand made of hawthorn, with the griffin wing feather as its core. Griffin feathers are the best core for Defense Against the Dark Arts and hawthorn works well with protective and defensive magic, so the pairing was a good one in Nick's mind. With Oliver matched, it was then time for Nick to begin matching Gavin. Almost immediately, however, it became clear that Gavin's magic did not resonate with air the way that Oliver's did, since all of the cores the younger Wood reported feeling drawn to were tied more strongly to water. This amused Nick when he found out that Oliver and Gavin were genetically identical twins, because it was always fun when he could prove his grandfather wrong. Whenever Lord Ollivander was matching wands for a pair of identical twins, he almost always matched them with wands that were nearly identical in every way, in the belief that their magic, like their appearances, would be identical.

After narrowing things down, Gavin ended up with a thirteen and a half inch wand made of apple wood with hair from what Nick described as a particularly handsome merman of the Greek Siren variety as its core. Now both apple wood and Siren hair were particularly good at love spells, but what made the pairing interesting is that male Sirens, much like their female counterparts, were very good at attracting men. Mythology described the Sirens as beautiful females who would sing and lure sailors to their deaths on the rocky shores of the island they inhabited.

Those in Wizarding Greece, however, knew that Sirens were not just a story, but real, living creatures. They also knew that despite what the ancient authors chose to write, the Sirens whose singing lured those sailors were just as often male as they were female. Their voices being so pure and melodic that it didn't matter if the male sailors were attracted to men or not, they were still enchanted and drawn in by the call of the Siren song.

Gavin couldn't help but find it strangely ironic that he would match well with a core from a male creature that was good at attracting men because the vast majority of date offers that Gavin received were from men. While Oliver never went out of his way to tell people that he preferred men, it had still gotten into the press following his signing with Puddlemere and became a relatively well known fact for those who had been reading Quidditch magazines and other publications, such as Witch Weekly, around the time that Oliver had been signed.

So, combined with the fact that he looked so much like Oliver, very few women asked Gavin out since they were mistaking him for his gay brother. Now, since Gavin considered himself to be straight, he obviously found this to be particularly annoying. Oliver, on the other hand, laughed his head off, before clapping his little brother on the shoulder and telling him that maybe the Fates were trying to tell him something. Slapping his brother's hand away, Gavin fixed Oliver with a clearly disgruntled and annoyed look that just made the older Wood laugh even harder.

Waving his wand and muttering a few words, Oliver put up several strong Silencing Charms that he'd had lots of practice with back at Hogwarts when he and Terence would alternately meet up for snogging and more in various places around the castle, including the Astronomy Tower, several empty classrooms, and even their own dorm rooms in Gryffindor Tower and the Slytherin dungeons. The fact that they were never overheard during these activities in three years and thus managed to keep their relationship a secret from anyone they hadn't told, proved just how good Oliver was at casting them.

With the spells in place, Terence grinned at his boyfriend, as he finished unbuckling Oliver's belt and quickly pulled down the zipper of his trousers. Lifting himself off the bed a bit, Oliver smiled as his boyfriend pulled his trousers down to his knees, before Terence leaned forward and planted several kisses on the tent that had formed in his red boxers. Terence's fingers soon moved upwards from Oliver's thighs, reaching under the older man's shirt and massaging the flesh as he continued to plant kisses all over the keeper's thighs and cotton-covered cock.

Oliver groaned slightly as he leaned back on his hands, palms flat on the bed behind him, and said, "Liam, please, stop torturing me."

Lifting his head, Terence grinned up at Oliver and asked, "Torturing you, am I? Well, if you don't like what I'm doing, I could stop."

"No, don't!" Oliver was quick to exclaim. "I just meant for you to speed things up a little, not stop."

"Oh," Terence said, drawing out the word. "You mean you want me to free Little Will from prison."

"So long as you then imprison him in your mouth, yes," Oliver said.

"My, Will, you don't want much, do you?" Terence asked.

"I could go back to complaining about the rain and not being able to play..."

"No, no, please, don't," Terence interrupted. "I suppose we could speed things up, just a little."

Before Oliver could comment, Terence grabbed the waistband of Oliver's boxers in his teeth and pulled. Taking the hint, Oliver pushed himself up from the bed for a second time. Once the red fabric joined the keeper's trousers at his knees, Terence let go of them and darted his tongue outward, touching Oliver's left knee, before proceeding to kiss and lick his way up to his thigh. Lifting his head, Terence then just hovered above his boyfriend's midsection for a moment, ogling the sight before him. Even after three years, Terence still couldn't get enough of drinking in every inch of Oliver's toned body, especially the section that his eyes were currently on.

After a minute or so, Oliver asked, "Are you going to do something or are you just going to look at it?"

"Oh I thought I'd just look but not touch," Terence said with a grin. He enjoyed drawing this out and building up Oliver's anticipation. And no matter how much Oliver complained about it, after all was said and done, he always admitted, albeit grudgingly, that the wait had been worth it.

"Liam!" Oliver whined in a piteous tone.

"Okay, okay, sheesh, you're so impatient," Terence said, as he leaned down and darted his tongue out of his mouth, very quickly licking the head of Oliver's throbbing manhood.

"I'm not impatient," Oliver argued, as Terence again darted his tongue outward, this time starting at the bottom of the shaft and licking upwards.

"No? Then what would you call it?" Terence asked.

Oliver groaned and answered, "Annoyed if you keep talking."

Planting an open-mouthed kiss on the head of Oliver's cock, Terence grinned as he looked upwards and said, "Oh, Will, you know you love it when I draw this out. Makes the main event so much more satisfying."

"Yeah that's easy for you to say," Oliver whined. "You're not the one whose balls are turning blue."

"Oh sweet Merlin, they are not," Terence said. "I think I'd notice if your balls started sporting Ravenclaw colors."

Oliver groaned and said, "Liam, if you're not going to do anything, maybe I'll go pay a visit to our resident Ravenclaw, who is purported to know the secrets of really great sex."

"You wouldn't dare," Terence said, as he again licked the underside of Oliver's cock at an agonizingly slow pace. "For one thing, you know better than to cheat on your oh so sexy, cunning and very sneaky Slytherin boyfriend. For another, Roger is straight, so you could ask him until you're blue in the face. Even then, it's not a good bet he'll give in and do something about your allegedly blue balls."

Pausing, Terence darted his tongue out between closed lips, looking almost like a snake, as he again ran his tongue up and down Oliver's shaft, teasing him, before adding, "Remember, it's the Slytherins who run all of the betting pools at Hogwarts, so we know a good bet when we see one and you being successful in getting the very straight Roger Davies to give you a blowjob without using Amortentia or the Imperius Curse is a bet I wouldn't touch for all the gold in Gringotts'."

"Liam, please," Oliver whined, as he looked down at his boyfriend and turned on the sad puppy eyes. Unfortunately, at least in Terence's mind, coming from Oliver, the Slytherin had no resistance to those blue eyes that he loved so much, but also hated in cases like this because he had a tendency to become putty in Oliver's hands.

"Fine, fine, ruin my fun," Terence said in a dejected tone, before he grinned and said, "Just know that your ass will be paying the price later."

"Not seeing the problem," Oliver commented, as Terence just shook his head, before opening his mouth and finally doing what Oliver had wanted him to do for the last few minutes. "Oh, Liam, yes," he moaned, as he put his weight on his left hand, while he used his right to play with his boyfriend's silky brown and blond locks.

-o-0-o-

By noon, the storm had still not let up, so the boys gathered together in their common room and Barin brought up a platter of sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice for their lunch. Of all of them, Oliver still seemed the most upset about not being able to go outside to play Quidditch, even though not doing so had led to a very enjoyable morning full of sex with his hot boyfriend. Taking pity on him, and to shut him up, Eudora and Emma came upstairs and delighted everyone with the use of some very complicated mage-level spells that transfigured one of the partners' desks into something similar to a Muggle foosball table. The only difference was, with magic, they were able to create a working tabletop version of Quidditch, enclosed under a glass dome so that the tiny golden snitch wouldn't go flying all over the room. This kept Oliver and Terence entertained, while Roger sat down at one of the other desks with Gavin and helped him with his remedial work. Harry and Cedric, meanwhile, opted to play wizard's chess, on a best of three basis.

Harry surprised himself by beating Cedric in the first game they played. He couldn't help but feel good about that because he so rarely won at chess. Of course, that was mainly because the only person he ever played with was Ron and despite the redhead's short temper and other faults, he was the undisputed chess champion of Gryffindor Tower. As such, Harry was one of the few people in the tower who was still willing to play against Ron. Harry's victory didn't last long, however, as Cedric learned from his mistakes during the first game and turned around and beat Harry in their second game.

Now in their third game, it was Cedric's move and as he studied the board, he grinned and directed his bishop to move to a spot two squares away from Harry's king, placing him in check. However, since a chess king can only move one square in any direction and there were no other squares Harry could move his king to without entering check with another of the Hufflepuff's pieces, Cedric grinned, as he looked up at Harry and said, "Checkmate."

Harry was used to losing at this game, but he still couldn't help the small groan as Cedric's bishop moved the rest of the way towards his king and used his staff to knock the other piece off his feet, sending his crown clattering to the board. Before Harry's king could right himself, however, Cedric's bishop pointed it's staff at the other piece and let a go a torrent of lightning on the other piece, causing it to disintegrate into a small pile of glowing silver dust.

"Fancy another game?" Cedric asked.

"No thank you. I've had my arse handed to me enough for right now," Harry answered with a grin, as he stood up from the small table that the chess board rested upon and stretched.

"Oh come on, Harry," Cedric said. "You did win one game."

"True," Harry agreed. "However, you easily beat me the other two times. You had a checkmate in what five moves the second game?"

"Four, actually," Cedric corrected.

"Yeah, thanks for making me feel bad," Harry said in a sarcastic voice. Cedric, however, actually appeared to have taken it to heart that he may have actually hurt Harry's feelings if the concerned look on his face was anything to go by. "It's okay, Cedric, I was joking. You really don't need to worry about making me feel bad by beating me in chess. Merlin knows I get beat plenty."

"By who?" Roger asked, as he looked up from his book.

"Ron Weasley," Harry answered. "He's Gryffindor's undisputed chess champion. Beat every single person in the tower. I think that's what led Professor Dumbledore to challenge him to a game last year."

"Who won?" Cedric asked.

"Ron," Harry replied. "It was the longest chess game I've ever watched. Dumbledore challenged him more than anyone else in the tower ever had, but in the end, he still won."

"I remember that day," Oliver commented as his Seeker caught the snitch to end the second game of tabletop Quidditch that he'd played with Terence. The Slytherin had won the first game. "I know some people were worried what would happen if Ron managed to beat him. Thought maybe the Headmaster would punish the house or something."

"And did he?" Gavin asked.

Shaking his head, Oliver sat down in one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace and promptly pulled Terence down into his before he answered, "Nope. Congratulated Ron on his victory and then awarded him twenty points for a well-played game."

"Which we lost later that afternoon," Harry said. At Cedric's raised eyebrow, Harry added, "Double potions with Snape."

"Ah, 'nough said," Cedric said as he sat down on the sofa. While Snape tended to be hard on Gryffindors and Harry in particular, that didn't mean that Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff had it any better. He might not punish them quite as badly as he did Gryffindor, but Snape still found ways to take points from any non-Slytherin he happened to have in class.

"Assuming the board goes along with it," Terence said, "I do wonder if the school's Master Brewer can take points or not. I know his favoritism works out well for me and my housemates, but I've seen him make plenty of unwarranted point deductions over the years."

Nodding, as he placed a bookmark in his book and set it aside, Roger said, "Did it to me during a class towards the end of last year. I was working with Adrian Pucey on a potion and he made it blow up by putting one of the ingredients in at the wrong time. Snape had even watched Adrian do it and yet I'm the one he yelled at, before taking twenty points from Ravenclaw for my failure to stop Adrian from ruining the potion." After a moment, Roger shook his head and added, "And then to make it even more unfair, he awarded Adrian ten points for having to deal with my obvious incompetence."

"That is so not fair," Cedric said.

"No, it isn't," Harry agreed. "Maybe I'll mention it to the other governors. Don't know if they can actually do anything about it, but something like that should not happen."

"Sounds like I haven't been missing much in not going to Hogwarts," Gavin commented.

"Well, don't let Snape's favoritism color your opinion, Gavin," Oliver said. "Hogwarts is a great place and Snape notwithstanding, I think you'd really enjoy it."

"Guess I'll never know," Gavin said. "Even if I can do magic at a higher level now, it's way too late for me to start going to Hogwarts."

Cedric grinned. "Yeah, I do think you would look just a little out of place with the rest of the first years."

Gavin snorted, before he said, "Knowing my luck, people would probably think I was Oliver. As obsessed with Quidditch as he is, everyone would probably think I somehow convinced the staff to let me repeat Hogwarts just so that I could play twice as much Quidditch by playing for Gryffindor and Puddlemere."

"I resemble that remark," Oliver said, at which point everyone burst out laughing.

After a minute, Harry said, "Well, at least you admit that you're obsessed."

A few minutes of silence passed before Cedric said, "Speaking of professors, we do have four of them right here in the house with us. Anyone have any clues as to just who they really are?"

"I've had a few thoughts," Terence said. "First off, we've seen Eudora's and Emma's mage's staffs. The colors of the staffs would suggest that Eudora is a Slytherin and that Emma is a Ravenclaw."

"That's true," Roger commented. "Of course, how do we know those are the actual colors of their staffs? They could be changing them with magic to throw us off."

"I hadn't thought of that," Terence said. "Of course, we also have Emma's admission that she played professional Quidditch. How many of our professors have done that in their pasts?"

"Not many of them, I should think," Harry replied. "Something else we have is that when I asked about attending the Wizengamot meetings after Hogwarts was back in session, Athena told me that she'd arrange for it to look like her son had come to Hogwarts to escort me to London. He's one of the common members apparently."

"Huh, that's interesting," Oliver said. "Did she tell you his name? If we had that, we might be able to find out who she is. I mean if Athena Gracey is just an alias, then her son would probably have her real surname."

"True, but no, she didn't," Harry said. "Just told me she had a son, that was it."

"Hmm, well, what about this house?" Roger asked. "The trainers all refer to it as being Athena's house. I don't think the Ministry would let her put a fake name on the deed."

Cedric laughed at that. "You obviously don't have much experience with the Ministry then, Roger. With the right amount of grease, they'll let you do just about anything. Of course, this house is hardly a mansion, so it wouldn't appear that Athena is wealthy enough to be greasing palms."

"Looks can be deceiving," Gavin pointed out. "Just because she doesn't look rich doesn't mean that she isn't. And you said that Emma told you in class that she and Athena are Archmagisters. They'd certainly be powerful enough to use other means of persuasion that don't involve money."

"You mean like the Imperius?" Harry asked.

"Possibly," Gavin said. "Although I'm sure there's other spells that have a similar effect."

Nodding, Roger said, "Yeah, there are. The Compulsion Charm comes to mind. It's basically a weaker cousin to the Imperius. Doesn't last as long and it also doesn't completely remove the target's free will like the Imperius does."

"There's also a much stronger chance the target won't comply," Cedric added. "With the Imperius, you could order an over-protective mother who spends all her time trying to protect her children from even the smallest of dangers to kill them and she'd have to do it. If you tried to do that with the Compulsion Charm, however, it's unlikely to work. For Compulsion to work, you have to be suggesting the target do something that they'd be likely to do anyway."

"Anyway, do we have any other clues that we can examine?" Terence asked.

"I have noticed that Emma watches a program on the television downstairs every morning," Harry said. "I doubt it has anything to do with her identity though."

"Don't be so sure, Harry," Roger said. "You said Athena said there were lots of subtle hints. So, just about anything they do could be a hint. What is this program she watches, do you know?"

"I don't know the name of it," Harry answered. "Although I know I heard some of the characters mention Virginia and I got the impression they were referring to a place, not a person. Honestly, I never really paid much attention to it, but the most recent time I saw her watching it, there were two elderly women talking about baking."

"If they were referring to a place, I'd guess they meant the state of Virginia in America," Cedric said. "Any clue what those women were baking?"

Shaking his head, Harry responded, "None. They just kept talking about the recipe. I assume they were cooking or baking something, as that is what one usually uses a recipe for."

"Hmm, well, there is one thing I've noticed," Oliver said. Once he had everyone's attention, he added, "I couldn't help but notice that I've never seen Rose without an apron on. She's also a trained healer. Who do we know at Hogwarts who is always wearing an apron and is a healer?"

"Madam Pomfrey," Roger, Cedric, and Harry all said at once.

"Question is did Madam Pomfrey ever work at St. Mungo's?" Terence asked. "Rose did say that she worked in the Janus Thickey Ward, but had left to teach at Hogwarts before Lord and Lady Longbottom were admitted."

"So, she worked at St. Mungo's sometime before the early 1980's," Cedric said. "Lord and Lady Longbottom were admitted in 1981 if memory serves. Is Madam Pomfrey the only person on staff at Hogwarts that's trained as a healer?"

"Well, I don't know if she has full training," Roger said, "but I do know that the Wizarding Home Economics elective covers basic first aid. So, I would assume that Professor O'Brien knows something about healing. Although, it's also possible that she knows enough to teach the subject and nothing more."

"They could be anyone, couldn't they?" Harry asked. "I mean, I assume we can eliminate all the male staff members, but Merlin, if that doesn't still leave us with quite a large group."

"True," Cedric said. "There's Madams Pince, Pomfrey, and Hooch and Professors McGonagall, Babbling, Vector, McLaughlin, Landolt, O'Brien, Sprout, Burbage, O'Casey, Sheldon, McIntosh, and Wynter."

"You left out Professors Trelawney and Sinistra," Roger commented.

"Oh yeah, them too," Cedric said. "So, that leaves us with seventeen female staff members. Would really help if we could eliminate a few of them."

"Personally, I think we can eliminate Trelawney," Harry said. "Every time Trelawney sees me she always predicts my imminent death. None of the trainers have done that."

"Well, she wouldn't do it if she's trying to hide her identity from you," Terence pointed out. "Although, honestly I agree with you. I was never in her class, but from what I've heard, Trelawney seems very scatter-brained. Convincing people you're someone else just doesn't seem like something she'd be capable of."

Before anyone else could say anything, Barin popped in and said, "Excuse me, sirs. Storm stopped. Athena doing spell to dry pitch, says yous can play now, if you still be wanting to."

Oliver was out of the chair and running towards the stairs almost as soon as the words were out of Barin's mouth. He was so eager to play that he apparently didn't hear the string of curses that left Terence's mouth, seeing as how he had still been sitting on Oliver's lap when he'd stood up and had just been rather unceremoniously dumped on the ground when Oliver got up. Standing up and rubbing his now sore ass, Terence said, "I think a change in teams is in order. Will needs his ass kicked and I want to be the one to do it."

The others just laughed and nodded, agreeing that Roger and Terence would switch teams so that Terence could play against Oliver. Giving Terence a high-five, Harry said, "Come on, Gavin, Liam - let's go grind them into the dust."

Terence grinned and nodded. He was going to enjoy this.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it, Chapter Four. Rather short in comparison to the other chapters, but hey, they can't all be long. I had originally planned on this story only being ten chapters long since I do plan on this being a series of stories. However, this has sort of taken on a mind of its own and I don't think ten chapters is going to be realistic. Anyway, any thoughts on the trainers? Or just who 'R' is? Well, stay tuned for future chapters and you'll find out.
> 
> In case you're wondering about all the unfamiliar names listed as staff members at Hogwarts, I wrote up an extended class list for one of my other stories and chose to use it in this story as well. So, the list adds a bunch of extra electives for third years and up: Wizarding Law, Magical Finance, Magical Languages, Wizarding Home Economics, Magical Literature, and Magical Games and Sports. There's also four more for 6th years and up, which have OWL requirements: Medical Magic, Specialized Charms, Spell Creation, and Magical Research and Archiving. The class descriptions aren't likely to appear in this story, but if you're interested in reading them, you can ask in a review and I'll give them to you.
> 
> Next Chapter: A disturbance at the Dursleys, King Edward weighs in on Sirius' case, Harry meets with the Governors and goes to a Ball.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex
> 
> Author's Note: In looking over Chapter Four recently, I realized that I'd said the boys had seen both Eudora's and Emma's staffs. This may have confused some of you, however, since I realized that the description of Emma's staff was contained in the section of Chapter Three that I removed for inclusion at a later time. However, I then wrote Chapter Four as if that section was still included. I do apologize for any confusion that might have caused and to make up for it, I've included the description of Emma's staff in this chapter, along with the descriptions of Rose's and Athena's. For Emma's staff, just pretend the boys saw it, even if I didn't give a description of it yet.

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Five

-o-0-o-

As Sunday morning dawned, so too did the realization that the Opening Ball was to be held that evening in the ballroom of McKinnon Hall. Before the death of King Charles Pendragon in 1972, the Opening Ball had always been held in the grand ballroom at Castle Camelot. However, following the death of the royal family, Camelot was sealed and the infant King Edward was secreted away to the royal family's winter palace in the Duchy of Penderleath, which was the royal dukedom held by his late father, Crown Prince Michael Pendragon. Since then, the heads of the Thirteen Houses, and in some cases the heirs to the houses, had been taking turns hosting the various balls and this time it was Lord McKinnon's turn to host the Opening Ball.

Having been so busy with everything else that had been happening over the last few days, Harry hadn't really given the ball much thought, but now that it was only hours away, he realized something which could be rather embarrassing for him: he didn't know how to dance. So, seeking out the one person who he hoped could help him, since he too would be at the ball that evening, Harry found him alone in his room and said, "Ric, I need your help."

"Okay, what's up?" Cedric asked with a smile, giving the younger boy his undivided attention.

"The Opening Ball is tonight," Harry answered and Cedric nodded. "And, um, well, it's occurred to me that being a ball, there would be dancing involved."

Nodding, Cedric said, "Yes, there is dancing involved."

"Yeah," Harry said. "The problem is, I can't dance."

"Ah, well, we'll have to do something about that then, won't we?" Cedric said as he stood up and erected a series of Silencing Charms, before placing a few locking and other security charms on his door. He was sure that Harry was nervous enough without the possibility of the others overhearing what was going on or coming in. Using his wand to move some of the furniture to create an open area in the middle of the room, Cedric then waved his wand at the radio in the corner, turning it to one of the Wizarding stations that played classical music all day.

"Come here, Harry," Cedric said. "The vast majority of the dancing tonight will be a slow waltzes. There's a few different ones, but I'll teach you the steps and we can practice. That sound okay to you?"

Harry nodded and said, "Thanks, Ric."

"No problem," Cedric said with a grin. "I did promise I'd do my best to make sure you didn't look like a total prat, did I not?"

Harry grinned and said, "Yes, you did. I hope you're a good teacher, because I'm hopeless when it comes to dancing."

"Don't worry, Harry," Cedric said. "When I was much younger, my mother always told me that I had two left feet, but somehow she still managed to teach me. A good thing, really, since while she didn't know it at the time, I'd one day be the heir and have to actually go to all the nobles' balls with my parents."

"There's more than one?"

"Yes, Harry, there's actually thirteen main ones every year," Cedric responded. "It currently works out that there's one every month with two in August. Obviously, you have the Opening Ball tonight, as a gathering before the opening of the autumn session of the Wizengamot tomorrow morning and later this month you have the Founder's Ball, which celebrates the founding of Hogwarts. Next month, there's the Ascension Ball, celebrating King Arthur's ascension to the throne. In October, there's the Masquerade Ball on Halloween, the King's Ball in November to celebrate King Edward's birthday, and the Winter Solstice Ball in December. I won't bore you with the others, but in addition to the thirteen main balls each year, there's also a handful of others held at different times of the year by the family heads to celebrate various events."

"What kind of events?"

"Well, for example," Cedric answered, "my parents host a ball every March on their wedding anniversary. Most commonly, these other balls are to celebrate the family head's wedding anniversary, their birthdays, or the birthday of their heir."

"Okay then," Harry said, as he stood there, feeling a little awkward for a moment, before Cedric smiled and asked, "Shall we begin?"

"Yes."

Cedric nodded and then said, "Okay, while I'm teaching you, I'll lead and you can look down at my feet to memorize the steps. Once you feel comfortable with each dance, we can try it with you leading and not looking at my feet to see if you can do it without stepping on them."

"I'll try not to," Harry said.

"Thanks, mate, I would really appreciate that," Cedric said with a grin.

For the next four-and-a-half hours, Cedric taught Harry the steps to the various dances he'd be expected to know that evening. Much to his own surprise, Harry found it easier then he thought it would be and by the end of their lessons, Cedric pronounced him capable of going to the ball. He did have to cast a mild pain relieving charm on his feet, as Harry had stepped on them a few times, which he apologized for profusely. Cedric, however, said it was okay, because when he'd been learning how to dance, he'd stepped on his mother's feet more than twice the number of times that Harry had stepped on his. In Cedric's opinion, Harry was a natural on the dance floor, once he got over his nervousness, anyway, and ignored the voice in his head telling him he was a bad dancer, which was completely untrue.

-o-0-o-

Later that day, all the boys had just sat down to lunch, when suddenly a very loud wailing noise sounded throughout the house. All of the boys quickly covered their ears, as Harry thought, 'What the bloody hell is that noise? Sounds worse than the klaxon that goes off in the tower if a boy tries to go up to the girl's dorms.'

After a moment, the klaxon stopped and Athena, Rose, Emma, and Eudora rushed into the room. They all had their wands out, as Rose, Emma, and Eudora made a beeline for the front door. Athena paused to say, "That noise you heard is an alarm I set up to tell me if one of your doubles was in danger. I don't know what's going on, but there's some kind of disturbance on Privet Drive. All of you are to stay indoors until we return. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Terence said, as the others nodded. Athena gave them all a stern look, before she too left the house and joined the others at the apparition point.

-o-0-o-

It had been a very interesting week for Remus Lupin. A few days ago, he'd seemingly by chance run into someone he hadn't seen in many years. The last time had been James' and Lily's funeral, actually. His late best friend's seneschal then explained that it wasn't a chance meeting and that he'd been actively asking where he might find Remus. When asked why, Robert informed him that Harry had claimed his birthright as Lord Potter and that he wanted to petition to King for a pardon for Sirius. This had come as something of a shock to Remus, as he had been completely unaware of the fact that Harry even knew he was nobility. Harry had certainly never said anything that would indicate he knew. 

Remus never mentioned it during the year he'd spent teaching Harry because Professor Dumbledore had asked him not to. He reasoned that Harry had quite enough to deal with just being who he was and thought that Harry deserved time to simply be a child. Something which would be much harder if he claimed his birthright and all the responsibilities that it entailed. While a part of him didn't like withholding such an important thing from Harry, Remus did agree with the headmaster, especially after learning of the way Harry had been treated growing up. He deserved time to be a kid and have fun. Being emancipated and declared an adult, along with the duty of administering to his lands, plus voting in the Wizengamot and the Hogwarts board, would not leave much time for that.

However, it was done and the werewolf knew he couldn't do anything about it. He would just have to trust that Robert would help him as much as possible. After James died, Robert had had little choice but to step in and run all of the Potter lands and make the decisions that couldn't wait for Harry to reach his majority. So, Robert had plenty of experience, which Remus hoped he would share with Harry. At any rate, Remus was more than happy to provide his memories of the night he'd found out Peter was still alive and that Sirius was innocent. He wanted his old friend to be cleared just as much as Harry did. A part of him couldn't help but wonder, however, if his memories would be taken seriously due to his lycanthropy.

The day after the news that Harry was now Lord Potter hit the newspapers, Remus found himself up at the castle meeting with Dumbledore. The venerable old man was worried about Harry and requested Remus to go and check on him at the Dursleys. Remus was only too happy to go and check up on the young man that his inner wolf thought of as a member of his pack. And therein lied the problem. No sooner did Remus enter Number Four, did his senses begin to pick up something not quite right. Then Harry, or rather his double, entered the room and Remus lost it.

Pushing the young man against a wall, he growled, "Where's Harry?"

"Remus, I'm right here!" Harry exclaimed, clearly scared by the sudden and aggressive action. It was never a good thing to be the target of an angry werewolf, even when the full moon was still two weeks away.

"You are not Harry," Remus growled. "You look like him, but you don't smell like him."

"Smell like him?" Vernon asked, clearly confused. After a week now of Petunia forcing him to treat his nephew better, he had to admit, a part of him was enjoying the fear on the boy's face as he was pushed against the wall by the growling man. He had no clue what the man was talking about in terms of Harry not smelling like Harry, but then the man was one of those people, so he doubted he'd ever understand.

Dudley looked confused too, but remained silent, as he didn't want to do anything around witches or wizards that might result in him getting another pig tail. Petunia was scared too, but more so because she feared for her own life if the truth came out. In as calm a voice as she could muster, she said, "Of course he's Harry. Who else could he possibly be?"

Remus didn't have a chance to say anything, because at that moment, Athena and the other trainers, who had heard enough of the conversation to know what was going on, burst into the room from the back door, wands drawn. Choosing their targets, Emma, said, "Stupefy!" as Eudora said, "Incarcerous!" Both of these were directed at Remus, who fell to the ground with a thud. Rose, meanwhile, said, "Obliviate!" three times, pointing at Vernon, Dudley, and Petunia in rapid succession, as Athena pointed her wand at Harry, incanting, "Somnus!" Harry almost immediately slumped to the ground in a deep, enchanted sleep.

"What are we going to do with him?" Emma asked, motioning towards the unconscious and bound Remus Lupin.

Athena sighed. "We'll bring him back to the cottage. I don't think we have any choice but to let him in on the secret, seeing as how his heightened senses can tell that Harry's double isn't the real Harry. We got lucky this time that it was only the Dursleys that witnessed the confrontation, as they're much more easily dealt with than other people I can think of."

"True," Rose said. "Did you know it was possible for a werewolf to sense that the double wasn't real?"

Athena nodded and said, "It was mentioned in the book that the double spell came from that werewolves would be able to tell, if they were close enough to the person to consider them pack members. Honestly though, I had forgotten about it until now, seeing as I've been training mages for thirty years and this is the first time I've had this particular issue come up."

"Maybe he can help young Mr. Wood with his remedial studies," Eudora suggested. "As I recall, most of the students thought very highly of Professor Lupin's classes. I heard several express dismay at his leaving, even after they knew he was a werewolf, because they thought he was the best teacher they've had for the subject." Pointing at Vernon, who Rose had stunned, along with the rest of the family after Obliviating them, said, "But then again, I think even Dursley here could have taught the subject better than those fools Quirrell or Lockhart."

Rose nodded. "True. Honestly, I would have thought Quirrell would have been better, considering that he was possessed by Voldemort at the time. Guess we know why Dumbledore didn't give him the job when Merrythought retired. And Lockhart, well, I knew he was a fraud from the start. He's only just powerful enough to qualify as an Apprentice Wizard. There's simply no way that he was powerful enough to do all the things his books said he did."

After a moment, Athena shook her head and said, "Well, let's head back. The boys are probably wondering what's going on and I'm sure Harry will be glad to see Remus. So, Eudora, Emma, take him to the apparition point. Rose, deal with the Dursleys, and I'll deal with him," as she pointed at Harry's sleeping doppelganger.

-o-0-o-

The four trainers, plus a still stunned and bound Remus Lupin, arrived back at Forest Cottage a few minutes later. As they entered, the trainee mages immediately noticed the new addition, as Harry stood and asked, "Professor Lupin? What happened?"

"He was at the Dursleys," Eudora explained. "I'm sure you're aware that he's a werewolf?"

Harry nodded, at which point, Emma said, "Well, due to his heightened senses and the fact that he considers you to be part of his pack, he could tell the second he came into contact with your double that it wasn't really you. Had your double pushed up against a wall and was growling at him when we arrived."

"We brought him here because he's too big of a security risk," Athena said. "He's sure to come into contact with your double again at some point and if he can tell it's not you, we don't need him having the same reaction he had to your double today, especially in front of the wrong people."

Harry nodded his understanding, before Athena said, "I'm going to revive him now, but I'm going to leave him tied up for the moment. Everybody stand back, please."

Everyone backed away from the bound form of Remus, as Rose, Emma, and Eudora formed a protective line in front of their students. Keeping their wands in their hands, they all summoned their staffs, as well, hoping that Remus would recognize them for what they were and exercise caution. Emma's staff was a long shaft of what looked like polished mahogany, which looked similar to the shaft of a broomstick. A large blue crystal rested on the top end, while several runes, painted with bronze paint, were etched up and down the length of the shaft. On the bottom end was a large bronze blade which would clearly do a good amount of damage. While they had already seen it once before, Cedric, Harry, Roger, and Terence couldn't help but think back to Emma's comment in Nick's shop about stabbing a person in the foot with the staff blade. Much like when she'd first said it, the four boys couldn't help but shudder again.

Rose's staff was made of polished white wood with a golden snake coiled around the shaft. The snake's head was about an inch above the top of the staff and in its open mouth, it held what looked like a large red ruby. On the opposite end of the staff there was a sharp golden blade, which looked more like a large spike or spearhead then a sword. There was no doubt, however, that it would hurt if it punctured someone and all the boys found themselves hoping that they'd never feel that type of pain firsthand.

Deciding her colleagues had made the right choice, Athena kept her wand trained on Remus, as she too summoned her own staff, which unlike the staffs belonging to the other trainers, looked like it was made out of metal instead of wood. Nobody was quite sure what kind of metal it was made out of, but it was a shiny metallic black color. With the exception of a section in the middle where Athena held it, the staff was designed in such a way as to look like two separate shafts of metal, twisted together into a flat braid. It was smaller at the bottom where the scimitar-like blade attached and got wider on the top end. The two shafts of braided metal stopped about three inches apart at the top, holding a large yellowish crystal between them. With a practiced swish and flick of her wand, Athena incanted, "Rennervate!"

Remus' eyes snapped open, as he growled and began struggling with the ropes binding him, his inner wolf not liking being restrained when he perceived a member of his pack to be in danger.

"Remus John Lupin, stop struggling and listen to me!" Athena exclaimed.

"Who are you?" Remus demanded. "Where am I?"

"You're in my home," Athena answered. "My name is Athena Gracey, although you know me by another name. I'm using Glamour Charms and a charm to change my voice, but I was one of your professors at Hogwarts. What you most likely didn't know, however, is that I'm a powerful mage, an Archmagister to be precise. And if you look to your left, you'll see that I'm not alone."

Remus looked to his left and saw the line of three women, staffs and wands out, standing protectively in front of a group of people behind them, but from the angle he was sitting at he couldn't see any of their faces. Deciding to introduce herself, Eudora nodded at Remus and said, "Eudora Douglas, Grand Magister."

"Emma Baldwin, Archmagister."

"Rose Ramsley, Master Magister."

Remus took in a sharp intake of breath as he tried to contain the fury of the wolf inside of him. Even if the moon was full and he was transformed, a single werewolf would be no match for four very powerful mages. "Why am I here?" he asked, after a moment.

"You were in Surrey this morning," Athena replied. "At Number Four Privet Drive. I know why you became enraged, but there's no cause for concern. Harry Potter is perfectly fine." Then looking to her left, she said, "Harry, come here please."

Rose and Emma moved aside so that Harry could step forward. When he had, Athena looked at Remus and said, "Smell him if you don't believe me, Lupin, but this is Harry and he's fine. The person you met at the Dursley house this morning was his double."

Sniffing the air, Remus' inner wolf immediately calmed down as he picked up Harry's familiar scent. There were several other familiar scents in the room, but Harry's was the only one he recognized since the green-eyed youth was the only one the wolf considered pack. Looking at Athena, he asked, "What do you mean his double?"

"I'm about to reveal information protected by the Fidelius," Athena said, waiting for Remus to nod in understanding, before she continued. "My colleagues and I chose Harry, along with three of his Hogwarts classmates to train them as mages. As is standard procedure during this training, a double of the person is created, which is a magical extension of the real person, in possession of all of their memories and abilities up to the point they were created. This is done because mage training can take a number of years to complete and usually requires the trainee to cut ties with the people in their lives until it's finished. When Harry finishes his training, his double will merge back into him and Harry will gain all of the memories and knowledge the double acquired, thus allowing Harry to step right back into his life as if he never left."

Remus remained quiet for a moment, as he took in this information, before he nodded and said, "I understand. I'd appreciate it if you could untie me now. I swear I won't attack anyone. The wolf in me is satisfied that Harry is safe. That was the only reason for my blind ire at the Dursley house."

Athena nodded, before waving her wand in Remus' direction. "Finite Incantatum!" The ropes almost immediately disappeared, at which point Athena banished her staff and held out a hand to Remus to help him up which he gladly took.

"You said you were on staff at Hogwarts?" Remus asked after a moment.

Athena nodded. "Yes, my colleagues and I are all on staff. In fact, all of us were on staff during your time at Hogwarts. The glamours and voice-changing charms are a challenge for our students, however. To test their powers of observation and deductive capabilities."

"Ah, I see," Remus said. "So, they know you're on staff, but they don't know who you are. I assume then that you're dropping hints?"

"Indeed," Eudora said, as she and the other trainers banished their staffs and put their wands away. "The boys haven't figured out who any of us are yet, however. Speaking of the boys, our other students are Cedric Diggory, Terence Higgs, Roger Davies, and Oliver and Gavin Wood."

Cocking his head to one side, Remus said, "I thought you said you were only training Harry and three of his classmates?"

"It did start out that way, yes," Rose stated. "However, Terence and Oliver are a couple, so we brought him here to test if he was powerful enough to be trained. Many mage trainers often take on the romantic partners of their chosen students as additional pupils, if they're strong enough for training. Even if they're not, they're usually told of the training and given the option to stay with their real partner instead of their double. The reason for that is two-fold in that the partner might feel betrayed if their lover finishes training and comes back more skilled and powerful. That brings with it the realization for the non-mage partner that they've been having sex with a fake for years. Many can't handle that and it can lead to arguments that could end an otherwise happy relationship. The other reason is that if a person is accustomed to having sex on a regular basis, they generally don't like going without for years on end and their libidos begin to adversely affect their concentration and training."

"Some might think that we should tell our students' families, as well," Eudora said. "But, we don't, because it's been an accepted practice for generations now to keep the training a secret while it's occurring. Once it's finished, it's up to each individual mage who they tell that they're a mage, although it's instilled in all of them to keep the exact details of the training a secret. Not all of them adhere to the idea of keeping the details of the training itself a secret, but the majority do and those who do share the details usually do so only with their immediate family members."

Remus nodded. "And the other one? Gavin was it? I can't say as I remember a Gavin Wood at Hogwarts."

"I never went to Hogwarts," Gavin piped up before the trainers could answer Remus. "Until recently I was a hedgewizard. Only it turns out my magical core was blocked. So, Athena and the other trainers unblocked it."

"Actually, Lupin, if you could, I'd appreciate your help with that," Athena said. "Young Mr. Wood here has studied the theory, but of course until recently couldn't do anything past the level of a second year. I've been testing him and while he does have a good head on his shoulders and seems to pick up knowledge quickly, he still requires quite a bit of remedial training before he can start mage training. And it would be much easier for my colleagues and I if you could take over the majority of that training while we focus on training the others. I can offer you room and board as payment."

"I'm a werewolf, Ms. Gracey," Remus pointed out.

"Yes, I know, Lupin," Athena commented. "That, however, is neither here nor there. If you stay, then Rose will get started brewing a batch of Wolfsbane for you. And then on the night of the full moon - if I recall correctly, the next one is August 21st - you'll take the potion and we can lock you in the root cellar under the barn for the night. So, in short, you won't be able to harm anyone, if that's what you were worried about."

Before Remus could say anything, Harry took in his former professor's shabby looking clothes and couldn't help but think it was time he was able to dress better. After all, Remus had been a good friend to Harry's parents and a good friend to him. Now that Harry himself was dressing better, he felt that Remus should, as well. "I'll instruct Robert to put you on my payroll, Remus." Remus looked like he wanted to tell Harry he didn't have to do that, but Harry just shook his head and said, "No arguments, Remus. I'm Lord Potter and now that I've seen one of my bank statements, I know how much money I have. Putting you on my payroll won't put a dent in it."

Harry had looked over the statement Robert had brought over, but he'd never shared with the others exactly what was in it. So, it was a curious Terence who asked, "Just out of curiosity, Harry, how much are you actually worth?"

Harry smiled. "Between the gold, jewels, and other treasures in the vaults, plus real estate and stocks, I'm worth just over twenty-five million galleons."

Quickly doing the math in his head, Roger whistled and said, "Wow, that's £125,000,000. Definitely nothing to sneeze at."

"No, it's not," Cedric agreed. "Especially since that amount will undoubtedly go up once Harry's house-elves finish harvesting the basilisk. Not to mention the possible sale of the contents of those rooms behind the statue. In the Wizarding world there's always a market for old books, especially if they're in legible condition and written by someone famous. And you don't get much more famous than one of the founders of Hogwarts."

"Basilisk? Old books?" Remus asked.

"I told you about my second year," Harry said and Remus nodded. "I sent Tilly and a contingent of elves down to the Chamber of Secrets to harvest components from the basilisk. Apparently they found several rooms down there as well, one of which is full of old books, possibly written by Slytherin himself."

Remus nodded. "Harry, you should know, I ran into Robert the other day. He told me about your desire to petition the King on Sirius' behalf. I gave him memories to help with that. Hopefully, it'll be enough."

"Thanks, Remus," Harry said. "I really do hope that the King clears him, because he really doesn't deserve to live life on the run for something he didn't do. Now, if only we could get Buckbeak cleared."

"Who's Buckbeak?" Roger asked.

"A hippogriff that Hagrid showed his Care of Magical Creatures classes last year," Harry answered. "In a classic show of Malfoy arrogance, Draco completely ignored Hagrid's warnings about how to properly approach a hippogriff and got scratched on his arm as a result. His father then got the Ministry to condemn the highly dangerous beast to death for attacking his son. Hermione and I managed to free Buckbeak before the execution could be carried out, however, and he's with Sirius now."

"If I might make a suggestion?" Athena asked and Harry nodded. "I'm assuming this attack happened on Hogwarts grounds, at which point Lord McLaggen could give this Buckbeak a full pardon, since Hogwarts is on his land. There's really not much that Lord Malfoy could do about it either, since he's only the Earl of Coleford. Obviously as the Marquis of Levenmore, Lord McLaggen outranks him. Not to mention the fact that Lord McLaggen is fully within his rights to rule on any and all crimes that occur on his lands. And since you've renewed the Potter/McLaggen alliance, he's almost certain to take your word over Lord Malfoy's."

"My uncle is a level-headed person," Cedric said. "And he's never cared much for Lucius Malfoy, so, I think I can safely guarantee that he'll side with you Harry."

"Well, I'll make sure to contact Bruce and ask him then," Harry said.

After a moment of silence, Remus said, "Harry, I still don't feel right about taking any of your money, if I'm not going to be doing anything to earn it."

Shaking his head, Harry said, "You will be doing something to earn it. Helping Gavin will be earning it, but if it'll make you feel better, you can help me train Cedric, Terence, Roger, and Oliver in casting the Patronus Charm. None of them can cast a corporeal patronus and honestly it's a good skill to have."

Emma nodded, "That's true, Harry. While I could probably teach it to them quite easily, as I do have a Mastery in Defense Against the Dark Arts and have taught it at Hogwarts a few times over the years when Dumbledore couldn't find someone to fill the post, the mage training will keep me busy enough."

Remus sighed. "I'll do it. But, Harry, please don't pay me an exorbitant salary. I expect it to be in line with what a teacher actually makes."

"That's fine," Harry said with a grin. "How about I pay you what you made as a Hogwarts professor?"

"I can live with that," Remus said.

"Good then," Athena said. "Well, it looks like the boys have finished lunch, but if you're hungry, Lupin, help yourself," as she gestured towards the table. Remus nodded and sat down, helping himself to some of the food. He was soon joined by the trainers, and even though they'd already eaten, the boys as well.

-o-0-o-

At precisely six in the evening, Cedric and Harry left Forest Cottage, Athena accompanying Cedric to Willowglen Manor to make his double disappear while Cedric stepped into its place. The transition between the two was seamless and thankfully, went completely unnoticed by Lord and Lady Diggory. Eudora, meanwhile, accompanied Harry to Seacliff Castle, dealing with his double who had been moved to Seacliff earlier in the day following the incident at the Dursleys. Harry was amazed when he first saw the castle and he could immediately see why Bruce McLaggen had said that Kinloch Hold was modest in comparison.

"I know you probably want to explore, Harry," Eudora said, "but that will have to wait for another time."

Harry nodded. "I know there's no time because of the ball tonight." Turning to Tilly who had appeared in the entryway the moment her master arrived, Harry asked, "Tilly, if you could show me to my room? I want to freshen up and change clothes before I leave."

"Of course, Harry, right this way," Tilly said as she led him up a massive white marble staircase and up to the third floor of the house where Harry's private quarters were located. Once he was in the room and Tilly gave him a quick tour, she left him alone.

Harry looked around the room and was in total awe at what he was seeing. As bedrooms go, it was the largest Harry had ever seen. He estimated that it was about half the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, so definitely very big. A huge fireplace of black marble took up a large portion of the east wall, with a pair of couches and two wingback chairs arranged in front of it. The western wall was made entirely of floor to ceiling windows, along with a pair of doors which led out to a balcony. Harry had no need to actually go out to the balcony to know that it would give a truly commanding view of the Granston Sea, which on Muggle maps was labeled as two separate bodies of water, the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea.

The most striking feature of the room, however, was the enormous four poster bed. While he'd thought that his bed at Forest Cottage was impressive, this one was, much to his shock, even larger. Looking at it for a moment, his mouth hanging wide open, he couldn't help but think that it was a waste of space. Unless one of the past Potter lords was into polygamy and kept a harem of wives, Harry really couldn't see the need for a bed that was probably big enough to fit two dozen people comfortably. The bed's polished mahogany posts were draped in voluminous amounts of red silk, while the bed itself was covered by a thick red duvet with the Potter family crest embroidered in the center in gold thread. There were also enough pillows that Harry was sure he could give two of them to every current member of Gryffindor House and still have plenty to spare.

Shaking his head after a moment, Harry walked over to the door that Tilly had indicated led to the bathroom and mentally prepared himself for what he was sure would be a shock if the bedroom was anything to go by. If he thought that he'd prepared himself, he was wrong, because when he actually entered the room, his jaw just about hit the floor. Instead of a bathtub, there was a huge in-ground swimming pool, surrounded by about two hundred golden taps. Walking over, he looked at the nearest one and saw that it was labeled 'Red Bubbles.' Walking around the pool, Harry found that about fifty of the taps at various locations around the tub were labeled similarly, only in different colors, while the rest were labeled with such things as 'Lavender' or 'Hibiscus.' Harry could only assume that the taps labeled bubbles filled the tub with various colored bubble bath, while the others would add in various scents of bath oil.

Since he'd already taken a bath back at Forest Cottage, Harry had no need to do so here. So, after a quick look around at the rest of the room, in which he noticed a counter with a white marble countertop and four sinks, a large glass-enclosed shower room, and four old-style toilets with pull chains, each in their own little rooms for privacy. Harry really was beginning to wonder if there was any truth to his earlier thought of one of the past Potter lords having a harem of wives, because he really couldn't understand why anyone would need four sinks and four toilets in the bathroom of their master bedroom. He could see where two of them could come in handy, so that the lord and their spouse could each have one, but four of them? That seemed more than a little excessive.

Going back out to the bedroom, Harry changed into the dress robes that Cedric had helped him select. Harry, of course, had no idea what he should wear, since he'd never been to one of these balls before, so, of course the Hufflepuff had been a great help to him, so far. The robes Cedric picked were mostly black and green, which Cedric said contrasted well with Harry's black hair and green eyes. The buttons were all in gold, as was the clasp of the cloak that Harry would wear over his robes until he actually arrived at McKinnon Hall. Once he was changed, Harry used the product he'd found in his room and slicked his hair back, once again marveling at its ability to do what he'd previously thought was the impossible. Before leaving Forest Cottage, Rose had insisted upon performing the complicated, mage level Vision Correction Charm on Harry, eliminating his need to wear glasses.

Heading back downstairs, Harry found that Eudora had gone back to Forest Cottage, but Robert and Katherine, who would be accompanying Harry to the ball that evening, were waiting for him. Robert's robes were similar to Harry's, though not as finely cut, and they were black and red, with silver buttons. Katherine, meanwhile, looked stunning in a red gown, with a black and red shawl covering her otherwise bare shoulders. Her long blond tresses were up in a fancy sort of twist that Harry had no idea what to call.

"You look very nice, Harry," Katherine said with a smile. "Every bit the handsome lord of an ancient house."

Robert nodded and said, "Indeed. There is one thing, however, that your ensemble is missing."

At Harry's raised eyebrow, Robert produced a black ebony cane which was topped with a golden lion's head with ruby eyes. "You'll find that all the lords, no matter how old they are will have a cane, Harry. The way the dress robes are cut, it's almost impossible to use a wand holster, so this is the alternative."

"I think I've seen Lucius Malfoy using one of these," Harry said. "Let me guess, the head detaches and my wand goes inside of it?"

"Indeed," Robert said, as he showed Harry how to detach the head, at which point Harry could see that there was a place inside to hold his wand. Now Harry hoped he wouldn't have any reason to draw his wand at the ball, but if he did, he was using his old holly and phoenix feather wand, just to keep up appearances. It didn't work quite as well for him anymore, Eudora hypothesizing that the wand was confused by the double, but Harry couldn't risk being seen using one of his new wands in public if he could avoid it. It would raise too many questions about why he'd gotten a new wand and in turn why his double wasn't using the new wand.

Once his wand was stowed inside the cane, Robert said, "Are you ready to go?"

Harry nodded, at which point Robert and Katherine led him into a room off the entryway, which they explained was the Apparition Chamber. It allowed anyone who was keyed into the wards by the Lord Potter to Apparate directly into the house, while any guests who weren't would have to take a carriage from town, traveling up the twenty-seven-and-a-half-kilometer driveway. Since Harry had never been to McKinnon Hall and he hadn't gone to the Ministry to get his Apparition license yet, even though he could now that he was legally an adult, Robert took him Side-Along. Moments later, they were standing in front of the pair of wrought iron gates.

"We'll have to take a carriage up to the house," Katherine explained.

They didn't have to wait long before a carriage arrived and a footman helped them all into it. The carriage was magically expanded to comfortably seat several people, which turned out to be a good thing, as they were soon joined by a few of the evening's other guests.

"Good evening, Your Grace," Neville said with a grin, as he got into the carriage along with his grandmother.

"Good to see you, Neville," Harry said with a smile. "And I assume this lovely woman is your gran?"

Neville nodded, as he said, "Indeed. Lord Potter, this is Lady Augusta Longbottom, Dowager Duchess of Aldersey. Gran, this is my friend and housemate, Lord Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston."

Augusta shook hands with Harry and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Granston." Since she was the widow of the former Duke of Aldersey, Augusta held the same rank as Harry and thus wasn't required to call him 'Your Grace'.

"You as well, my lady," Harry said with a smile. "Although, I'd prefer it if you just called me Harry."

"As you wish," Augusta said. "You may call me Augusta, Harry."

Motioning towards Robert and Katherine, Harry said, "This is my seneschal, Robert Higgs, and his wife Katherine."

Augusta nodded. "We've met. I hope you're both well?"

"Indeed, Your Grace," Robert said, as his wife nodded her agreement.

It was shortly after this that the sound of a whip could be heard, before the carriage moved forward, heading up towards the house.

"I understand, Harry, you've had Robert making inquires about replacing some of the Hogwarts staff," Augusta commented.

Harry nodded. "Yes, I think it's high time that Professor Binns was replaced. As I'm sure Neville will agree, he's not a very good teacher. He's far too focused on the goblin wars and Robert's son tells me that as a result he doesn't even teach half of what is covered in the history portion of the OWL exams." Okay, technically, it had been Roger who told Harry that, but Harry couldn't think of a logical reason for him to be talking to Roger Davies over summer break, but he figured nobody would question him talking to his seneschal's son. "And then, of course, there's his monotone droning which is enough to lull just about anybody to sleep."

"Yes, Neville has shared similar thoughts with me," Augusta said. "And, of course, I remember Binns' classes from my own Hogwarts days. Neville and I were both quite surprised by the comments made by Rita Skeeter in the Daily Prophet."

"So was I, honestly," Harry said. "I haven't had a chance yet, but I'm going to have a talk with Barnabas Cuffe about Ms. Skeeter because she wasn't being all that truthful in her comments. It is entirely possible that there may be a large number of students who might be upset by Binns getting replaced, but that's only because they'd lose out on nap time. Certainly not because they enjoy his class and find it riveting, I believe were her words."

Augusta nodded. "And what about Professor Snape? What are your objections toward him?"

"I admit, Rita was correct in that we don't get along," Harry answered. "Professor Snape did not have a good relationship with my father, and I'm afraid he takes his hatred of him out on me. As far as I can tell, the only thing I've ever done wrong where Snape is concerned is be James Potter's son. However, that is not the reason I'm looking to replace him. Over the years, he's made it abundantly clear that he absolutely hates teaching, so, I personally believe that means he shouldn't be doing it. Contrary to what Ms. Skeeter wrote, however, I am not looking to fire him completely."

"Oh?" Augusta asked.

"My father's portrait tells me that Hogwarts once employed a Master Brewer," Harry revealed. "I thought perhaps if the board approves, Professor Slughorn could take over teaching the potions classes, while Professor Snape becomes the Master Brewer and spends his time making all the potions for the Hospital Wing. It simply doesn't make much sense to import finished medicinal potions at a markup when most of the ingredients are grown in the Hogwarts greenhouses. Most of the commonly used potions can be produced much cheaper on site if only we had a dedicated brewer with the time to produce them."

Augusta thought about that for a moment, before nodding and saying, "Yes, Harry, you do have a point. As an added benefit, Hogwarts could sell the extra potions at a profit, which would help offset the costs of having to pay Binns' replacement, plus Slughorn and Snape. I quite like it, actually. You'll have the Longbottom vote at the Governor's meeting next weekend."

"Thank you, Augusta," Harry said. "The only other concern that I have where Snape is concerned is whether or not he'd still be able to take points while on staff as Master Brewer. He's always shown very blatant favoritism to Slytherin house, to the point of being extremely unfair to the other houses."

"Can you give me an example?" Augusta asked.

"I've asked Robert to talk to a few of the current students," Harry said. "Perhaps he'd be better equipped to answer that."

Robert nodded, as he'd known that Harry was going to direct that question to him. As Augusta turned to look at him, he said, "I had an occasion to visit with my old friend Michael Davies over the last few days and in doing so I talked with his son, Roger, who's due to be starting his sixth year in Ravenclaw. He told me about one instance last year where he was paired to work with fellow fifth year Slytherin Adrian Pucey in class and said that Pucey threw an ingredient into their potion at the wrong time, causing it to blow up. Now, Snape was actually watching this as it occurred and instead of punishing Pucey, he took twenty points from Ravenclaw and yelled at Roger for not stopping his partner. He then awarded Pucey ten points for having to put up with Roger's obvious incompetence."

"Terence wasn't in that class," Katherine added, "as he was a sixth-year last year, but from what he's said, that type of behavior is normal for Snape. Now, while it's true that Terence is a Slytherin and Snape's unfair methods of taking and giving points tend to benefit him and his house in the end, he still doesn't feel that it's particularly fair."

"I would have to agree," Augusta said. "If the incident Mr. Davies told you about, Robert, actually did happen that way, then Snape was totally out of line. Now, I believe the last time there was a Master Brewer on staff, they were placed on the same level as the caretaker, in that they were not allowed to take points or give detentions. Other professors can assign students to serve detentions with them, but they can't hand them out themselves."

Harry nodded, but before he could comment further, the carriage stopped, as it had arrived at the front entrance of McKinnon Hall. The door opened shortly afterward and the footman appeared, helping Augusta out of the carriage first, following by Katherine Higgs and then the three men. Entering the mansion, Harry's first thought upon seeing the entryway was that it bore a striking resemblance to pictures he'd seen of the Titanic. Straight ahead from the front doors was a large grand staircase leading up that looked almost exactly like the one on the doomed ship, ornate inlaid wall clock and all. Above the upstairs landing, Harry could see a large domed ceiling, although unlike the one on the famous ship, this one was much like the Hogwarts ceiling, in that it was charmed to show the night sky.

Stepping forward into the entryway, a house-elf quickly appeared and took their cloaks, before directing Augusta, Neville and Harry up the stairs towards the wall clock, while it led Robert and Katherine down a nearby corridor, as they had to enter the ballroom from a side entrance since they weren't nobility. Harry hadn't noticed it at first, as he'd been too preoccupied with looking at the stairs themselves and the ceiling, but there were a pair of wizards standing on either side of the large wall clock. As the group approached, they were asked for their names, at which point the wizards nodded, before waving their wands at the wall, the entire clock splitting down the middle and Harry realized that the wall the clock was in was apparently not a wall at all, but a pair of double doors.

Beyond the doors, was a large and ornate ballroom, already filled with guests. The footman from the carriage had informed them that they were the first of the noble families to arrive, other than, of course, Lord McKinnon, since the ball was in his house. The other guests already present were not from the noble families, but were all members of society that were deemed worthy to attend the ball. Mostly the elected members of the Wizengamot and high-ranking members of the Ministry, along with whomever they had decided to bring along as their guests.

As they stepped through the door, Athena and Neville in front of Harry, another wizard who was carrying a large staff that clearly wasn't a mage's staff nodded at them. He then struck the floor with his staff three times and said in a loud and clear voice, "Presenting The Dowager Duchess of Aldersey, Her Grace Lady Augusta Longbottom, accompanied by her grandson, Marquis of Claverton, The Most Honorable Neville Longbottom."

There was applause from those already in the room as Augusta and Neville stepped further into the room and after a moment, the wizard at the door struck the floor three times again, and announced, "Presenting The Duke of Granston, His Grace the Lord Harrison Potter."

Even more applause then what Augusta and Neville got rang through the room at Harry's announcement. He stood at the top of the stairs and nodded to a few people, as Augusta and Neville had done before him, before he followed them further into the room. Harry shook a few hands along the way, before finally arriving at a small seating area on the far end of the room. A moment later, a handsome young man with dirty blond hair walked over and nodded to the three nobles, as he said, "Welcome to my home, Your Graces."

"Thank you, Callum," Augusta said with a smile.

Since they'd never met previously, Callum turned to Harry and said, "It's an honor to meet you, Your Grace. I'm Lord Callum McKinnon, The Earl of Whitecross."

Harry nodded as he shook Callum's hand. "It's nice to meet you, as well. You have a lovely home. I mean no disrespect, but actually it reminds me of pictures I've seen of a Muggle luxury liner."

This was the first time that Callum had heard this, and raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Oh?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, the entryway and the staircase looks almost exactly like the grand staircase of the RMS Titanic. Unfortunately, it's been on the bottom of the ocean for many years now."

"How sad," Callum commented. "What happened to it?"

"Struck an iceberg and sank in April of 1912," Harry answered. "From what I've read, however, it was one of the most luxurious ships of its time. It was also a great tragedy, however, as the Muggles were so confident in its construction, they deemed it unsinkable and didn't bother having enough lifeboats for everyone on the ship, so over a thousand people died in the icy waters of the North Atlantic."

"That is indeed a tragedy," Augusta commented. "I do hope they at least learned something from it?"

"Yes, it did spark new laws," Harry replied. "First and foremost, from that point on no ship was allowed to leave port if it didn't have enough lifeboats for every person onboard."

Nothing further was said, as at that moment, the wizard at the door struck his staff against the floor again and said, "Presenting The Earl of Coleford, His Lordship the Lord Lucius Malfoy, accompanied by his wife, The Countess of Coleford, Her Ladyship the Lady Narcissa Malfoy, and their son, Viscount Bratton, The Honorable Draco Malfoy."

Harry eyed the Malfoys as they entered, paying particularly close attention to Lady Malfoy, as he'd never seen her until now. Unlike Lucius and Draco, Narcissa Malfoy had black hair, streaked with grey and had a look on her face as if there was something particularly foul smelling under her nose. Harry had no problems in seeing exactly where Draco got some of his mannerisms.

Before Harry could think about it much more, however, the staff struck the ground again, as the wizard said, "Presenting Viscount Cumberworth, The Honorable Arcturus Lestrange, representing his parents, The Earl of Mablethorpe, His Lordship the Lord Rodolphus Lestrange and The Countess of Mablethorpe, Her Ladyship the Lady Bellatrix Lestrange."

At this announcement, both Augusta and Neville visibly stiffened their postures and glared daggers at the young man who had just entered. He had a rather severe look about him, with jet black hair and aristocratic features, which reminded Harry a little of Sirius, but not in complimentary way. There was also a resemblance to Narcissa Malfoy and Harry wondered if they were related in any way. Callum sighed, casting an apologetic look at the Longbottoms, as he said, "I do apologize for his presence. If I could host this ball without inviting him, I would, but I'd never hear the end of it if I snubbed the heir of one of the Thirteen Houses. Especially since he votes his father's seats in the Wizengamot."

Augusta nodded her head, her face softening as she turned to Callum and said, "I understand, Callum. Obviously my grandson and I could do without seeing him, but I fully understand that you can't not invite him, just as much as we can't not invite him to Lakeview Hall when we host the various balls, as much as we may wish we could."

Noticing Harry's confused look, Neville said, "His parents are the reason I live with my gran. During the first war with You-Know-Who, they tortured them under the Cruciatus Curse until their minds broke beyond repair."

Harry had already heard this, of course, but it didn't make it any less easy to hear. Giving Neville a reassuring pat on the shoulder, Harry said, "That's terrible, Neville. They're paying for it, I hope?"

Neville nodded and said, "Yes, they were sentenced to life in Azkaban. Of course, I do worry they could get out on a technicality."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

It was Augusta who answered. "Lord and Lady Lestrange were tried and convicted by the Wizengamot, who doesn't have the authority to try the heads of the Thirteen Houses, since they're members of the Wizengamot. Only the King has the authority to pass judgment on one of the family heads, so technically they could get out simply because they were placed their illegally, even though they fully admitted that they did it."

Nobody had noticed it when Arcturus sidled up to their little group and said, "Hello everyone."

"Arcturus," Augusta said. Harry thought her tone was frosty enough to freeze the fires of Hell, not that he could blame her.

Nodding to Augusta and Neville, Arcturus turned his attention to Harry and said, "Your Grace, it's a pleasure to meet you."

'I wish I could say the same,' Harry thought, though he bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying it aloud. After all, he had no idea what this man's opinion of his parent's actions were. He could certainly understand Augusta and Neville not liking associating with him, but he didn't look like he was much older than maybe twenty-five at most, so he would have been about thirteen or so when his parents had tortured the Longbottoms and gone to prison. Since he wasn't there with them, Harry assumed that Arcturus himself had not actually participated in the torture, so it wasn't necessarily fair to judge him for the actions of his parents - unless he agreed with them, and thus far Harry didn't know if he did or not.

"It's nice to meet you, as well," Harry said, his tone cautiously neutral, as he cast a look at Neville, who nodded his understanding at his friend's greeting. Raised as an heir to a noble house, Neville knew all too well about the necessity of sometimes being polite to people he didn't necessarily want to be polite to.

"I've heard a most interesting rumor, Lord Potter," Arcturus said.

"Oh and what's that?" Harry asked. "Read Rita Skeeter's article in the Prophet, did you?"

"Yes, I did," Arcturus confirmed. "And while those changes are interesting, that's not what I was referring to. I heard that you've petitioned the King to pardon my mother's cousin, Lord Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black?" Augusta asked, looking at Harry with a shocked look. "Why would you ask the King to pardon the murderer who betrayed your parents?"

"Because he's my godfather," Harry responded. "And my parents' portrait swears to me that despite what is commonly believed, Sirius was not their Secret Keeper, so he didn't betray them. I also know for a fact, since I was there last year to witness his confession, that Peter Pettigrew was my parents' Secret Keeper, and that it was him and not Sirius who killed those twelve Muggles."

"Peter Pettigrew is dead, Lord Potter," Callum argued.

"No, he isn't," Harry disagreed. "It's true, he was believed to be dead, but I saw him with my own eyes last year, along with my friends, Ron and Hermione, Professor Lupin, and Sirius. All they ever found of Peter was his finger, because he's an unregistered Animagus. He betrayed my parents to Voldemort," he pointedly ignored the sharp intakes of breath from the others at his saying of the name, "and when Sirius confronted him over that betrayal, he killed the Muggles, cut off his finger, turned into his Animagus form, a rat, and disappeared down a sewer, leaving Sirius to look guilty. As I said, I witnessed him confessing to everything."

"How very interesting," Arcturus said. "Perhaps I should petition the King myself, to get my parents released, seeing as how their incarceration is just as illegal as Lord Black's was."

"Their incarceration is justified, Arcturus," Augusta said. "Unlike Lord Black, they actually did what they were imprisoned for. They took great pleasure in telling everyone in open court how much my son and daughter-in-law screamed under their torture and that they enjoyed every minute of inflicting it. You can petition the King if you like, Arcturus, but I will use every bit of power and influence that I can muster to keep them right where they are. That is a promise!"

"They were acting under the Imperius," Arcturus said. "Besides, with all due respect, your family doesn't have all that much power and influence anymore, does it? With the true family head in the hospital, unable to speak or make alliances? It has put House Longbottom at a rather severe disadvantage, if you ask me."

"Nobody asked you, Arcturus," Neville said in a rather angry tone. "Besides, House Lestrange is in the same position because your father can't make alliances from Azkaban. Not to mention the fact that as one of three original houses, House Longbottom will always hold more influence than you Viscount Cumberworth. As for your parents being under the Imperius when they tortured mine, that's a load of bull and you know it."

"Arcturus, perhaps it would be best if you went and socialized with someone else," Callum suggested, before the black-haired Viscount could say anything to Neville.

"I quite agree with our host," Harry said, in as neutral a tone as he could muster, which wasn't very easy since by what he'd just said, it sounded as if Arcturus was just as bad as his parents in many respects.

Arcturus looked like he was about to say something, but the sound of a staff striking the floor could be heard again, cutting him off, as more nobles were announced. "Presenting The Marquis of Taleford, His Excellence the Lord Amos Diggory, accompanied by his wife, The Marchioness of Taleford, Her Excellence the Lady Amelia Diggory, and their son, Earl of Charwell, the Right Honorable Cedric Diggory."

The Diggorys' arrival was followed shortly afterwards by more arrivals, during the announcement of which, much to everyone's pleasure, Arcturus Lestrange left the group and slinked off to another corner of the large ballroom.

"Presenting The Duke of Whitehaven, His Grace the Lord Garrick Ollivander, accompanied by his grandson, Marquis of Coulderton, the Most Honorable Gareth Ollivander."

"Presenting The Marquis of Levenmore, His Excellence the Lord Bruce McLaggen, accompanied by his wife, The Marchioness of Levenmore, Her Excellence the Lady Caroline McLaggen, and their son, Earl of Glencoe, the Right Honorable Cormac McLaggen."

Not long after their arrivals, Cormac, Cedric, and Nick came over towards Harry and the Longbottoms. It had been decided beforehand that Cormac, as Harry's housemate, would introduce Cedric and Nick to him, both of them already being acquainted with Neville due to the other balls they'd attended together. Harry, of course, already knew both of them, but he couldn't admit that without revealing how he knew them. Cedric could be explained more easily since he was still a student at Hogwarts and Harry had faced him on the Quidditch pitch. His knowing Nick, however, would have been much more difficult to explain, seeing as how he'd graduated from Hogwarts in June of 1988, and was now living in Cairo.

"It's good to meet you, Lord Potter," Nick said with a smile, as he shook Harry's hand.

"You too, Gareth," Harry said, making a point to use Nick's real first name, since Cormac hadn't mentioned that he preferred to be called Nick during his introduction. Since they were pretending they hadn't already met in Nick's shop in Cairo, there really was no explainable way for Harry to know about Nick's preferred nickname.

Smiling, Nick said, "Please, Lord Potter, call me Nick. It's a family tradition in my family to give males names starting with 'G', but I almost never use Gareth. I much prefer the shortened version of Nicholas, which is my middle name."

"As you wish, Nick," Harry said. "You can call me Harry."

Augusta excused herself at this point, leaving the younger people to chat while she went over to greet her elder brother, Lord Garrick Ollivander, and Cormac's parents. Callum also said his goodbyes, since he was the host and couldn't be seen to be favoring one group of guests over any others.

"Presenting The Marquis of Waringsford, His Excellence the Lord Erik Bones, accompanied by his aunt, Lady Amelia Bones, and his cousin, Lady Susan Bones."

Recognizing the name from his conversation with Cedric upon arriving back to Forest Cottage from Kinloch Hold, Harry looked over towards the entrance. He soon spotted Susan Bones, who he recognized from Hogwarts, along with the older woman he'd heard her mention as being her Aunt Amelia, whom Harry had learned was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry. In the center of the group, however, was a very handsome young man with black hair. 'He's very fit,' Harry thought, as he looked at the nineteen-year-old lord. 'Wait, fit? Where the heck did that come from?'

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," Nick said with a smile. "Erik is too handsome for his own good."

"I suppose that's true," Cormac allowed. "If you like that sort of thing, that is. Personally, he's much too, well, male, for my tastes."

Slinging an arm over his cousin's shoulder, Cedric grinned and said, "Oh Cormac, just because you're straight doesn't mean you can't acknowledge that a guy looks good. After all, you have to acknowledge that I look better than you almost every time we meet. You should be used to it by now."

Nick, Harry, and Neville laughed at that comment, while Cormac gave his cousin a dirty look. "Excuse me? I don't acknowledge anything of the sort, Ced," Cormac said, knowing that Cedric hated being called Ced since whenever he was it was usually by his father who was bragging about something that Cedric had done and making him feel incredibly uncomfortable. "On the contrary, it's me who looks better than you." Giving Cedric a quick look up and down, he then added, "Not that it's hard."

"Ouch, you wound me," Cedric said, his face clearly amused.

The staff hit the floor again and this time, the wizard said, "Presenting The Marquis of Grangemore, His Excellence the Lord Caractacus Burke, accompanied by his wife, The Marchioness of Grangemore, Her Excellence the Lady Ophelia Burke, and their grandson, Earl of Gullane, the Right Honorable Dominick Burke."

As Lord Burke's family arrived, Augusta Longbottom was conversing with Bruce McLaggen, Garrick Ollivander, and Amos Diggory about the changes that Harry had proposed making. As a Potter ally, Bruce almost immediately said that he would throw House McLaggen's support behind Harry. After considering it for awhile, Garrick nodded and pledged House Ollivander's support. Amos, meanwhile, was still on the fence about it, wanting to hear Harry's arguments from his own mouth at the governor's meeting before he decided one way or another. He did, however, agree with Augusta, Garrick, and Bruce that Professor Snape was crossing the line if his blatant favoritism of Slytherin was really as bad as it sounded by the description that Robert had shared with Augusta, who had in turn passed it on to the other lords. It was a clear abuse of the authority to take points if the person you were taking them from didn't deserve to have points taken and you were awarding them to the people who did deserve to have them taken.

Meanwhile, over in the corner where some of the younger attendees had gathered, Nick smiled as the Burkes were announced and said, "And there's another one who's too handsome for his own good."

Looking scandalized and just a bit sick, Cedric made a gagging noise as he looked at Nick and said, "Oh Nick, come on. You can't possibly like Lord Burke that way! He's old enough to be your grandfather, not to mention married."

"Ha, ha, very funny, Cedric," Nick said, his tone sarcastic. "You know very well that I didn't mean the old man."

"His wife then?" Cormac asked with a grin, playing along with his cousin's teasing. "Merlin knows she's a knockout," which was true since Ophelia, the fifth woman to hold the title of Lady Burke as Caractacus' wife, was at most five years older than his grandson. "If I was gay, which I'm not, I would definitely go straight for her."

Nick shook his head. "I admit, she's good-looking, but I'm not about to go straight for anyone. Besides you bloody well know I meant Nick."

Grinning, Neville said, "Oh you think you're too handsome for your own good? That sounds more than a little conceited, mate."

Doing his best to stifle a chuckle, Harry nodded and said, "I'd have to agree, Nick."

Nick Ollivander groaned and asked, "What is this? Let's tease and annoy Nick day?"

"That sounds like fun, where do I sign up?" a male voice said in a seductive tone from somewhere just behind Nick's left shoulder.

Turning his head, Nick Ollivander jumped a bit, before he said, "Nick, don't sneak up on me like that."

Dominick Burke, who often went by Nick himself, grinned as he kissed Nick on the cheek and said, "Are they all giving you a hard time? Grandfather has a Vanishing Cabinet in his store, you know, I could make all of them disappear."

"Would you, please?" Nick asked with a grin, while the others looked at the two blond-haired men with varying degrees of shock.

"You two... are together?" Cormac asked. "I didn't know you were gay, Dominick."

The two Nicks grinned and gave each other a peck on the lips, shocking their friends even more, before they started laughing. When he got a hold of himself, Nick Ollivander sighed and said, "Alas, Cormac, no, we're not together, although it's certainly not from any lack of trying on my part."

"Actually, Cormac, I'm bi," Dominick said, as he wrapped an arm around Nick. "And I do find Nick here to be very attractive. However, I'm also with someone that I love very much and she's not Nick."

"So, why isn't this mystery woman on your arm tonight?" Cedric asked. "Can't say as I've ever seen you with anyone, girl or bloke, Dominick."

"She's visiting family in Greece," Dominick answered. "Her grandmother is dying or she'd be here."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Cormac said, even as he thought, 'That's the oldest trick in the book. Does he really think we're that stupid? He's never had a girlfriend and now he says she's out of the country visiting her dying grandma to explain why she isn't here? Would just be easier to admit he doesn't have one.'

Before anyone else could say anything, the wizard at the door struck the floor again and announced, "Presenting The Earl of Axton, His Lordship the Lord Malcolm Flint, accompanied by his wife, The Countess of Axton, Her Ladyship the Lady Elizabeth Flint, and their son, Viscount Sarn, The Honorable Marcus Flint."

"I'm surprised Marcus Flint would even show his face in public," Cormac said.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because he did so badly on his NEWTs that he has to repeat his seventh year," Cedric said. "For the second time."

Nodding, Dominick said, "Yeah, I saw his results. His best grade was the Acceptable in Potions. The rest were all Poor or Dreadful, except his Charms NEWT - got Troll on that one."

"And yet, somehow, he's managed to stay on as Captain and Chaser for the Slytherin team," Cormac said. "How do you fail all but one class and repeat a year - twice - and yet still get to stay on the team?"

"Simple," Dominick said in a tone that clearly said he thought the answer to that should be obvious. "Have one of the school governors as your father. Lord Flint pressured the Headmaster to let him keep his place on the team."

"My father is a governor," Cedric pointed out, "and I can safely guarantee he would never pressure the school to let me stay on the Hufflepuff team if I had to repeat a year even once, let alone twice. He'd ground me until I'm fifty and make my life a living hell because it wouldn't look good for the future Minister for Magic to repeat a year."

Cormac grinned. "Uncle Amos is still pressuring you to be the Minister, Ric?"

"Yes, he is," Cedric confirmed. "Ever since he disowned him, all of Dad's hopes and dreams for Noah's future transferred to me. Never bothered to actually ask me if I wanted to be Minister. Just made it clear that not only does he expect me to be Minister, but that he also expects me to be the youngest Minister in Ministry history."

"Um, wasn't the youngest 23, like 600 years ago?" Neville asked.

"Yes, Neville, he was," Cedric answered. "So, if my father has his way, I'll be Minister for Magic by the time I'm 22. Of course, he'd prefer I be even younger than that in order to make the record next to impossible to beat, but he'll settle for 22 if necessary, since the record I'd be beating in doing so held for over six centuries."

"I take it you don't want the position?" Harry asked.

"Definitely not," Cedric replied. "Would you?"

"Hell no," Harry said, as the others laughed. "I rather think I've got enough positions without adding Minister on top of it."

Striking the floor three times, the wizard at the door said, "Presenting The Marquis of Carringholt, His Excellence the Lord Bartemius Crouch, Sr."

"Well, that should be the last of the nobles," Cedric said. "There's still one family, but nobody has attended the balls to represent the Blacks since Lord Arcturus Black died in 1991. Only living member of the family whose surname is still Black would be Sirius Black."

Neville nodded. "My Great-Grandaunt Callidora is a Black by birth, so she sometimes accompanied the late Lord Arcturus Black to the balls after her husband, my Great-Grandfather's brother Harfang passed away, but she's never officially represented the family."

"Is she here tonight?" Dominick asked.

Neville shook his head. "No, she's been feeling a little under the weather lately and didn't feel up to coming. As for Sirius, even if he is Lord Black, he'd never show his face here unless Harry is successful in his bid to get the King to pardon him."

This led to a quick explanation for the benefit of Dominick, Cormac, Nick, and Cedric, who hadn't been around when Harry had explained to Neville about his desire to have Sirius pardoned. Cedric knew, of course, but he did an excellent job of pretending that he didn't. Once they'd heard what Harry had to say, they all agreed that Sirius deserved to be pardoned and thought it was only a matter of time.

Since nobody was expecting anymore family heads and their families to show up, Callum walked over to stand on the stairs with a glass of champagne in his hand, while a dozen house-elves entered the room with trays of champagne for the guests. Once everyone had a glass, Callum cleared his throat to give a speech welcoming everyone to his home, when suddenly the wizard at the door struck his staff on the ground again and said, "Presenting Viscount Langleeford, the Honorable Asterion Black, accompanied by his father, Earl of Alnwick, the Right Honorable Regulus Black, representing their uncle and brother, The Marquis of Charlton, His Excellence the Lord Sirius Black."

Silence filled the ballroom, as everyone stopped and stared at the entrance. On the landing was a teenager, who couldn't be much older than sixteen, with dirty blond hair. Seeing them standing so close to one another, Harry's most immediate thought was that the teen, who he assumed was Asterion, looked a bit like Callum, possibly suggesting that the boy's mother was closely related to the McKinnons. However, most eyes in the room were not on Asterion, but on the man standing next to him who had been introduced as Regulus Black, brother of Sirius Black. The same Regulus Black who died in 1979. To those who'd known Regulus, however, they could easily recognize him as being an older and more distinguished version of the eighteen-year-old boy they'd last seen at his funeral, fifteen years ago.

The silence was broken as Narcissa Malfoy stepped forward and asked, "Regulus? Is that really you?"

"Yes, my dear cousin Narcissa," Regulus said with a grin. "It's really me."

"You're supposed to be dead," Arcturus Lestrange said, as he stepped forward.

Regulus continued to grin, as he said, "I'm afraid reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, cousin Arcturus." Then giving him a once over, Regulus added, "My, my you've certainly grown haven't you? Last time I saw you, you were only a few inches taller than the Hogwarts Sorting Hat."

"I was a child then!" Arcturus exclaimed, in a somewhat indignant tone, as if he was offended by the idea of being compared to the Sorting Hat. Or maybe it was being reminded of his once diminutive childhood height.

Regulus nodded and while Arcturus had not specified how old he was at the time, probably because he was embarrassed, Regulus had no problem with saying it. "Yes, Arcturus you were ten and very short for your age. You must have had a hell of a growth spurt as a teenager. Or was it growth potions?"

Before Arcturus could comment, Asterion grinned and said, "I've seen pictures - you were really short for a ten-year-old."

Arcturus looked like he wanted to say something, but someone else beat him to the punch.

"Asterion, is that really you?" Callum asked, just as shocked by Regulus' appearance as everyone else, but focusing his attention instead on the younger of the two.

Asterion nodded and said, "Yes, Uncle Callum, it's really me."

Pulling the young man into a hug, Callum said, "When your mother was killed and you disappeared, we all feared you were dead. Where have you been all this time?"

"He's been with me, of course," Regulus said. "He is, after all, my son. It's only right that I'd take him in after Marlena died."

"And you couldn't have let her family know that her son was okay and still alive?" Callum asked, clearly a little perturbed about not really knowing what had happened to his then three-year-old nephew, or even if he was still alive. "Where have you been all these years?"

"I must agree with our host, Regulus," Lucius said, as he stepped up next to his wife. "I'm sure we'd all like to know the answer to that. Especially those of us who attended your funeral and saw you in a coffin."

"It obviously wasn't me you saw in a coffin, Lucius," Regulus said. "I'm not disputing the fact that you thought it was me and that it may very well have looked very much like what I looked like back then, but it wasn't me. It couldn't have been, since I'm standing here."

"How do we even know that you really are Regulus Black?" Arcturus asked. "All we have is your word on that."

"Are you blind, Arcturus?" Neville asked, as he approached with the other younger nobles. "The boy clearly has McKinnon blood and it's a well known fact that Regulus Black had a child with Marlena McKinnon before she died."

"No, I'm not blind," Arcturus said in a scathing tone. "However, apparently unlike you, I happen to remember that we're wizards and that spells to change ones appearance exist." Turning back to look at the dais, he added, "How do we know that these two really are Regulus and Asterion Black? They could be using Glamour Charms."

Regulus shook his head and said, "I suppose I can't fault you for thinking that, Arcturus. You all thought I was dead. So, of course, you'd not immediately take my word for it that I'm not. Narcissa, my dear cousin, could you come up here for a moment?"

"Why?" Lucius asked before his wife took a step.

"I think that should be obvious, Lucius," Regulus said. "Narcissa is a Black and therefore she is privy to things that nobody but a Black would know. Things I couldn't possibly know if I wasn't also a Black. I thought we could have a short, private chat. Surely Lady Malfoy's word that I am who I say I am should be good enough?"

It was impossible to grow up in a noble house, especially one like the Black family, and not learn how to manipulate people to see things your way. Regulus knew immediately from Lucius' expression that he agreed with him. Of course Lady Narcissa Malfoy's word that something was true would be enough. As for as Lucius was concerned, his wife's word was unimpeachable.

"Fine, let's chat, Regulus," Narcissa said, as she stepped away from her husband and came up to the dais.

At this, Callum said, "You two can use my study for your chat if you'd like to keep it just between the two of you."

"Thank you, Callum," Regulus said. Technically speaking, Regulus should have called him Lord McKinnon, since while it would appear they held the same rank, Callum was an Earl by right, whereas Regulus was an Earl by courtesy and Wizarding custom did differentiate between those distinctions. The fact that Regulus had a child with Callum's older half-sister didn't mean much, since Regulus and Marlena were never married. Thus, technically speaking, Regulus was not family the way Asterion was, so while Asterion could say Uncle Callum, Regulus should have waited until he was given permission. Callum wasn't going to press that issue though, because honestly, he had way more important things on his mind at present.

Callum nodded and summoned a house-elf, directing it to take Regulus and Narcissa to his study. Once the two of them were alone in the study, Regulus pulled out his wand and said, "Silencio! Muffliato!" For added protection, however, and to shock his cousin, he then summoned his mage's staff and cast two more silencing spells, both of which were high-level mage spells that couldn't be cast by just anyone.

"You're a mage?" Narcissa asked.

"Surprised cousin dear?" Regulus asked. Narcissa nodded, at which point Regulus added, "Mage training is a secret so I can't go into details, but suffice it to say that my being a mage is partly how you were able to see me in a coffin when I wasn't dead. Anyway, Narcissa, back to proving that I am who I say I am. You were fourteen years old, I was eight, and you caught me reading your diary, which I admit, I stole from your room. I must say, Cissa, there were some truly juicy tidbits in that book. Things I know you wouldn't want to get out."

"You'll have to do better than that if you want me to go out there and say you really are Regulus Black," Narcissa said. "You haven't told me anything that proves it's you."

While she was acting cool and unconcerned on the outside, Narcissa was anything but on the inside. She remembered the incident all too well and she knew that there were indeed things in there she didn't want to get out. Even now, years later, there were a couple of things in there that she didn't want exposed.

"Oh you want more detailed proof, do you?" Regulus asked with a grin. "Well, how about the fact that I made copies of your diary and held its contents over your head for years until I supposedly died? Got you to do all kinds of things, such as lying to my parents and getting you to tell them I was with you when I was with Marlena. They wouldn't have liked that I was dating someone who wasn't from Slytherin. But back to you... let's see here, you had a crush on Professor Kettleburn, I believe it was, and went into great and quite scandalous detail about what you wanted to do with him. Honestly, Cissa, you corrupted my poor eight-year-old mind with all that graphic talk."

'Oh Merlin, it is him,' Narcissa thought, but before she could comment, Regulus grinned and said, "Of course, that was nothing in comparison to the fact that you knew that Dromeda was dating that Muggle boy and didn't tell anyone. What was it you said? Oh yes. 'I don't care if he's a mudblood, he's so handsome. Dromeda is lucky to have gotten him.' You know damn well you would have been disowned for that kind of talk. A pureblood girl lucky to be dating a mudblood? That idea would not have gone over well with our family. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it would go over very well with your husband either."

"Fine, fine, Regulus, I believe you!" Narcissa exclaimed. "It's obviously you, as I never told any of that to anyone else."

"Well, of course you didn't, Cissa," Regulus said with roguish grin. "You're still on the family tree, right? I mean, I'm sure dear old Mum would have blasted you off of it if she knew."

"Yes, your mother would definitely have blasted me off," Narcissa said. "She took her position in the family a little too seriously, if you ask me."

"Trust me, Cissa, I know that," Regulus said. "I lived with the woman, after all. The way she put on airs, you'd think she was the Marchioness of Charlton instead of the Countess of Alnwick. She routinely acted like my father was the head of the family, even though he was only the heir. I still remember some of the fights that Mum had with Grandmum Melania, who wasn't the slightest bit amused by Mum's tendency to act like she was Lady Black. Of course, seeing as how Mum was a Black before she married Father, I suppose she saw Grandmum as some kind of interloper."

"No offense, Regulus, but your mother was crazy," Narcissa said.

"You won't get any arguments from me, Cissa," Regulus said. "In fact, to be honest, that's part of the reason why I allowed everyone to think I was dead. I didn't want Mum to have any influence over my son."

"Part of the reason?" Narcissa asked. "There's more?"

"Well, I also did something to piss off the Dark Lord," Regulus said. "It was just safer for me to disappear. Asterion had already lost his mother, I wasn't going to let him lose his father too."

"I see," Narcissa said. "Well, we should be getting back."

"Yes, I suppose so," Regulus said. "Perhaps we should get together for tea one of these days though. We have a lot to catch up on."

"That would be lovely, Regulus," Narcissa said. "I'll look forward to it."

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, back in the ballroom, Callum spent a moment talking with Asterion on the steps, before they began mingling. Many people were understandably curious about Asterion Black and if he really was who he said he was. It had been in all of the papers years ago when Marlena, her twin Marlene, and most of the McKinnon family was killed that no trace of Marlena's young son had been found. The boy was never seen again and many people assumed that he was dead, but there was never any proof of that. There was, however, proof that his father, Regulus Black, had died, so while they were curious about Asterion, they were even more curious about the man who claimed to be Regulus.

"Well, this is certainly turning into an eventful evening," Cedric commented.

Dominick nodded. "You can say that again, Ric. I can't say I ever expected Regulus Black to show up."

"Assuming he is Regulus Black," Nick said. "I know my grandfather attended the funeral, as did most of the other noble families."

"My gran didn't," Neville said, "but then my grandfather had been seriously wounded in a Death Eater raid and was in the hospital. Gran refused to leave his side for any reason as she wanted to be with him right up until the end. He passed on about three days after Regulus' funeral."

"I don't know if my parents did or not," Harry said. "Maybe I'll ask their portrait when I get home."

Cormac nodded. "Well, you did say that Sirius was your godfather and Regulus was his brother, so it's possible that your parents went to the funeral. Although then again, I seem to recall hearing that Sirius and Regulus did not get on well."

"Whoever told you that was lying," a male voice said, as Cormac and the others turned to see Asterion standing there. With their attention now on him, he said, "My father and uncle were very close as they were growing up. Practically inseparable according to my father. Uncle Sirius did leave home, but it wasn't because of a problem with my father, but with my grandmother, Walburga Black."

Nick shuddered. "I only met her once and, no offense Asterion, but once was enough. I was five years old and she scared the shite out of me."

"None taken," Asterion said. "The few memories I have of her all scared me too. I'm sure many things could have been said about her, but you'd never find anyone who would say that she was a kind person. Crazy, yes. Personally, I blame the inbreeding."

"Inbreeding?" Harry asked.

"Yes, your grace," Asterion answered. "My grandmother Walburga was a Black before she married my grandfather, Orion. Their grandfathers, Sirius and Cygnus Black, were brothers, making them second cousins. And that's not the first time that members of my family have married within the family. Anyway, father and I have heard about your petition to the King to pardon Uncle Sirius. We both hope it's successful."

"So do I," Harry said. "I don't know my godfather as well as I'd like, but I do know that he's innocent of the charges that landed him in Azkaban."

"Innocent people aren't sent to prison, Potter," came a familiar drawl, as Harry turned and saw Draco Malfoy standing there, looking as pompous as ever.

Neville shook his head. "Malfoy, you should know better."

"Don't tell me what I should know, Longbottom," Draco said with a sneer. "You're practically a squib, so about the only person you're qualified to give advice to is a mudblood."

"Draco, I suggest you remove that word from your vocabulary," Harry said.

"How dare you call me by my given name," Draco said. "I didn't tell you that you could do that, scar head."

"You didn't need to, Draco," Harry said. "Last time I checked you're a Viscount, by courtesy, as your father's heir. Unless you can't read the newspaper, however, I'm a Duke in my own right. I outrank you, Draco, and therefore I don't need permission to call you by your first name. However, I do believe that you should be calling me your grace."

"I'm not going to call some stupid halfblood your grace, Potter," Draco said. "Your mother was a mudblood, so don't stand there and act like you have any right to a pureblood Wizarding title."

"There is nothing in the letters patent for the titles that says they can only be held by purebloods, Draco," Cedric pointed out.

"Stay out of this, Diggory," Draco said. "Nobody asked your opinion."

"You're making an ass of yourself, Draco," Nick said.

Turning on Nick, Draco said, "Well you'd be the expert on that, wouldn't you? You are a pansy, after all."

"Draco, I suggest you shut your mouth before you put your foot in it any further," Dominick said.

"And why would I listen to you, Burke?" Draco asked. "I saw that kiss you gave Ollivander here earlier. Not to mention the fact that your arm has been around his waist half the night. You're a queer just like he is aren't you?"

Dominick didn't have a chance to answer. Removing his wand from his cane, Harry pointed it at Draco and said, "Draco Malfoy, you've insulted me, my mother, and my friends. I won't stand for that, so as Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, I challenge you to a duel."

Draco looked at Harry as if he was looking at something particularly disgusting. "A duel with you isn't worth my time, Potter."

"So, you're refusing my challenge?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Potter, I refuse to duel you," Draco said. By this point, the conversation had drawn the attention of several other people in the room, who were now watching, most of them shocked at the Malfoy heir's behavior. He really should have known better than to act the way he was acting.

"Well, in that case, Draco, you leave me no choice," Harry said. "You've insulted me and those that I care about in my presence and now you refuse to give me satisfaction. If I'm feeling nice, I might release you in time to go to school, but in the meantime, I'm making you a guest of Seacliff's dungeons."

"You most certainly are not," Draco said. "You're not a proper pureblood, so you have no authority to do that, Potter."

"I take back what I said earlier," Dominick said. "You're not putting your foot in your mouth, you're digging your grave." At this point, he spotted Lucius coming over and he said, "Don't look now, Draco, but your father's coming and he doesn't look happy."

"You think that's going to scare me, Burke?" Draco said. "Only reason my father would be mad is because this scarred halfblood son of a mudblood bitch thinks he has the authority to lock me up. That's a laugh."

"Draco Lucian Malfoy!" Lucius exclaimed. "You will shut your mouth this instant!"

Realizing that Lucius was mad at him instead of Potter, Draco turned to his father and said, "But, Father..."

"Don't 'but Father' me, Draco," Lucius said. "You've shamed me and our house tonight. There's no excuse for that, so, I strongly suggest that you don't say another word." Turning to Harry, Lucius said, "I whole-heartedly apologize for my son's reprehensible behavior, your grace. Is there anything I can do to rectify this that doesn't involve my heir's imprisonment?"

"Frankly, Lucius, no there isn't," Harry said, as he put his wand back into his cane. "Your son has said many hurtful and insulting things to me and my friends this evening and I'm afraid it isn't the first time. If I had a galleon for every snide or insulting remark he's ever made since I've known him, I'd be the richest wizard in the world and that's without my family fortune. I think it's high time that he learn that his actions have consequences."

Nodding, Lucius said, "Of course, your grace, if that is your wish. Draco will report to Seacliff tomorrow morning to serve his time in the dungeons for however long you desire."

"Thank you, Lucius," Harry said, noting with a smile that Draco looked very angry at his father.

Lucius nodded again, before grabbing Draco's forearm in an iron grip that was clearly painful for the blond, as he said, "Let's go, Draco," before he pulled him away from the group.

Narcissa and Regulus returned shortly after this, at which point Narcissa announced that Regulus was telling the truth. She was as sure as she possibly could be that he really was her cousin Regulus Black. This announcement diverted the attention of the other guests off of the drama that had just played out between Draco and Harry, for which the brunet was eternally grateful. He'd never much enjoyed being in the spotlight, so he'd felt a bit uncomfortable under the attention of half the ballroom.

Callum made the speech he was going to make before Regulus and Asterion arrived, welcoming everyone to his home and adding in how extra pleased he was to have his nephew back. He then invited everyone to join him in the first dance of the evening.

-o-0-o-

The following day at breakfast, Robert arrived a bit out of breath and said, "Harry, I got here as fast as I could. This arrived at Seacliff in the morning post and I knew you'd want to see it immediately."

"What is it?" Harry asked, as he took the parchment envelope which was addressed to him.

Lord Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston  
Seacliff Castle  
Highever, Duchy of Granston, Albion

"Flip it over," Robert said as he sat down and accepted the cup of tea that Eudora offered him.

Harry did so and noticed a crest in the sealing wax. Studying it for a moment, he said, "I've seen this crest before at Gringotts." After a moment, his eyes widened and said, "On Vault 1000 - the Pendragon vault."

Robert nodded. "Yes, Harry, that's the royal crest. I can only assume that it's from the King, possibly his answer in terms of the pardon you requested for Sirius."

"I can't say I expected a response this quickly," Harry commented.

"Why not, Harry?" Cedric asked. "You are a Duke now and even if you haven't been officially installed yet, you're one of Edward's Privy Councilors. If he's anything like his late grandfather King Charles, he'd give a request from you a very high priority."

Harry nodded and then just stared at the envelope for a moment longer, before Remus asked, "Well, Harry, are you going to stare at it or open it?"

"Open it, I guess," Harry said, as he grabbed the knife next to his plate and used it to break the seal, before pulling a single sheet of parchment out of the envelope. Opening it, he read the missive aloud.

**_Lord Potter,_ **

**_We received your seneschal's request that we review the case against your godfather, Lord Sirius Orion Black. We have reviewed the pensieve memories you supplied proving that Peter Pettigrew is still alive, in addition to your memory of your parents' portrait insisting that Peter Pettigrew and not Lord Black was their secret keeper. We have also viewed the memories provided by one Remus J. Lupin, which corroborates the events in your own memories, showing Peter Pettigrew admitting to framing Lord Black for his murder and the murders of twelve Muggles._ **

**_Since we can find no evidence that any of these memories have been tampered with or altered in any way, we have chosen to ignore the voices in our court urging us not to trust the word of a werewolf and conclude that Lord Black is innocent of all charges levied against him._**

**_To that end, we have signed an order granting the Lord Black a full royal pardon and instructed our seneschal to deliver it personally to our Minister for Magic and the Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. Also in light of the twelve years the Lord Black spent in Azkaban for a crime he was never tried for or convicted of, we offer him our personal apology and have instructed our Chancellor of the Exchequer to remit to the Lord Black the sum of 50,000 Galleons, which shall be his to keep, tax free, for the rest of his life._ **

**_Sincerely,_ **  
**_His Imperial and Royal Majesty Edward Charles Arthur Phillip Pendragon, King-Emperor of Albion and Iwernia, Lord of Camelot, and Head of the Most Ancient and Royal House of Pendragon_ **

When he finished, Harry whooped for joy and said, "He's cleared, Remus! He's cleared!"

Remus smiled. "Yes, Harry, he is. It's excellent news."

Athena, meanwhile, had a contemplative look on her face, before she said, "I'm somewhat surprised that Edward signed his name that way."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, as he looked at the signature on the letter. "It's the same way he signed the letter to Gringotts." After a moment, however, he asked, "Wait, King-Emperor? You've always simply referred to him as the King, never an Emperor."

"Well, technically he is both," Athena commented. "It's just that none of the Pendragon monarchs have asserted the Imperial title in over 300 years, even though they are still entitled to do so."

"So, he's both King and Emperor of Albion and Iwernia?" Harry asked, as Athena nodded. "What's the difference?"

"The difference, Harry," Eudora answered, "is that the title of King applies only to the Wizarding sections of Albion and Iwernia. The title of Emperor is a higher title than King, however, and unlike the royal title, the imperial title refers to both islands in their entirety - including the Muggle sections."

"Wait, so you mean to say that King Edward outranks Queen Elizabeth?" Harry answered.

"Yes, Harry, he does," Athena replied. "You may remember when we were at the bank, I told you that Wizarding Britain and Muggle Britain, while sharing the same landmass, are two separate countries, who are more or less, independent of one another. The key words are 'more or less'. As I said, none of the Pendragon monarchs have used the Imperial title for over 300 years - or more precisely since 1692 when the Statute of Secrecy went into effect. While they didn't actually use it, they still retain the rights to it, but with the Statute in effect, it was decided to leave the Muggles completely to their own devices."

Taking over the explanation, Eudora added, "However, by ancient treaty, all of the lands of Albion and Iwernia are under the rule of the House of Pendragon, following the Unification Wars of 781 to 794. Now, following the war, King Arthur created the Thirteen Houses. Obviously there were already nobles prior to that point and some of them didn't like the idea of a bunch of previously commoner families being ennobled. It was particularly galling to the ones who were now outranked. However, after over a decade of war, none of them wanted to challenge the King on the decision, because they knew it would lead to another war, one which they weren't confident in winning, since they felt sure that the vast majority of the realm's wizards and witches would side with King Arthur."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"You see this is why Binns needs to go," Athena said. "You'd know this if he wasn't so fixated on the goblin wars. The reason it was believed all the witches and wizards would side with King Arthur, is because they'd been brutally persecuted by Arthur's father, King Uther. After Uther died in 763 and Arthur became King, however, he threw out all of his father's anti-magic laws and welcomed the practice of magic with open arms, also revealing at that point that he himself was a wizard - a fact which he'd succeeded in hiding from his father. In the ensuing years, Arthur became a champion of magic users throughout the islands, and then after the Unification Wars, he granted titles of nobility to thirteen magical families and made the heads of three of those families members of his Privy Council. All of this, plus the fact that Merlin was on Arthur's side, cemented the loyalty of almost all of the countries' magical practitioners."

"There were some that were loyal to Morgana Le Fey, of course," Eudora said. "But, no matter how much Merlin and Morgana may not have gotten along, she would never help the Muggles in a war against King Arthur to protest the advancement of magic users in the country. She was very much so pleased with him for his decisions on that front and would likely have fought with him if a war had broken out. After King Arthur, Merlin and Morgana died, however, tensions did begin rising, but it didn't really come to a head until the year 1041, when a war finally broke out."

"By then, King Arthur's great-great-grandson, King Phillip Pendragon, was on the throne," Athena explained. "Leading Camelot's armies personally, King Phillip took to the field along with the famed Knights of the Round Table and the Silver Dragons. The Silver Dragons, by the way, are a knightly order consisting of the Lords of the Thirteen Houses, and a few other knights that had been granted the Royal Star of Camelot."

"The Royal Star of Camelot?" Harry asked.

"It's an award of merit, Harry," Remus answered. "Named after the six-hundred carat flawless diamond of the same name that's set in the Dragon's Scepter, which is part of the Pendragon crown jewels and is used during the coronation ceremony, along with the Crown of the Golden Dragon and the Dragon's Claw Orb. The crown is the magical equivalent to Muggle Britain's Imperial State Crown, and is worn by the King during major state occasions, or would be if Edward ever appeared in public."

"Now, unlike the Order of Merlin," Athena said, "which can be awarded by the Ministry, only the ruling King can award a person with the Royal Star of Camelot because if the person who it's awarded to is not already in possession of or the heir to a higher title, then the award carries with it a hereditary knightly title, similar to a Baronet in the Muggle world. The person isn't nobility, but they're still held in very high regard, because the monarchy doesn't grant the Royal Star of Camelot to just anyone. They had to have done something of particular importance to the realm or for the royal family itself. The title has only been granted a hundred times in over a thousand years and most of the families it was granted to have died out."

'I guess Merlin didn't put his last of the line protections on them,' Harry thought. 'Of course, Athena did say that the holder of the award isn't considered to be nobility, so I guess it makes sense.'

"Out of a hundred there's only nine that are still around," Cedric supplied. "And all but one of them are Most Ancient and Noble Houses - the one that isn't is the Lovegood family."

Eudora nodded. "It's the main reason why the Ministry hasn't done anything to stop the production of The Quibbler, which is owned and operated by Sir Xenophilius Lovegood. No matter how crazy his paper may make him seem, he's still a member of the Silver Dragons and held in very high regard as a result."

"Anyway, Camelot's armies rode out with King Phillip at the head," Eudora said. "The war started by the rebellious Muggles lasted just over a year, ending in early 1042, with King Phillip's forces victorious. However, he could see the schism which had developed between magical and non-magical culture, so, he named himself King of only the magical sections of Albion and Iwernia, granting Edward the Confessor the crown of the Muggle sections. However, it was made clear in the ancient treaty establishing that divide that while the newly named King Edward the Confessor would be allowed to rule the Muggles anyway he saw fit, he would still have to answer to King Phillip, who named himself Emperor of the islands and the ultimate ruler of both sections of the country."

"Fast forward to 1972," Athena said, "and Voldemort made it quite clear when he personally killed King Charles that the reason he was killing off the entire royal family was because he intended to then crown himself King, at which point he also would have been Emperor over the Muggle sections. Had he succeeded, I can only imagine that he would then have thrown out the Statute of Secrecy, so that he could openly and legally torture as many Muggles as he wanted. Unfortunately for Voldemort, the infant Prince Edward lived, so when Voldemort tried to take the Crown of the Golden Dragon for himself, he was electrocuted and knocked unconscious for three days. Luckily for Voldemort, his Death Eaters managed to get their prone leader out of the palace before the royal guards could arrest them for the murder of the King."

"Voldemort's attacks and raids became even more brutal after that," Remus explained. "It's believed that he was greatly angered by his failure to take the crown and would see everyone suffer for denying him what was, in his mind, rightfully his."

"Wow," Harry said, as he glanced up at the clock. "Well, as much as I would love to stay here and continue this conversation, I can't. The autumn session of the Wizengamot will be opening in less than an hour and since I'm being installed in the Potter seats, I have to be present."

"Yes, Harry, that's true," Robert confirmed.

"Remus, if you could track down Sirius and let him know of his pardon, I'd appreciate it," Harry said, at which point Remus nodded and indicated that he would. Harry then turned to Athena and asked, "Would it be possible to bring Sirius here? I know that would mean bringing another person in on the secret of the training, but I've spent so little time with my godfather. I'd really like to get to know him better."

Athena was silent for a moment, before she said, "I will think about it, Harry, and we'll discuss it later. For now, you have to be getting to the Wizengamot chambers."

"Yeah," Harry said, as he stood up from the table, already dressed and ready to go. He'd spent the last couple of days studying law books with the help of Cedric and Roger, brushing up on as much as he could. He still didn't understand all of it, but he'd been assured that the first day of any Wizengamot session, especially when a new member was being installed, would be more pomp and circumstance than anything else. It was doubtful that there'd be any issues that Harry would need to vote on and even if there were, Robert would be there to assist and advise him. Taking a deep breath, Harry smiled at the others and said, "Wish me luck," before following Robert out to the Apparition point and leaving Athena's property.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's chapter five. I apologize for the wait, but I've been swamped with other things lately. I know I said Harry would be meeting with the Governors in this chapter, suggesting that the Board of Governors would be meeting, but I changed a few things around on my calendar for the story, so that's been moved to the next chapter. So, who guessed that 'R' was Regulus? Anyone? Surprised that he's alive and has a teenage son? And what about Sirius? Should he come to Forest Cottage to be with Harry and Remus? And what about Dominick Burke? Is he lying about having a girlfriend? Let me know what you think.
> 
> Next Chapter: The opening of the Wizengamot and a conversation with Dumbledore, Regulus and Asterion arrive at Forest Cottage, Roger's 16th birthday party, and the Governor's meeting.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Six

-o-0-o-

Shortly after Harry left with Robert, the rest of the boys finished breakfast and retreated upstairs to their common room. Despite being a Monday, they'd been given the day off from classes since Harry had to attend to his duties at the Wizengamot. Remus accompanied them, sitting down at one of the partner's desks with Gavin to help him with his remedial studies. All was silent for a few minutes, until Roger approached the desk that Gavin and Remus were working at and cleared his throat.

Looking up, Remus smiled and asked, "Yes, Mr. Davies?"

"Professor, when were you a student at Hogwarts?" Roger asked.

"September 1971 until June 1978," Remus answered. "Why?"

"Well, I was just thinking about something that Athena said when you got here yesterday," Roger replied. "She said that she and the other trainers were all professors at Hogwarts during Professor Lupin's time at the school. So, in my mind, it stands to reason that we can eliminate any professors who started working at Hogwarts later than that."

"Hmm, you're right, Rog," Cedric said. "Good catch."

"Thanks," Roger said. "Of course, I'm not precisely sure how long all of the professors have been teaching, but I do know that three of the former Ravenclaws on staff didn't start until the 1980's. Professor Wynter began teaching the Spell Creation elective in 1984, while Professor O'Casey started teaching Wizarding Law in 1985 and Professor O'Brien took over the Wizarding Home Economics classes in the spring of 1989. So, all of them are out as possibilities."

Terence nodded and said, "While I never took it, I do know Professor Trelawney wasn't hired to teach Divination until the spring of 1980." After a moment, he added, "Oh and I remember Professor Warren's wife had a stroke in June of 1993, so, he left to take care of her and Professor Burbage was hired to take over the Muggle Studies classes that autumn."

"You can eliminate Professors Landolt and McLaughlin as well," Oliver said. "I didn't take their classes, but Bryce and Cameron did. If I remember correctly, Professor Landolt was hired for Magical Languages in 1986 and Professor McLaughlin for Magical Finance in 1988."

Gavin nodded and said, "Yeah, that sounds right. I remember Bry and Cam talking about them, as those were two of their favorite classes in school."

Cedric had his brow furrowed in thought for a moment, before he said, "Professor McIntosh started teaching Specialized Charms in 1990, I think, and I want to say that Professor Sheldon was hired for Magical Literature in 1986?"

Terence cocked his head to the side for a moment, before he said, "I think you're right on Professor McIntosh, but I'm pretty sure Professor Sheldon started in 1985."

"Noah took Magical Literature," Cedric said, "and I want to say that I remember him saying that Professor Sheldon had commented it was her second year teaching when he took it. He was a first year in 1984, so, it would have been 1987 when he was a third year."

Roger shook his head and said, "Both of you are kind of right. Noah finished school in June of '91, so he would have been a 1st year in the 1984-85 school year, which means he would have been a third year in the 1986-87 school year. If that was Professor Sheldon's second year teaching the class, it would mean she started in the 1985-86 school year."

Cedric slapped his forehead, as he said, "You're right. Dates were never my strong point, which is probably why I didn't sign up for NEWT-level History of Magic. Well, that, and I didn't want to be in Binns' class for two more years. I know Harry's trying to get him replaced, but so far nobody has expressed any interest in the job."

"True," Roger commented. "I really do hope that Binns does get replaced, because otherwise I feel really sorry for my double."

Terence grinned. "You should also feel sorry for yourself, Roger." At the Ravenclaw's questioning look, Terence said, "Eventually, we'll finish our training, at which point we'll have to remerge with our doubles. If Binns doesn't get replaced, that means you'll end up getting two more years worth of memories of his mind-numbingly boring lectures on the goblin wars."

Roger groaned. "Oh Merlin, you're right. I'm almost getting a headache just thinking about it."

"So what are you boys up to?" Rose asked, when she came up the stairs a few moments later.

"They're trying to figure out your identities," Remus said. "They used something Athena said yesterday to eliminate several staff members as possibilities."

"Oh?" Rose asked.

"Athena said that all of you were on staff during Professor Lupin's time at Hogwarts," Terence explained. "So, Roger pointed out that we could eliminate everyone who was hired after he finished school in 1978."

"I see," Rose said with a smile. "I would point out, however, what Athena actually said. She said that she was one of Lupin's professors. She didn't say the rest of us were, just that we were all on staff during his time at Hogwarts. Question is, did she mean during his time as a student or during his time as a professor?"

Roger opened his mouth to say something, but promptly closed it. It was obvious that he'd made an assumption on what Athena had meant and hadn't thought it through as completely as he should have. After a moment, he hung his head, and sighed. "Well, that shoots that down."

The other boys nodded in agreement, clearly a bit sad at this turn of events. Remus wasn't sure how to react, because he actually hadn't thought of it either. When Roger had stated his reasons for wanting to know when he was a student, he'd also made the same assumption that Roger had made. Athena had said she'd been one of his professors and that the other trainers had been on staff during his time at Hogwarts, so he'd assumed as well that meant during his student years. He hadn't considered that it might have meant during his time as a professor.

Rose watched, an amused grin on her face, before finally she laughed and said, "Oh don't look so melancholy. Roger was right - all of us were on staff during Lupin's time at Hogwarts as a student, so you can eliminate everyone hired in the 1980's and 90's."

"Okay, then," Cedric said. "Well, that eliminates a number of professors."

"Which ones have you eliminated, just out of curiosity?" Rose asked.

Terence listed them off, along with the years they thought they were hired. When he finished, Rose nodded and said, "You're correct on all of those years, and yes, none of those people are in this house."

"Rose, there was something else I was wondering," Roger said.

"And what's that?" Rose asked.

"Well, the other day we were discussing the mystery of your identities," Roger explained, "and we assumed that we could safely eliminate all of the male professors as possibilities since all of you are female. However, in thinking about it, I realized that with magic, a male could disguise themselves as a female, so are all of you actually women?"

Rose laughed again. When she calmed down, she said, "While we don't want to make anything too obvious for all of you, as we want you to have to work at it, I will say this much: all of us are indeed natural-born women. So, no, none of us are Professor Flitwick, Mr. Filch, or any of the other male staff members in disguise."

Terence smiled. "Well, then I think today has been very productive. We've eliminated several professors as possibilities."

Cedric's grin was rather grim as he said, "True, but that still leaves us with more possibilities then trainers. Even eliminating the ones we did, we still have Madams Pince, Hooch and Pomfrey and Professors McGonagall, Babbling, Vector, Sinistra, and Sprout."

"Well, it's still a start," Roger said. "I mean, the last time we talked about this, we had seventeen female staff members as possibilities. Now we're down to only eight. So, if we can just eliminate four more, we'll know who the trainers are."

"That's partially true, Roger," Rose said with a smile. At the confused and questioning looks, she added, "Even if you manage to narrow it down to only four possibilities, you'll still need to match the correct name with the right person before we'll tell you if you're right or not."

-o-0-o-

Arriving at the Ministry through the special entrance set aside for the Minister and other high-level Ministry employees, which as a Lord of the Wizengamot Harry was considered to be even if he didn't have a Ministry position, Robert and Harry made their way down to the Wizengamot Chambers. In an antechamber outside of the main chamber, Harry spotted several members of the Wizengamot, easily distinguishing the noble members from the non-noble, elected members. It seemed that only the noble members and the Chief Warlock wore plum-colored robes, everyone else wore black.

Speaking of the Chief Warlock, Harry noticed Dumbledore almost immediately. The Headmaster had his back turned in Harry's direction at the moment, as he conversed with Lords Ollivander and McKinnon. Harry's attention was soon drawn off of Dumbledore, however, when a voice from behind him said, "Hello, Your Grace."

Turning, Harry smiled. "Nick? Dominick? Didn't expect to see either of you here today."

"Yeah, we attend all of the meetings," Nick said. "Not all of the Lords do it, but some of them, my grandfather and Dominick's grandfather included, have their heirs or another agent vote one of their seats for them. Grandfather votes the Ollivander and Whitehaven seats, while I vote the Coulderton seat and grandfather's seneschal votes the Eskett seat. Of course, we do have to vote the way my grandfather tells us to, since they're his seats."

Dominick nodded. "My grandfather votes the Burke seat. Grandmother Ophelia votes the Grangemore seat, I vote the Gullane seat, and grandfather's seneschal votes the Shannonvale seat. For us heirs, it's supposed to give us a taste of what we're in for when we actually take over the seats someday."

Harry nodded. "Ah, I see. I do hope Lucius isn't too inconvenienced by the fact that his heir can't be here today, as he'll be in my dungeons for the foreseeable future."

Nick grinned. "That little shit deserved it, if you ask me. The things he was saying last night were totally out of line."

Dominick nodded. "Yeah, they were. At any rate, Lucius won't be inconvenienced because there's a rule on the books that says you must be at least 21 to cast a vote on the Wizengamot. An exception is made for the younger Heads of Noble Houses, such as yourself, Harry, but everyone else, including heirs, have to be at least 21. Draco is only 14, so even if he wasn't in your dungeon, he wouldn't be here since unless something happens to his father and he becomes Lord Malfoy, Draco can't vote for another seven years."

Nodding, Harry looked at Robert and said, "Robert, should anything come to a vote today, if you could handle the Brynmoor and Mathry seats, I'll handle the other two."

"Of course, your grace, as you wish," Robert said, as he bowed slightly.

Before anything else was said, a commotion at the entrance drew Harry's attention. It appeared the guards on either side of the entrance to the antechamber were trying to keep someone out. Looking past them, Harry spotted Regulus Black and it was then that he heard one of the guards say that Regulus Black was dead and that he was clearly an imposter.

Walking over to the entrance, Harry said, "That man is not an imposter."

One of the guards turned to look at Harry and said, "Your Grace, sir, no disrespect but Regulus Black is dead."

"No, he isn't," Harry said. "This man was at the Opening Ball last night and Lady Narcissa Malfoy is convinced that it is indeed her cousin, Regulus Black. As Duke of Granston and the godson of his brother, I will also vouch for him, as I can clearly see the Black family resemblance. Now let him in."

The guards looked hesitant, but they weren't about to go against a direct order from one of the senior lords of the Wizengamot, especially when it was The-Boy-Who-Lived. Moving aside, they allowed Regulus to cross the threshold and enter the room.

"Thank you for your assistance, Your Grace," Regulus said, bowing slightly at Harry.

"You're welcome, Regulus," Harry said. "We didn't have a chance to talk last night, but I talked with your son, Asterion. He relayed to me that you both hoped I was successful in my bid to have your brother cleared. I'm happy to say I have news on that front."

"Oh?" Regulus asked.

"Yes, I received a letter from His Majesty this morning," Harry replied. "Sirius has been granted a full pardon and restitution for his time spent in Azkaban."

"That is excellent news, Your Grace," Regulus said, a genuine smile on his face. "I thank you for setting that into motion."

"You're welcome, Regulus," Harry said. "And please, call me Harry. Sirius is my godfather, after all, so I reckon that makes us family in a way."

"Yes, I suppose it does at that," Regulus said. "Of course, even if he wasn't your godfather, we are cousins."

"We are?" Harry asked.

Regulus nodded. "Yes, my mother's Aunt Dorea was married to Charlus Potter. He was your grandfather Lord Julian Potter's younger brother, which makes us third cousins by marriage."

"Well, you learn something new every day," Harry said.

If it hadn't been for the fact that Regulus already knew some of the details of Harry's life, mainly that he had not grown up at Seacliff as was commonly believed but had instead been raised by Muggles, he might have wondered about the boy's ignorance of his family tree. After all, the Potters were a Most Ancient and Noble House just as the Blacks were, so the Potters would have their own family tapestry which would have shown the fact that they were related.

Wandlessly casting a Silencing Charm, Regulus said, "I do know about your training, Harry." At the boy's confused look, Regulus said, "I'm a mage too - Athena trained me back in the late 70's, early 80's. My double died and until now I just never corrected anyone on the assumption that I was dead." Noticing that Harry had looked around as if to see if anyone was listening, Regulus added, "I've put up a Silencing Charm around us, so you can speak freely."

"Why did you let everyone think you were dead?" Harry asked.

"I was still undergoing mage training for one," Regulus answered. "I finished about two years after my supposed death. There was also Asterion to consider. I don't know how much you've heard about Sirius' and my mother, Walburga Black, but she was not by any means a kind woman. Before she died, Asterion's mother, Marlena McKinnon, raised him. But when she died, I took custody of the boy and I didn't want my mother to have any influence over him, so, after I finished my training, I disappeared and raised Asterion in hiding. Mother is dead now, of course, but even if she weren't, Asterion is seventeen now, so, I like to think he'd be old enough that she couldn't influence him if she was still around."

"Forgive me, but that seems a little extreme," Harry said. "You let everyone, including Asterion's other family members, think both of you were dead for years just to keep your mother out of his life?"

"You're right, of course," Regulus said. "That would be extreme if it was the only reason. I had another reason, which I'll share with you later." At Harry's raised eyebrow, Regulus added, "Asterion and I will be coming to Forest Cottage after the Wizengamot meeting. And if you're interested, I can bring my copy of the Black family tree. You're on it, as are a few other people you know and unlike my mother's copy, it doesn't have anyone blasted off."

"Blasted off?" Harry asked.

Regulus smiled. "Yes, my mother blasted off everyone who displeased her somehow. In other words, she burned their names off the family tree as if they didn't exist. Some examples are Sirius, after he ran away, her brother Alphard, who left Sirius a decent amount of gold in his will, and my cousin Narcissa Malfoy's sister, Andromeda, because she married a Muggleborn wizard named Ted Tonks."

"Huh," Harry said. "Yes, I'd like to see that. I've spent my whole life as an orphan, raised by relatives that didn't really want me. It'd be nice to know that I actually have family."

Regulus nodded. "I can understand that, Harry, although I warn you, there may be some people on the family tree that you would prefer not to be related to at all, but are. Draco Malfoy, for instance? His mother, Narcissa, is a Black, as she's the daughter of my mother's brother Cygnus. Which makes Draco my first cousin, once removed. If I recall correctly, Narcissa is your third cousin, so, Draco would be your third cousin, once removed."

"Oh joy," Harry said. "Family or not, he's staying in the dungeon." And then, more to himself, he added, "Honestly, I'm half-tempted to put the Dursleys there."

Regulus heard what Harry said, but didn't have a chance to say anything, as he quickly cancelled the Silencing Charm when he noticed a determined looking Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Professor Albus Dumbledore, approaching them.

"Harry, my boy, don't get too close to him," Albus warned. "He's a Death Eater."

Looking at Regulus, who was currently standing outside of Albus' field of vision since the headmaster had put himself between Regulus and Harry, the brunet had no trouble seeing Regulus mouthing the words, "My double", over the headmaster's shoulder. Harry took this to mean that Regulus himself was not actually a Death Eater - it was his double that had joined the ranks of the Death Eaters. Now, while it was true that the doubles would usually not do anything that the real person was not likely to do themselves, Harry wanted more information about why Regulus' double would join the Death Eaters before he passed judgment on Regulus himself.

"Who I keep company with is my business, Albus," Harry said.

Dumbledore looked a bit shocked, as he said, "Harry, I am your Headmaster, it is most inappropriate for you to call me that."

"No, Albus, what's inappropriate is for you to call me by my first name," Harry returned. "I haven't given you permission to do that, so I'll thank you to call me 'Your Grace' in the future. As to you being my Headmaster, that might be true, but that doesn't really mean much, considering that as one of the Governors of Hogwarts, I'm your boss."

Albus sighed. "I fear your newfound power is going to your head, my boy."

"I am not your boy," Harry said. "And I assure you the power is not going to my head. I only wish to be treated with the respect that I deserve."

"And you don't think I'm worthy of some respect?" Albus asked.

"Honestly? No, I don't," Harry answered. "I've learned some things since claiming my birthright, Albus. Such as the fact that it was you who placed me with the Dursleys as a baby. You insist that I go back to their house every summer, even after you knew that they were abusive. I'm the head of one of Albion's oldest and most respected noble houses, Albus, but on Privet Drive, my relatives treat me worse than a house-elf and yet if it was up to you, I'd still be living there."

"Harry..." Albus began, but sighed when he saw the look on the young man's face. "Your Grace, do you mean to tell me that you're not living on Privet Drive? It's imperative that you remain in that house. The blood wards are the only thing that will keep you safe from Voldemort."

"I see you're continuing to ignore the fact that the Dursleys are abusive," Harry said. "As I said, they treat me like their own personal house-elf and you want me to go back to that? Do you not care if I'm treated like a slave? Voldemort doesn't have a body, Albus, and I've beaten him before, so I'm not worried. Besides, I'm perfectly safe where I'm living now."

"And where is that?" Albus asked.

"Seacliff Castle, of course," Harry replied. "Which, in case you weren't aware, is protected by extremely powerful and ancient wards set by Merlin himself. Now, are you going to say that Seacliff's wards aren't capable of keeping me safe? That wards you cast will keep me safer than wards cast by the greatest and most powerful wizard of all time?"

Before Dumbledore could respond, Bruce and Caroline McLaggen came over and Caroline asked, "Lord Potter, is there a problem here?"

"No, Caroline, their isn't," Harry said. "Our esteemed Chief Warlock was just expressing his worry that I wasn't adequately protected since I'm no longer living in my relatives' house and am thus outside of the wards he cast around it."

"Utter nonsense," Bruce said. "You'll be perfectly safe at Seacliff, Your Grace. Merlin himself cast the wards around the ancestral homes of all of the Thirteen Houses. I'm sure Dumbledore would never presume to say that his wards are stronger than Merlin's. Besides, my family and I will do everything we can to keep you safe, Your Grace."

"Thank you, Bruce," Harry said and noticing the questioning look on Dumbledore's face, Harry said, "Not that it's any of your business, Albus, but Bruce and I have renewed the alliance between House Potter and House McLaggen. I suspect that in the coming weeks, I will renew any other alliances my father made and possibly forge a few new ones."

"New ones?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, I'm sure my godfather would be interested in an alliance," Harry responded. "Don't you agree, Regulus?"

Regulus smiled and said, "Yes, Your Grace, I do. If I know Sirius, he'd jump at the chance. The only thing that stopped him from forging an official alliance with James was the fact that he wasn't Lord Black while Grandfather Arcturus was still alive."

"Sirius Black can't make alliances while he's a wanted fugitive," Dumbledore said.

"Ah, Albus, but he isn't," Harry said. "I petitioned the King to review Sirius' case and I got a letter from him this morning. He's found Sirius innocent of all charges and granted him a full royal pardon, plus restitution for his time spent in Azkaban for crimes he didn't commit. I fully expect it won't be long before Sirius takes his place voting the Black seats here in the Wizengamot."

Before Albus could say a word, Lady Amelia Bones, who had just entered the room with her nephew, Lord Erik Bones, and had overheard what Harry said, walked over and said, "Lord Potter is correct, Albus. His Majesty's seneschal delivered the pardon for Sirius Black to me this morning. I've already sent out word to every office in my department that Lord Black has been pardoned and that they are not to arrest or detain him for any reason. I also happen to know that Minister Fudge has rescinded his previous standing order that Lord Black be given the Dementor's Kiss, which I understand he's in some hot water with the King for issuing in the first place."

"I'm rather surprised you didn't know about this, Albus," Caroline said. "Isn't His Majesty's seneschal your grandson?"

"Yes, Lady McLaggen," Dumbledore answered. "Brian is King Edward's seneschal, but he doesn't discuss the King's affairs with me. I'm sorry to say that he doesn't discuss much of anything with me."

"I see," Bruce said. "I take it he still blames you for his mother's death."

"His mother's death?" Harry asked.

Caroline nodded. "Yes, Your Grace. Brian Dumbledore's mother, Katarina, was Albus' partner in some of his experiments. She was his assistant and helped him discover two of the twelve uses of dragon's blood. Unfortunately, just after they'd discovered the twelfth, there was an accident in Albus' lab and Katarina died. Brian has been very vocal in his belief that his grandfather was not only responsible for the accident, which he asserts wasn't an accident, but could have saved her if he'd tried."

"There was nothing I could do," Dumbledore argued. "I barely escaped that lab alive myself and no matter what Brian may say, it was an accident. My grandson is deluded if he thinks that I would kill his mother so I wouldn't have to share the credit for the discovery of the last two uses of dragon's blood."

Amelia nodded, "That might be true, Albus, but it hasn't stopped Brian from insisting that you killed his mother. Even now, five years after the fact, he continues to insist that you're a murderer. There's no evidence to prove that, however, and as long as I'm the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, we are not going to arrest people for crimes based on the word of a single person, when there's not a shred of evidence to back up the accusation. Although, I admit, there would be nothing I could do if Brian were to ever convince King Edward to take action against you, Albus."

"Yes, you'd better hope that he doesn't," Bruce said, as he noticed the last of the lords entering the antechamber. Looking around the room for a moment, he then added, "Anyway, it looks like everyone is here, so, I think it's high time we get started, don't you agree, Chief Warlock?"

"Yes, quite so," Dumbledore said after a moment. He wanted to say something more to Harry, but with so many people around, that was just going to have to wait for another time.

-o-0-o-

It was almost dinner time before Harry arrived back at Forest Cottage. As he'd been told it might, the opening session of the Wizengamot had been nothing more than a day of ceremonial activities, some of which centered around installing him as the newest Lord of the Wizengamot. Absolutely nothing came up for a vote and honestly, Harry was dreading the idea of ever having to go back.

Cedric and Terence were seated at the kitchen table when Robert and Harry entered the house.

"So, how was it, Harry?" Cedric asked. "Did you have fun?"

"Fun? Are you kidding me?" Harry asked. "It was one of the most boring experiences of my life. I don't know how the other lords deal with it. I'm certainly not looking forward to another one anytime soon, but I suppose I have to."

"Actually, Harry, you don't," Terence said.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

Terence grinned. "Now that you've been officially installed, you can send my father or anyone else over the age of twenty-one to vote in your place if you really don't want to go."

"My son is correct," Robert said. "As your seneschal, I'm empowered to stand in for you at the Wizengamot and vote for you, if you wish. I've been doing it in James' name ever since he died, but you had to be officially installed before I could do it for you."

"Well that's a relief," Harry said. "What about the other lords? Do they all go to the meetings?"

"Some of them attend all of the meetings," Terence responded. "Lords Diggory and Crouch, for example, both work in the Ministry, so whenever there's a Wizengamot meeting, they attend because they're already in the building. Most of the other lords just send their seneschals to vote for them, unless it's a matter of particular importance to them or if the King asked all of the lords to appear, which hasn't happened since King Charles died."

Harry nodded and asked, "And what about Dumbledore's grandson? I didn't even know he had a grandson. How'd he get to be the King's seneschal?"

"Honestly?" Robert answered. "Nobody really knows how Brian Dumbledore became the King's seneschal. In the past, the royal seneschal was usually chosen from the noble families, most often the second-born son of one of the families. Of course, very few of the noble families have spare heirs these days."

"That's true," Cedric commented. "The Longbottom, Ollivander, Burke, McLaggen, Crouch, Malfoy, Flint, and Lestrange families have only one heir each, as each of the lords only had one son. Of course, the Ollivander and Burke families have a grandson as heir because the previous heirs, Garrison Ollivander and Linnaeus Burke, were both killed in the First Wizarding War with You-Know-Who."

"And the other families?" Harry asked.

"The Bones and McKinnon families don't have any heirs, as neither Lord has married and had children yet," Robert replied. "The same applies to you, of course, Harry, since you don't have a child. The Black family was until recently thought to be in the same position, as Sirius doesn't have children, but now that we know Regulus and Asterion are alive, the Black family has two heirs."

"And technically speaking," Cedric added, "even though my father disowned him, my family also has two heirs. I'm considered to be the official heir, but if something were to happen to me, Father would have to either restore Noah or have another child. Which he wouldn't be able to do with my mother, since she can't have any more children. Of course, unlike in the Muggle world, there are no legitimacy requirements for the noble and royal families. Legitimate heirs in good standing take precedence over non-legitimate heirs or disowned heirs, but a non-legitimate heir can inherit the title if there's nobody else eligible to do so, as long as it can be proven that they do carry the blood of the family whose title they'd be inheriting."

"Asterion Black is an example of that," Robert said. "Regulus wasn't married to Asterion's mother, so he was born out of wedlock and is thus not legitimate, but he is a Black, nonetheless. So, if both Sirius and Regulus died, Asterion could legally inherit the title. As for Brian Dumbledore, as I said, nobody really knows how he became the King's seneschal. It's assumed though that King Edward chose him based on his grandfather's fame and the fact that Brian is the same age as the King."

"Same age?" Harry asked. "I would have expected him to be much older. I mean, Dumbledore is over a hundred right?"

"Yes, Harry," Athena said, as she entered the room with Roger, Oliver, Gavin, Eudora, Emma, and Rose. Remus wasn't currently at the cottage, as he was out tracking down Sirius to make sure he knew about his pardon. "Dumbledore was born in July of 1881, so as of his last birthday he's 113 years old."

"His grandson was born in 1970, same as the King," Emma said. "Although Brian was born in June, while Edward was born in November, so, Brian is actually a few months older. As far as I know, Dumbledore has never gotten married to anyone and it came as a shock to many people, myself included, when his daughter, Katarina Dumbledore, turned up at Hogwarts as a student in 1938. Until then, nobody had even known he had a daughter, including his own brother."

"Dumbledore has a brother?" Harry asked.

Eudora nodded. "Yes, Harry. Aberforth Dumbledore. He's the owner and bartender of the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. Of course, Albus and Aberforth are not all that close. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen them together."

"Aberforth has always been something of a loner," Athena said. "And from what I can gather, there was some issue in their youths that caused a rift to form between them."

After a few moments of silence, Harry shook his head. "Well, I'm glad to know that I don't have to attend anymore Wizengamot meetings unless I really want to. Unless something really important comes up that I want to deal with personally, you'll be going in my place, Robert. Those meetings are too boring for my tastes."

"I understand, Harry," Robert said. "Of course, today wasn't a normal meeting. It was essentially the opening ceremony, made even more formal by the fact that they had to officially install you in your seats. If something was actually being voted on, however, there would have been plenty of lively debate which might have made it less monotonous. Although, I admit, that doesn't help much, unless you enjoy debates."

Shaking his head, Harry said, "I can't say as I do, actually. Of course, I haven't had much experience with them up until now."

Nobody else said a word, for at that moment, there was a knock on the front door. Athena walked over and answered it. She had a feeling she knew who it would be, as only people who she keyed into her wards could set foot on the property. The list of people keyed into the wards was rather extensive in that all of her past mage students of over thirty years were keyed into them, but even then, she wasn't expecting any of them. There were two people, however, that she was expecting.

"Hello, Athena, long time no see," Regulus said.

"Regulus, it's good to see you," Athena said. "I hear you made quite the splash at the ball last night."

Regulus grinned as he nodded and said, "Yes, I suppose returning from the dead will do that. Anyway, since I was once your student, I'm keyed into your wards, but the same cannot be said for Asterion. He's standing out at the gate right now, unable to set foot on the property."

Athena looked confused. "Your son lived here for two years while you finished your training, Regulus. He should already be keyed into the wards, unless..." Athena paused here, as the expression on her face changed from confused to stern, as she asked in a severe tone, "Regulus Arcturus Black, did you train him?"

Looking a bit sheepish, Regulus nodded and said, "Yes, Athena. My son is a fully qualified mage. We performed the power increase ritual when he was twelve and completed his training when he was fifteen. Had his inheritance two months ago and I'm proud to say that he's a Magister, like his dear, young, dad."

"We'll see about that," Emma said as she stepped forward. "I tested him when you brought him here, Regulus. He was a Sorcerer then. For him to be a Magister now would mean that not only did you successfully perform the power increase ritual and raise his power level the full four levels, which I find hard to believe, since you have no experience in casting that ritual unaided, he would have had to gain a full six levels of power in his inheritance."

"He did," Regulus defended. "But, I know you won't believe me until you test him yourself and you can do that as soon as Athena keys him into the wards."

"Alright, I'll go key him in," Athena said, as she gave him a stern glare for another minute, before she shook her head and invited him inside as she exited the house to walk down to the gate to meet Asterion.

"Why does he have to be keyed back into the wards?" Roger asked. "If he was keyed in once, wouldn't he remain keyed in?"

Rose shook her head. "No, Roger. Being keyed into the wards around a specific place is never permanent. The master of the wards around a place can remove anyone they want, regardless of whether the master themselves keyed them in or if a previous master of the wards did. For example, as Lord Potter, Harry is the master of the wards surrounding Seacliff Castle. As such, he can key people into the wards so that they can enter the castle grounds and the castle itself. But, he can also unkey people from the wards if he so desires. So, if James keyed someone into the wards that Harry doesn't want keyed in, he can unkey them."

Eudora then added, "Now, for this property, Athena keyed in all of her previous students and the vast majority of them remain keyed into the wards. As for Asterion, he lived here from the time he was three until he was five, because his father was still undergoing training when he took custody of his son. A wizard or witch cannot live on a property surrounded by wards that they are not keyed into. Keying someone into the wards is essentially welcoming that person into the zone protected by the wards. Now, if for example, a witch or wizard was on a property that was not warded when they arrived and later became warded, the person placing the wards would have to key them in."

"What if they didn't?" Cedric asked.

"If they didn't," Emma answered, "the unwelcomed person would begin to feel extremely disoriented and if they stayed long enough, they'd become violently ill, and possibly even die because the power of the wards would not recognize them as being welcomed. It would assume that they had somehow breached the wards and would attack the person. For this property, the wards have been setup to automatically unkey anyone from the wards who had been keyed in previously but wasn't a mage the last time they set foot inside the wards. It's a security measure that most mage trainers set on their properties in order to keep mages who were trained by unknown people off their lands."

"Such mages are viewed as a potential threat," Rose explained. "Not all mage trainers train their charges the same way."

"What do you mean?" Gavin asked. "There's more than one way of training mages?"

"The training itself is pretty much the same," Rose answered. "However, different trainers have different philosophies about the training and thus teach their charges differently. For example, Athena, Emma, Eudora and I believe in teaching our charges to respect the powers that they'll be learning to wield and to not think that their magical power alone makes them a better person. We also believe that you should use your powers wisely and hopefully for the protection and betterment of others."

Picking up the explanation, Emma added, "There are trainers, however, who do not share those views. They think of the power as a tool to be used only for the betterment of the mage wielding it and have no qualms teaching their charges to use their powers in any way they want, even if it's for completely selfish reasons and to the detriment of others. These same trainers also often teach their charges that being powerful makes you better. Because of this difference in philosophies between trainers and the fact that at any time a trainer may have young, untrained mages around who wouldn't be able to defend themselves from a fully trained mage, nearly every trainer in the world carefully wards their homes, or wherever it is they choose to train people, to not allow mages they did not personally train to set foot on their properties."

"Of course, those wards don't always work," Eudora explained, "as a Ward Mage of sufficient skill and power could get past the wards setup by a less powerful mage. So far, however, that has never been a problem here since Rose reinforced the wards around Athena's property. Athena, as an Archmagister, already had strong wards around the property that few mages alive today would be able to breach. As a Ward Mage and a Master Magister, however, Rose was able to reinforce the wards and make them even stronger than they were. As they stand now, the wards around this property rival the Hogwarts wards in power, outdone only by the wards around the royal residences and the homes belonging to the Thirteen Houses."

"What's a Ward Mage?" Terence asked. "I know Emma has referred to herself as a Blood Mage before. Is there some significance to those titles?"

Rose nodded. "Yes, there is a significance. We'll be covering this in greater detail when the time comes for all of you to actually choose one, but there's eight fields of study which mages of sufficient power can focus on. Each one of these fields encompasses a variety of specialized skills that aren't available to mages who haven't studied and mastered them. Now, unlike the metamagic skills we've already talked about in class, the mage specializations are different in that the skills they encompass cannot be learned or used by anyone who hasn't mastered them."

"Why not?" Oliver asked.

"As Rose said, we'll be covering them in greater detail later," Emma said. "But, for now, suffice it to say that in order to learn any of these specialized skills and talents, you have to undergo a magical ritual. You can learn more than one specialization, if you're powerful enough. I myself am a Blood Mage, in addition to being what's known as a Shadow Mage. There's an even split between the specializations. Four of them are available to any mage of at least level seventeen on the power scale, while the other four cannot be learned by anyone who is not at least level twenty-two on the scale."

Eudora continued and said, "According to the ancient texts, both Merlin and Morgana were masters of all eight fields of study, further reinforcing their positions as the greatest and most powerful spellcasters of all time. Towards the end of their lives, however, they put their past differences aside and worked together to place magical limitations and restrictions on the future training of people in these advanced disciplines. They both acknowledged that they were, perhaps, too powerful and didn't want anyone else in the future becoming that powerful. As Morgana could have told you herself, power can corrupt, especially when it's wielded by a person who doesn't have the strength of will to control that power and not let it go to their head. Just because you have the power to do something, doesn't mean that you should."

"So, they setup the limitations," Rose added. "Merlin and Morgana were the last known Archmagi to walk the face of this planet and over the course of their long lives, they were both over 170 when they died, had mastered every magical discipline in existence. Joining their powers together, they could cast very powerful magic that would be impossible for a lone Archmagus to duplicate, unless they had another Archmagus helping them. For the eight specializations, they created the magical ritual required to learn them, as well as making it so that a single person, regardless of their power, would be limited to learning three of them and no more. As Emma said, they also split the specializations into two groups, tiering them by how much power they believed was necessary to fully use the skills contained in them."

"Weren't other mages upset with them for unilaterally limiting magic training?" Cedric asked.

"It should go without saying that some were," Athena said, as she entered the house with Asterion. She'd heard enough of the conversation as she and Asterion were approaching the house to know what Cedric was asking about. "However, none of them could do anything about it. Even in Merlin and Morgana's day it was very rare for a person to reach the level of Archmagi and as far as we know, they were the only two people alive at the time to reach that level of power. Alone, both of them were capable of casting spells of such immense power that they'd effect the entire world. Joining together, however, their power would have been beyond imagining."

"There are many people who have tried to undo those limits over the years," Emma said. "None of them have succeeded, however. Now, that is partially because the number of naturally born mages has been steadily decreasing for years now. However, as the last Archmagi and masters of every magical discipline in existence, no spellcaster before or since has ever reached the level of sheer power and knowledge that Merlin and Morgana possessed separately. So the chances of anyone overturning the limits they cooperatively set are slim to nil."

"As you already know," Athena said, "Emma and I are Archmagisters, however, together our power combined wouldn't even be a fourth of the power possessed by a Magus, let alone an Archmagus. So now imagine how hard it would be to gather together enough people to successfully overturn the magical limits that Merlin and Morgana set, taking into consideration that they're strong enough to still be at full power even now, over a thousand years after their deaths. Of course, I do have a theory as to why that's the case."

"And what's that?" Roger asked, obviously curious.

Athena smiled. "I've gone through the ritual twice and I can tell you that it leaves you feeling magically drained. Give yourself a day to rest or drink a couple of Magical Restorative Drafts and you'll be feeling fine again, but I think that says something about the ritual itself. If you ask me, Merlin and Morgana setup their spell so that every time the ritual to allow a mage to learn one of the specializations is cast, it taps into the mage's core to help recharge and strengthen the spell imposing the limits. So, if that is the case, it's entirely possible that the spell imposing those limits is now even stronger then it was when it was cast. You have to remember that it was cast over a thousand years ago and on a global scale. Even with the decrease in naturally occurring mages, there's undoubtedly been at least a million of them worldwide in the ensuing years and some of us, like Emma, Rose, Eudora and I, have gone through the ritual twice."

"Why only twice?" Terence asked. "I thought you said a mage could learn up to three of these specializations?"

"That's true, they can," Regulus said. "However, in addition to limiting the total number of specializations that a mage can learn and breaking them into two groups based on power level, Merlin and Morgana further limited them so that you can only learn a specialization at a specific level on the power scale. Nobody really knows why they picked those levels in particular and of course they're not around to ask, so I imagine we'll never know."

Thinking back to his notes from their first class, which unsurprisingly perhaps for a Ravenclaw, Roger had taken back out to study later and had since memorized, he said, "I remember now. When Eudora had us copy down the power scale, it said you could learn mage specializations at levels 17, 22, and 27. Athena and Emma are the most powerful mages here, but they're only at level 25 on the power scale, so they're not powerful enough to learn a third specialization."

Nodding, Athena said, "Yes, Roger, that is correct. Now, why don't we adjourn to the parlor and talk?"

"I think the library would be better, Athena," Regulus commented. "Harry wanted to see my copy of the Black family tree, so I brought it with me. It'd be easier to view it spread out on the library table."

"Alright, the library it is then," Athena said, as she led the group into the library.

In the just over a week that he'd been there, this was the first time that Harry had actually entered Forest Cottage's library. He'd seen glimpses of it, of course, through the archway from the kitchen, but he'd never actually had reason to go in. Roger had already been in it several times, of course, as being a Ravenclaw, reading and studying were among his favorite pass times. Harry, on the other hand, had not thus far found any reason to venture downstairs to the library, having found any books he needed in the bookshelves in the upstairs common room.

The library was about the same size as the living room next door, but what set it apart was the fact that floor to ceiling bookshelves, some of them covered by glass-paneled doors, lined most of the walls. The only place where there weren't any shelves were on the far wall where there were two windows and in the far corner where a large fireplace was situated on a diagonal wall. Harry assumed that the library fireplace shared a chimney with the fireplace in what was now Cedric's bedroom, since the layout of the house suggested to him that the Hufflepuff's bedroom would be directly above the library. A pair of brown leather wingback chairs were situated in front of the fireplace, a small end table with a fancy Victorian styled lamp resting between them, while the center of the room was dominated by a large table. The table was about the same size as the kitchen table, but it was surrounded by padded leather chairs which Harry was sure would be more comfortable then the hard wooden benches at the kitchen table.

Once everyone had taken a seat around the table, Regulus spread a large tapestry out over the surface, and gestured at it. "And there you have it - the Black family tree. Well, some of it, anyway. The family dates much further back then what's shown here, obviously, since King Arthur ennobled my ancestors in April of 797 and this only goes back to the 1700's. I figured you didn't really need to see the tree going that far back, so I didn't bring it."

"How many tapestries are there?" Harry asked.

"Six in all," Asterion answered. "This is just the most recent one, which will probably cover one or two more generations at most before a new one is started."

Scanning his eyes over the mass of names, the first names that Harry saw were the Weasleys. In a shocked tone, he asked, "The Weasleys are related to the Blacks?"

"Almost all of the pureblood families, whether they're noble or not, are related somehow, Harry," Cedric said, as he pointed at two names on the family tree and said, "See? Elspeth Diggory, born 1776, died 1863, married to Nigellus Black, born 1774, died 1831. I am distantly related to Elspeth. I couldn't tell you exactly how, mind you, but I do know that she was the sister of one of the past family heads. And as you can see, one of Cormac's ancestors married their son, Pollux."

"Castor and Pollux Black," Regulus said. "As you can probably guess from their birth and death dates, they were twins. What makes them interesting is that Castor was Lord Black until they died in 1907. Castor never married or had children and Pollux's son Eduardus Limette Black died before they did, although even if he hadn't, he'd been disowned. That's when the Black lordship passed into the branch of the family that I'm descended from, as Phineas Nigellus Black become Lord Black following Castor's death."

"Why was Eduardus disowned?" Terence asked.

Shaking his head, Regulus said, "I have no clue, honestly. Obviously it was a bit before my time. Perhaps, now that Sirius has been cleared, we'll eventually have reason to go out to Arlington Grange, the family seat of the Black family in the Marquisate of Charlton, and I can ask Castor and Pollux. I was in the house a few times as a child and I know there's a portrait of Castor and Pollux, along with all the other previous Lord Blacks. What set Lord Castor Black apart, however, is that all the other Lords had single portraits. That is, they were the only ones actually painted into the portrait. Pollux was included in Castor's portrait, however, because Castor and Pollux Black were conjoined twins."

"There wasn't a spell that could separate them?" Harry asked. "I know Muggles have surgical procedures for that."

"No, Harry, there is no spell for that," Athena said. "There was never one created because you would find very few witches and wizards who would be willing to use it."

"Why?" Harry asked, not understanding.

"Because it's deemed as being too dangerous," Rose answered. "You see, Harry, it doesn't matter how the twins' bodies are physically connected. They could be almost completely separate except for a very small section where they're joined, but most Wizarding parents would still leave them connected. The reason is because in wizarding conjoined twins, it's not just their bodies that are connected, but also their magical cores. Separating them would mean cutting their shared core in half, which has about a ninety-seven percent chance of rendering them both squibs. There's very few magical parents who would ever be willing to do something which would render their own children incapable of using magic."

"Conjoined twins do occur with a bit more frequency in the Wizarding world then they do in the Muggle world," Emma added, "but even then, they're still a relatively rare occurrence. Usually, if they occur at all, it'll happen in families that already had a set of them at some point, or in families were twins in general are common. It's something that seems to run in families, but could pop up in almost any family, especially the pureblooded ones, since as Cedric said, almost all of them are related to each other in some way. It's just a matter of going back far enough to find the connections."

Speaking up from his place in the frame above the fireplace, James said, "There was a set in our family, Harry, as recently as my grandfather."

"Really?" Harry asked, as he turned to look at the landscape that his father was currently occupying.

James nodded and said, "Yes, Harry, my father was Julian Potter, the son of Nathaniel Potter. Now, Nathaniel was Lord Potter before my father was, as he was magically determined to be the first-born, although it was only by a few seconds, since he had a conjoined twin brother named Sebastian Potter. I believe you were in the master's suite at Seacliff, right?" Harry nodded and James continued, "Well, that's why the bed in that room is so huge. Because it had to accommodate Nathaniel and his wife, as well as Sebastian and his harem of lovers, both male and female."

"Harem of lovers?" Harry asked.

James nodded. "Yes, Harry. I never actually met them, as Nathaniel and Sebastian died in 1947 and I wasn't born until 1960, but from what I can gather from the family journals and from what my father told me, Sebastian was the consummate playboy. He never married, but kept a string of lovers on hand to choose from. Usually, he'd only bring one or two of them into the master bedroom at any one time, with the others housed in another wing, but the bed was designed to be big enough that he could have more of them in bed with him if he wanted to. That, of course, did cause tension with Nathaniel and his wife, but being connected their whole lives, Sebastian was essentially Nathaniel's weak spot. Even though he was Lord Potter and could have ordered Sebastian to choose one of his lovers and get the rest out of the house, he didn't. While he didn't necessarily agree with Sebastian's lifestyle, he did want his brother to be happy and, as a side effect, never learned how to say no to him."

"Wow," Harry said, as he took a few moments to digest what his father had just told him. After a moment, he remembered the layout of the bathroom and asked, "Dad, is that why there's four toilets in the master bathroom?"

It was Lily who answered. "Yes, Harry. While Sebastian and Nathaniel were still alive and using that room, the two toilets in the middle of the four did not have a wall between them. In fact, they were actually closer together then they are now, in order to accommodate their special needs. After they died, however, and Julian became Lord Potter, he had the bathroom redesigned, moving the two toilets further apart and enclosing them in separate rooms, like the other two already were."

James nodded and said, "Father told me once that some people asked why he didn't just have two of the toilets removed and a smaller bed put in. His answer was that he loved his father and uncle and refused to make it seem like they didn't exist by completely redecorating their bedroom and removing the features that they'd had put in because of their special circumstances. Plus, he figured there was always a chance that a future Lord Potter might find the features useful, either because they were in the same position as Sebastian and Nathaniel, or because they were like Sebastian in enjoying having more than one lover."

At this point, Asterion pointed to a section on the family tree and said, "Look here, Harry. There's Julian Potter, your father, and you."

Looking where Asterion was pointing, sure enough, there he was: Harrison Potter, born 1980, son of James Potter and Lily Evans, both born 1960. Looking further up, he saw Julian Potter, born 1897, who married Katherine Burke, born 1903. They had both died in 1980. 'Wait, 1897? 1903? And Dad wasn't born until 1960?' Harry thought. 'They were really old when Dad was born.'

Seeing the look on Harry's face, James laughed and said, "Son, I can guess what you're thinking. You're looking at the birth dates and are shocked, aren't you?" Harry nodded. "Yeah, my parents had me very late in life. They both got caught up in their careers and other responsibilities and just forgot all about having children. Besides, as you can see, my father's younger brother Charlus Potter had a son he had named after their father. I never really got along with cousin Nathaniel all that well though. Being born in 1937, he had a much different outlook on life than I did. He was also busy with his job at the Ministry for most of my childhood and then I was off at Hogwarts, so it didn't really leave many opportunities to get to know one another before he was killed in a Death Eater raid in 1976."

"How old were Sebastian and Nathaniel Potter?" Roger asked. "They're not on this family tree and I'm curious how old they were, because there's quite the age difference between Julian and Charlus."

According to the Black family tree, Julian Potter's brother, Charlus Potter, was born in 1917 and was thus twenty years younger than his brother Julian. Roger couldn't imagine having a brother that was old enough to be his father, so, he was very curious about how old their father was when his sons were born.

James nodded. "Yeah, there is. Sebastian and Nathaniel Potter were born in 1881, so, as you can see, Grandfather Nathaniel was still a teenager when my father was born. The way my father told it, Sebastian started quite young. He was apparently 13 when he lost his virginity. Now, obviously grandfather Nathaniel was there during that, since they couldn't get away from each other, but he didn't lose his own virginity until he was 16, when one of the women that Sebastian brought to their bed caught his eye and grandfather convinced his brother to let him have her. Sebastian was thrilled that his brother was finally showing interest in having sex, so, he never did anything with the girl in question, even though he had wanted to. Of course, it probably helped that the girl had a twin brother that Sebastian found equally appealing and managed to distract him while grandfather and the woman who he'd later marry did it and conceived my father."

"You're very relaxed talking about this subject," Terence commented. "I don't know if I could talk about my grandparents having sex without getting sick." Gavin, Oliver, Cedric, and Roger all nodded in agreement with the Slytherin's comment.

James grinned. "Well, I think it helps that I never knew my grandparents. As I said, Sebastian and my grandfather died in 1947, at the age of 66. That's young for a wizard, but from what my father told me, it seems that Sebastian had a massive heart attack while he was having sex with two of his lovers and died. Obviously grandfather was upset, not only because his brother had died, but also because it insured that he'd die as well, because he shared a magical core and a liver with Sebastian. Grandfather Nathaniel died an hour later, with his wife and sons at his side. As for my grandmother, she passed on in 1957, so, she missed my birth by three years."

"So, Lord Nathaniel Potter was 16 when your father was born," Roger said to James, who nodded.

"Yes, Roger," James confirmed. "Grandfather and grandmother had my father when they were both sixteen and married two days before he was born. Then shortly after my father turned sixteen, my grandparents signed the contract for an arranged marriage with the Burke family, promising Julian's hand in marriage to Lord and Lady Burke's daughter, Katherine, who was only ten at the time. That event drove home the point that her little boy was almost a man for Grandmother, and in turn she convinced Grandfather that they needed to start trying for another child. Uncle Charlus was then born a few years later in 1917, two minutes before midnight on January 25th. Grandfather was born on January 26th, so, if Charlus had been born just a couple of minutes later, he would have had the same birthday as his elder brother."

'Burke? Am I related to Dominick?' Harry thought, as he scanned the names on the family tree. After a moment, he found him: Dominick Linnaeus Burke, born 1969, son of Linnaeus Burke and Hortencia Carrow, both deceased. Looking up, Harry soon saw that Linnaeus Burke's father, Lord Caractacus Burke, was the son of his grandmother Katherine Burke's younger brother, Caractacus. "So, I'm related to Dominick Burke?"

Regulus nodded. "Yes, Harry, you are. I said you'd recognize some of the names on this family tree. Dominick is your 2nd and 8th cousin, once removed."

"How is he Harry's 2nd and 8th cousin, once removed?" Gavin asked, obviously confused.

"It's at least partially due to inbreeding," Asterion answered. "If you look over to where I am on the family tree and look up at my father's parents, Orion and Walburga Black, you'll see that they were second cousins and thus both Blacks before their marriage. Now, they wouldn't affect Harry's relationship with Dominick because they're not descended from them, but if you look much further up you'll find Elladora Black, born 1779, and Walkin Black, born 1777. They married each other despite the fact that they were first cousins. Thus practically everyone in the following generations has multiple relationships with everyone else. For example, my father is also my 3rd and 8th cousin, once removed."

"That's crazy," Oliver commented.

Asterion laughed. "That's nothing, Oliver. If you really want crazy, you need to take into consideration the fact that, technically speaking, I'm 4th and 9th cousins with myself, all because of my ancestors' penchant for marrying within the family."

Noticing the looks on everyone else's faces, Regulus laughed and said, "Yeah, I know it's crazy, isn't it? Harry, back in the Wizengamot Chambers, I said that you were third cousins with Sirius and me. Truth is, you're also our eighth cousin. I didn't say anything about that earlier because I didn't want to confuse you and I figured it would be easier to explain with the family tree in front of you."

Harry nodded. "So, since we're all on here, does this mean that I'm also related to the Weasleys?"

"Yes, you are," Athena said, as she scanned the names and figured out the relationships in her head. "Harry, you're Arthur Weasley's 2nd and 7th cousin, once removed, which makes you the 3rd and 8th cousin of all seven of his children."

Pointing at another section of the family tree, Emma said, "You're also the 3rd and 8th cousin of Nick Ollivander's late father, Garrison Ollivander, so that makes you and Nick 3rd and 8th cousins, once removed."

"Wow," Harry said, clearly shocked. He'd grown up thinking he was an orphan with no family. True, he had the Dursleys, but he didn't really count them because they never treated him like family. Now, in looking at the Black family tree, Harry was learning that he did have family, certainly more than he'd ever thought. True, they were distant cousins, but they were still family. Looking over the tree again, Harry spotted another familiar name and asked, "I'm related to Neville?"

Shaking his head, Regulus said, "No, Harry, you're not. Neville is the 2nd cousin of Nick Ollivander, since Neville's grandmother Augusta is Lord Garrick Ollivander's sister, but you're not directly related to Neville. You are related to Neville's grandfather's brother, Harfang Longbottom, by virtue of his marriage to Callidora Black, but there's no direct connection between you and Neville because Augusta's late husband, Hadrian Longbottom, had no previous connections with the Black family."

"You on the other hand, Harry," Asterion said, "are related to the Blacks on two different fronts. Your grandfather Julian married Katherine Burke, daughter of Herbert Burke and Belvina Black, and Julian's brother Charlus, married Dorea Black. Dorea Black is hence your grandaunt by marriage, in addition to being your 1st and 6th cousin, twice removed. Belvina Black, on the other hand, is your great-grandmother, but she's also your 5th cousin, three times removed."

"Oh Merlin, this is enough to give a person a headache," Harry moaned, as several of the others laughed and nodded in agreement.

-o-0-o-

Halfway through breakfast the next morning, the front door of the cottage opened as Remus entered the house. Harry was on his feet almost instantly, as he asked, "Remus, did you find him?"

Remus grinned. "If you want to track someone down, there's no better person to ask than a werewolf, Harry. Especially if you're asking them to track one of their pack members. Of course I found him."

At this, Remus stepped aside and Sirius Black entered the cottage. Athena had given Remus an enchanted stone before he left which would key Sirius into the wards if he slit his thumb and dropped a bit of his blood on it. It was a powerful blood magic enchantment, courtesy of Emma and Regulus. Emma cast the actual spell, while Regulus provided a drop of his own blood, which as Sirius' brother, allowed the enchantment to compare the blood and verify that it was indeed Sirius and thus key him into the wards. If anyone other than Sirius had put a drop of their blood on the stone, it wouldn't have worked.

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, as he practically flew around the table and flung himself into his godfather's arms. The older man moved back slightly and said, "Oof," as his godson made contact, as he hadn't been totally prepared for such a greeting.

The hug lasted for about three minutes, before Sirius pulled back and said, "It's very good to see you, Harry. I can't even begin to find the words to thank you for what you've done."

"You don't need to thank me," Harry said, as he shook his head earnestly. "You're innocent. You never should have been sent to prison in the first place."

Remus grinned and said, "Harry, Sirius might be many things, but innocent isn't one of them."

"I'd have to agree," James said from the painting above the kitchen mantle, as Lily nodded and said, "Yes, Harry, Sirius is about the furthest thing from innocent as it's possible to get."

There were several confused looks around the room at these declarations. Was Sirius Black truly innocent? If he was, then why were three of his oldest friends saying that he wasn't? And if that was the case, how did Harry manage to get the King to pardon him? Noticing the looks on everyone else's faces, Harry laughed and said, "Okay, correction, he's innocent in terms of killing Peter and those Muggles, not necessarily of anything else. He was a Marauder, after all - it would be impossible for a member of the greatest group of pranksters Hogwarts has ever seen to be completely innocent."

Realizing what Lily, James, and Remus were talking about, the others all laughed. Anyone who'd attended Hogwarts within the last twenty or so years had heard of the Marauders, at least in passing. Gavin Wood had never attended Hogwarts, but his three older brothers had all heard stories about the infamous pranksters, which they'd shared with him. And then, of course, there were the trainers, all of whom were on the teaching staff while the Marauders were students. So, obviously they'd heard of them as well, although they never managed to connect actual students with the group, since they all used those codenames.

"So you were a Marauder, Sirius?" Athena asked. "Why am I not surprised? I assume then that Remus, James, and Peter were the other ones?"

"That's Lord Black or Your Excellence, if you don't mind," Sirius said with a grin. He actually hadn't known until Remus told him that the late Lord Arcturus Black had reinstated him into the family before he died, so he'd had no idea he was Lord Black. The Dementors couldn't talk, after all, and even if they could, they wouldn't be likely to pass messages to the prisoners. Well, that wasn't entirely true. If they could speak and were reasonably sure that the message they were passing on would make the prisoner happy, they might do it. They did feed off of happy memories, after all.

Regulus shook his head. "You look terrible, but I see you haven't changed much, brother."

Sirius looked at Regulus for a moment, before he said, "You know, it's a good thing that Remus warned me you were alive or else I think I would have had a heart attack right about now."

Looking at Remus, Regulus shook his head and said, "Now why'd you have to go and warn him, Lupin? I could have moved up and been Marquis instead of only an Earl."

Asterion laughed. "Oh come on, Dad, you know you don't want the Marquisate. You've told me a million times now that you don't want the responsibility."

"Hush you," Regulus said with a grin to his son, as he lightly punched him in the shoulder.

Looking at the teenager, Sirius smiled. "So, this is Asterion then? I see he took after his mother in the looks department, thank Merlin."

"You're not funny, Sirius," Regulus said as he stood and held out his hand. "But I'm glad to see you. I'd give you a hug, but you look and smell like you haven't bathed in over a month, so a handshake will have to do." After a moment of silence, he added, "And don't get any ideas, Sirius, about taking my hand and pulling me into a hug now that I've said that, because I guarantee you'll regret it."

"Is that so?" Sirius asked. "And what are you going to do, little brother?"

"Hex you nine ways to Sunday," Regulus answered. "You wouldn't know this, but I was in the middle of training as a mage when I allegedly died. Ever been hexed by a Magister? I guarantee you wouldn't enjoy it." Regulus looked thoughtful for a moment, before he said, "Then again, hexing you might be fun. Just for old times' sake, you understand."

"Old times' sake?" Harry asked, as he raised an eyebrow.

"From what Dad has told me," Asterion said, "he and Uncle Sirius routinely hexed each other as children. Even before going off to Hogwarts. It was something of a game for them, to see which one of them could hex the other better."

"I always won, of course," Sirius said, in a somewhat haughty tone, before he started laughing as memories of some of the best hexes and pranks he'd pulled off against his brother ran through his mind.

"Oh did you, now?" Regulus asked, as he mumbled something under his breath and summoned his staff to his hand. The appearance of which made Sirius stop laughing rather quickly. He was sure that Regulus was having him on about being a Magister, but if he had a mage's staff... Sirius gulped. "We'll just have to see about that," as he raised his staff, the gem at the top of which glowed brightly for a second before subsiding. Regulus had obviously cast a spell, but he'd done so silently.

For a moment, nothing appeared to happen, but then everyone in the room, including James and Lily, began laughing their heads off, while Sirius looked around confused. He couldn't understand why anyone was laughing until suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Regulus, what did you do to me?"

"Oh nothing much, brother," Regulus said with a grin as he conjured a mirror and handed it face down to the older man. "Just a few minor improvements."

Sirius was almost afraid to turn over the mirror and see exactly what Regulus called improvements, but after taking a deep breath, he did and was almost immediately yelling, "REGULUS ARCTURUS BLACK!! YOU PUT ME BACK THE WAY I WAS THIS INSTANT!!"

Ignoring Sirius, Regulus raised his free hand and stroked his chin, as he said, "Hmm, something is missing... ah, yes, of course." Then with a truly wicked grin, Regulus called out, "Kreacher!"

"REGULUS, I'M WARNING YOU!!" Sirius screamed, while several others, namely Remus, Asterion, and the trainers, doubled over in laughter. From their place over the fireplace, James and Lily were also laughing like crazy, holding on to each other as they convulsed with laughter. They all knew just who it was that Regulus had called for after all. The younger people in the room, Harry, Cedric, Roger, and the others didn't know, although Terence had an idea that it was probably a house-elf. And he was right, for seconds after that thought crossed his mind, a wizened and truly ancient looking house-elf with a bulbous, snout-like nose, bloodshot eyes, many folds of skin, and white hair growing out of his bat-like ears appeared in the kitchen. He was wearing a particularly filthy looking tea cozy that made the ragged clothes that Sirius was wearing before Regulus' improvements look good.

Looking around the room, Kreacher didn't notice Regulus, as he instantly spotted Sirius and shrieked, "Mistress! Oh Kreacher has missed Mistress so much." As he said this, Kreacher threw his arms around Sirius' legs, which were currently covered by a black dress, and began hugging them for a second, before kneeling on the ground and beginning to kiss Sirius' feet.

Sirius groaned and said, "Get up, Kreacher, I'm not your Mistress. She's dead."

Kreacher wanted to continue kissing his Mistress' feet, but he couldn't, as he found himself unable to not do as he was told. Mistress, or the person he thought was his Mistress, said she wasn't Mistress, but even if that was true, the person was still a Black, as he felt compelled to obey. Stuttering, Kreacher said, "Y.. yes, Mistress."

"I'm not your Mistress, Kreacher, do I sound like a woman to you?" Sirius shrieked.

"Well, actually, Uncle..." Asterion began, before Sirius cast a warning glance at him and said, "Don't you dare finish that sentence, young man." Sirius glared at his nephew for a few moments, before turning back to Regulus and saying, "Okay, okay, you've had your fun. Now turn me back, Regulus!"

Kreacher's ears perked up at this and he turned, finally seeing Regulus standing there. He was older then the last time he'd seen him, of course, but Kreacher could tell who it was immediately. "Master Regulus?"

"Yes, Kreacher, it's me," Regulus said, before he raised his staff and mumbled something under his breath, causing the gem to glow again.

Feeling the magic wash over him, Sirius looked in the mirror again and sighed in relief, as he said, "Thank Merlin, Hecate, Circe, and Morgana!"

Remus laughed and said, "Oh what's wrong, Padfoot? Didn't like looking like your dear old Mum?"

Turning to Remus, Sirius growled out, "Mr. Padfoot thinks that Mr. Moony should shut up, lest he wake up to an unpleasant gift in his bed."

Before anyone else could say anything, a whimper from the direction of the floor could be heard. Looking down, everyone saw Kreacher roughly pulling on his ears. Kneeling in front of the ancient elf, his staff still in his hand, Regulus asked, "Kreacher, what are you doing?"

"Kreacher has failed Master," Kreacher moaned. "Deserves to be punished, Kreacher does."

"What are you talking about you pathetic little toe rag?" Sirius asked. "You didn't fail me. I haven't told you to do anything yet."

Kreacher shook his head. "Not Master Sirius. Kreacher failed Master Regulus."

Looking confused, Regulus asked, "You failed me?" Regulus asked, as he searched his memory for anything that he might have told the house-elf to do. It wasn't easy though, since he'd allowed everyone to think he was dead for over a decade now, so, he hadn't even seen the family elf in that time. "How, Kreacher, I don't understand."

"The locket, Master," Kreacher said. "Master gave locket to Kreacher. Told Kreacher to destroy it, but Kreacher couldn't do it. Kreacher failed Master!"

"The locket?" Regulus asked and then he remembered. Kreacher must mean the locket that belonged to Salazar Slytherin. The priceless heirloom that Voldemort had defiled by turning it into a Horcrux. He remembered now. "Kreacher, stop it. It's okay. I've been studying everything I could find about that infernal thing since I disappeared. You wouldn't be able to destroy it. Very few things can. Besides it wasn't really me who gave you that order."

"Not Master Regulus?" Kreacher asked, obviously confused.

Regulus shook his head. "No, Kreacher. I'm sure you know what this staff is right?" Kreacher nodded. "I was undergoing mage training back then. When witches and wizards are being trained as mages, there's a double created of them. A doppelganger with all of their memories and abilities up to the point of creation. They go on living a normal life for the person in training so that nobody ever knows they're gone. That's how I'm still alive, Kreacher. It was my double who died in that cave all those years ago, not me."

"Cave? What cave?" Sirius asked. "I thought you died trying to leave You-Know-Who's service. I didn't know anything about a cave."

"Kreacher was ordered not to talk about it," Regulus said. "As you know, I joined the Death Eaters as soon as I turned seventeen in 1978. Of course, it wasn't really me who joined them, it was my double. They generally won't do anything that the person wouldn't be likely to do, so, I'll admit it's likely that if I hadn't entered mage training about six months earlier, it's probably a decision I would have made. You know what it was like growing up in that house, Sirius. Mum and Dad and their blood purity spiel."

Sirius nodded. "I know, Regulus. However, I would point out that I never joined the Death Eaters because of all of that. I would never have even considered doing that."

"I know you wouldn't have," Regulus said. "Of the two of us, you were always the brave one. Brave enough to turn your backs on our parents, brave enough to run away from home... it's really no wonder you were put into Gryffindor. It was different for me though. Back then, I craved power. I was too ambitious for my own good and I figured that having the Black name and money behind me would help me achieve my goals. I began to realize the error of my ways once I began my training here with Athena, but my double was at home with our parents and in turn made the same decisions I would have made had I stayed there. I saw it as a way of making Mum and Dad proud of me, because while they never joined the Death Eaters, they did think the Dark Lord had the right of it in terms of blood purity."

Sirius scoffed. "They always were insane." After a moment he sighed and added, "Mum more so than Dad. He did have his moments of insanity, but Mum was much worse."

"True," Regulus agreed. "Anyway, by 1979, my double had begun to question the decision to join the Death Eaters. He'd seen the inside of the organization first hand and seen just how evil and totally depraved the Dark Lord really was. He remained, however, until finally one day, the Dark Lord asked me for my help. Well, not my help, specifically. He wanted Kreacher's help and wanted me to lend him to him. I wasn't fool enough to say no to a direct request from the Dark Lord, not when he was standing right in front of me, so I agreed. Turns out he wanted Kreacher to help him test the magical defenses he'd put in place to protect something he valued a great deal."

"What was this item he wanted to protect?" Harry asked. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he already knew, from what Lily had told them a few days ago, but he resolved not to say anything about it unless Regulus confirmed his suspicions. And honestly he really hoped he wouldn't. He was soon let down though.

"A Horcrux," Regulus answered.

"What the bleeding hell is a Horcrux?" Sirius asked.

Lily explained what it was to Sirius, before Regulus continued. "He hid it in a secluded cave, which by itself is very hard to find if you don't know where to look for it. Once you're inside the cave, there's a door that requires a blood sacrifice to open, mainly because I can tell you from experience that the Dark Lord believes in the common misconception that physical pain will make a person weaker. Once you get passed the door, you'll be faced with a lake. The Horcrux is in a basin on an island in the center of the lake, but you can't Apparate there, because of the Anti-Apparition wards."

"Well, about using a Summoning Charm to get the Horcrux?" Harry asked.

"A good idea, but it won't work," Regulus answered. "The lake is filled with hundreds of Inferi, which will leap out of the water and block any attempt to summon the Horcrux. No, the only way to get to it, is to find an invisible boat that's anchored to the cavern wall. A further protection is that the boat is charmed so that no more than one fully-grown adult wizard can ride in the boat at the same time. Of course, the Dark Lord didn't take into consideration the fact that the charm won't prevent a number of underage witches and wizards, as many as the boat will hold, from using it to cross the lake. It also won't prevent magical creatures, such as house-elves, from getting into the boat and crossing the lake."

While he couldn't imagine really young kids facing such dangers, Roger quickly realized the problem with the Voldemort's protection. "So, the spell on the boat wouldn't prevent a fully-grown adult wizard from crossing the lake with a not-quite-fully-grown nearly adult wizard or a house-elf?"

"Precisely, Roger," Regulus answered. "Only one adult wizard or witch over the age of seventeen can ride across the lake in the boat, but the spell will not prevent the transportation of other witches and wizards under the age of seventeen. Even if they're sixteen years and eleven months old, the spell will not see them as adults, because they're not seventeen yet. The Dark Lord also didn't take things like the Last of the Line clause into effect. Even though he is legally an adult now, Harry would still be seen as an underage child by the spell, because at fourteen he is not physically an adult. Now, once you actually get to the island the Horcrux is on, there's another protection."

"What?" Terence asked. He was almost afraid to know.

"As I mentioned, the Horcrux is in a basin," Regulus replied. "However, this basin is filled with a potion that the Dark Lord himself invented, called the Drink of Despair. This potion is resistant to magic, so it can't be vanished, charmed, or transfigured. Runes carved around the edges of the basin also prevent you from being able to take the Horcrux by simply reaching through it with your hand. You also cannot drain it, siphon it, or part it in any way. The only way to get rid of it is to drink it, which will cause you to suffer from delirium, fear, intense stomach pains, and severe thirst."

"Well, the delirium, fear, and stomach pains are bad," Terence said, "but at least the thirst is easily dealt with what with the lake right there. It is fresh water, right?"

Regulus nodded gravely. "Yes, Terence, it is fresh water. However, if you remember, I said that the lake is filled with Inferi. If you disturb the water in any way, such as to try and drink it, an army of the creatures will rise up and try to pull you down into the water and drown you. The Dark Lord didn't expect that anyone would get that far, however, as he figured only one person would ever be able to get across the lake and they'd stop drinking the potion long before the basin was empty enough to take the locket. You literally need another person or creature there with you to force-feed the potion to you. The more you drink, the worse your stomach pains will get and the thirstier you'll get."

Roger shuddered, but asked, "What about conjured water?"

Shaking his head, Regulus said, "That won't work either. The potion nullifies the quenching ability of any drink conjured with magic. You could conjure and drink ten gallons of water and still be thirsty. Also, just as the Inferi would prevent you from Summoning the Horcrux, they will also prevent you from trying to summon water. Anyway, the Dark Lord had Kreacher drink the potion to test its effects. Kreacher told me he'd seen truly terrible things, as the delirium and fear it causes manifests in forcing the drinker to relive their worst memories, nightmares and fears. It allows you to stay lucid enough to know that it's the potion causing it and if there's someone there with the drinker, they'll be begging that person to let them stop drinking, but every last drop must be drunk in order to get to the locket. Once the Dark Lord was confident in his magical defenses, he refilled the basin and left Kreacher there alone to die of thirst."

"That's horrible," Cedric said. After a moment, though, he shook his head and said, "Of course this is You-Know-Who we're talking about, so I really shouldn't be surprised."

"Yes, it is quite horrible," Regulus agreed. "However, there's another thing that the Dark Lord didn't take into consideration or he simply forgot about it. Anyone who attended Hogwarts or grew up in a magical household with house-elves would know this, so he had to have known, one way or the other."

"Known what?" Gavin asked.

"That Anti-Apparition wards will not block house-elves from Apparating," Emma answered. "Kreacher Disapparated from the cave and told Regulus' double what had happened. His double then went to the cave, got past the various protections with Kreacher's help and then drank the potion. Now, his doing that set off the monitoring wards that we place on the doubles to alert us if they're in mortal danger and where exactly they are. Now, any one of us could have easily stripped Voldemort's protections, but we didn't because we didn't know if he'd set any kind of monitoring charm to alert him if the protections failed or were dispelled."

"Kreacher was already gone by the time we arrived," Athena continued. "Regulus' double had ordered him to take the locket and destroy it, leaving him there to die from thirst. Unfortunately, the protections slowed us down enough that we got there too late and the double had already died. If this happens, we can still transfer the memories that it acquired into the real person, but the body of the double itself cannot be remerged into the person because both the real person and the double have to be alive for the spell to work. Taking the dead double back to the cottage and filling Regulus in on what happened, we worked out the idea to fake Regulus' death, using the double to make everyone think he was dead when he really wasn't."

"By that time I had no desire to go back home," Regulus explained. "I was out from under my parents' thumbs and I was loving it. I'd already planned by then on never setting foot in my parents' home ever again, but when the opportunity came up to fake my death, I did it."

"What about your son?" Cedric asked.

"My Mum hadn't died yet," Asterion answered. "She was killed with the rest of the McKinnon family that lived here in Britain in 1980. Before he faked his death, my Dad did visit me two or three times a week, even though I was too young to remember it at the time. I also know now that it was his double doing that before it died. After that, however, he began coming in person to visit me, in secret of course since everyone thought he was dead. He'd learned enough advanced magic by then that he could easily hide his presence from the rest of the people in the house. It was during one of these visits that the Death Eaters attacked and killed my Mum and her family. So that they wouldn't kill me too, Dad took me and I've been with him ever since."

"Just where have you been exactly?" Oliver asked. "It seems extraordinary that you've been alive all this time and nobody ever found you. Are there really mage-level spells that are that powerful?"

"There are some very powerful mage-level Anti-Detection Charms, yes," Athena said. "If a mage of sufficient power wishes to remain hidden, they can very easily do so. They could even remain in plain sight and still not be visible to anyone that they don't want to know their whereabouts."

"And I used a large number of Anti-Detection Charms," Regulus revealed. "However, to add an extra layer of security for my son and I, we've been living on an uncharted island in the Northern Atlantic, about sixty miles northwest of the island that's home to Azkaban. Among other protections, I've made the entire island Unplottable and its existence is protected by the Fidelius. I don't mind sharing that secret with all of you, as we may have reason to go there eventually. In the years I've supposedly been dead, I've been doing lots of research, primarily on ways to destroy the Dark Lord's Horcruxes, as I'm positive he made more than one, but also on a number of other topics that may prove useful at some point."

Looking over at Asterion, Gavin said, "So, Asterion, you grew up on an uncharted island with just your father for companionship? Forgive me, but that seems rather lonely."

"First off, call my Rion," Asterion said. "I meant to say something before now, but I forgot. Dad always calls me Asterion, but I prefer Rion. That's R-I-O-N, not R-Y-A-N. Pronounced the same, just spelled differently, to match the last four letters of my first and middle names: Asterion Orion. Anyway, yes, I did grow up on an uncharted island with my father, Gavin, but that doesn't mean that we never left. We went on several, I'll call them working vacations, over the years. Dad always made sure that we were both having fun wherever we were, but we were also working."

"Working on what?" Terence asked.

"Filling up our library back home," Regulus answered. "We've come across many very interesting tomes and scrolls in the course of our travels. We have writings from Ancient China, Greece, Rome, and Egypt, as well as many other parts of the world. I guess you could say that I've become something of a historian since I faked my death. I've studied the history of magic here in Albion extensively, but also the history of magic in several other countries all across the globe. There are some very interesting forms of magic that are practiced in other areas of the world that aren't practiced here and I've made it by business to understand as much as I could about the history and uses for each of them."

"Sounds more like a Ravenclaw trait to me," Sirius commented.

"Perhaps," Regulus said. "Of course, I doubt I ever told you this, Sirius, but the Sorting Hat wasn't exactly sure where to put me. It thought that both Ravenclaw and Slytherin would suit me well, but, I remembered how upset our parents were when you were sorted into Gryffindor, breaking the centuries old tradition of Blacks being placed in Slytherin. So, I told it I'd prefer Slytherin and after it gave it some thought, the hat agreed that my ambition and cunning outweighed my intelligence, if only by a moderate degree. As for my studying since I faked my death, I think I could make a case for that fitting with a Slytherin." Grinning, he said, "I simply made my life's ambition to know as much as I could about the topics I was researching, so, I think that means it fits."

Asterion grinned and said, "He also had to exercise his cunning to get some of the more obscure materials in our library, because some of it is most definitely not the kind of material you can go to Flourish and Blotts or any other bookstore and buy. No bookstore would carry them because the books would be so expensive that they wouldn't be able to afford to buy the book to sell, let alone find someone who could actually afford to buy it from them."

"Just what kind of books are we talking about?" Roger asked, clearly interested.

"Scrolls salvaged from the Great Library of Alexandria," Regulus replied. "Not to mention writings from some of the greatest and most powerful spellcasters of all time, including all four of the Hogwarts founders, Morgana, and even Merlin. Truth is, I have four books that were written by Merlin himself in my collection. I'm sure I shouldn't have to tell you that a book written in Merlin's own handwriting would be worth a fortune. Way more than even some of the world's richest witches and wizards could afford."

Before anyone could say anything, Asterion grinned and said, "Actually, Dad, there's five books by Merlin in our collection. Remember, we have that one that he co-wrote with King Arthur shortly after King Uther's death." Looking at the others, he added, "It's a very rare tome. As near as we could tell, other than the original, which I'm sure is in either the Pendragon or the Emrys vault at Gringotts, there was only two copies of the book made. One was destroyed in a fire in 1115 that ravaged the library in Greece that housed it. The other copy is the one we have, which we found down in Port Louis in the Falkland Islands, of all places. There isn't a very large magical community there, in fact it's probably one of the smallest in the world, so it was amazing to find a book written by Merlin and King Arthur down there."

"Are you sure it's authentic?" Harry asked.

Regulus nodded. "Yes, Harry, it's definitely authentic. Not only does the handwriting of both Merlin and King Arthur perfectly match other examples we have of their handwriting, there's also a spell imbedded in the books' pages that can be used to authenticate it. Of course, the spell used to check for authenticity is mage-level, so that limits the number of people who could successfully cast the spell and truly authenticate the book, but, as a Magister, I'm one of those people who can."

Harry nodded his head and remained silent for a moment, before he asked, "Regulus, I don't suppose you'd be interested in becoming a professor would you?"

"A professor?" Regulus asked as he arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Harry said. "I don't know if you saw it in the Prophet or not, but I'm looking to replace Professor Binns as Hogwarts' History of Magic professor. His lectures put the majority of his students to sleep and he's so focused on the goblin wars that he doesn't even teach half of what's covered in the OWL and NEWT exams. I've had Robert making inquiries, but so far nobody has come forward expressing interest in the position and the governor's meeting is this weekend. I really need a candidate to put forth for a vote or else I'm afraid Binns will be teaching for at least another year."

Regulus remained silent for a few minutes, before he said, "I'll have to think about it, Harry. I've never given any thought to the idea of teaching. I did score Outstanding on my History OWL and NEWT and it is one of the subjects that I have a Mastery in, so, I am qualified, but I don't know. I'll think about it and give you my answer before the meeting."

"Thanks Regulus," Harry said, before he had a thought and turning to Asterion, he asked, "Rion, what do you think? Would your father make a good professor?"

Asterion smiled and said, "Of course he would, Harry. He taught me everything I know and I can tell you this, I never fell asleep in his class. He had a way of always presenting the material in a way that I'd find fun and engaging, no matter how old I was." Grinning at his father, he said, "Personally, I think you should take the job, Dad, but it's really up to you. I'll still love you no matter what you decide."

"Thanks squirt," Regulus said with a chuckle as he reached out and tried to mess up Asterion's hair. He didn't manage to do it, however, as Asterion quickly ducked away from his father's hand and exclaimed, "Don't touch the hair!" This prompted everyone else in the room to laugh, at which point Asterion said, "What? I like my hair to look just so and trust me, that wasn't easy. Dad was a very hands on parent and I do mean hands on, mostly on my head trying to mess up my hair about fifty to a hundred times a day."

"Well, I think it's high time you went and got cleaned up, Your Excellence," Emma said to Sirius. "Regulus, your old room is vacant, so if you could show Sirius to the connecting bath, we'll see about finding him something suitable to wear for a shopping trip."

"Sure, Emma," Regulus said, as he motioned towards his brother and said, "Follow me."

The two of them headed up the stairs alone and just as they arrived in the common room, Sirius said, "I still can't believe that Asterion is an adult already. Reg, you're not that much younger than me. Are we really that old that you can have an adult son already?"

Regulus shook his head, "Trust me, Sirius, I've had the same thought. Sometimes I can't believe it either. I don't feel old enough to have a seventeen-year-old son, but then again, he was born when I was only a year younger than he is now."

"True, you did start rather young," Sirius said. "Of course, Grandfather Pollux still has you beat, considering that he was only thirteen when Mum was born."

"Yeah and fifteen and seventeen, respectively, when Uncles Alphard and Cygnus were born," Regulus said, with a shake of his head. "I can't believe anyone thought it was actually a good idea for Pollux and Irma to get married when they were only twelve. Contracts for arranged marriages are sometimes finalized that young, but usually the marriage won't happen until they're older."

"I hope you plan on making sure Asterion doesn't get married anytime soon," Sirius said. "I know Harry is legally an adult now that he's claimed his birthright, but if I have anything to say about it, he won't be getting married for another twenty years at least. And as for him having kids, well, thirty or forty more years before he even considers it sounds good to me."

Regulus laughed. "I feel the same way. I am so not ready for grandchildren. My son might be an adult, but that doesn't mean I want grandchildren. I'm only thirty-three for Merlin's sake, so I'm way too young to become a grandfather. Maybe someday, but definitely not now or anytime in the foreseeable future."

Sirius nodded his head in agreement, before he got a wicked grin on his face. "So, Asterion is particular about his hair."

"I know that look, brother," Regulus said. "You're planning something."

"Who me?" Sirius asked, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Yes you," Regulus said. "And yes, Asterion is very particular about his hair. Honestly, he uses more hair potions then I ever knew existed." After a moment, he grinned and said, "And if you want to pull some kind of prank on him, count me in. I still haven't gotten him back for the prank he pulled on me for my birthday last month, so he's got it coming to him."

"What did he do to you?" Sirius asked. It was obvious that he was interested. Pranks would always be something that Sirius found interesting and he wanted to know if his nephew was any good at playing pranks or not.

Arriving in the extra dormitory in the barn, Regulus led Sirius into the room that he'd used during his training and pointed to the bathroom door. "You can wash up in there. Make sure to lock both doors if you don't want anyone coming in on you. As for the prank, I'll tell you later," Regulus said and Sirius grinned when he looked at this brother, because he was sure Regulus was blushing. Just what could Asterion have done to his father that would make him blush?

'This should be good,' Sirius thought, but let the matter drop for now because he really did want to get cleaned up. Being a wanted fugitive on the run didn't afford one many opportunities to buy new clothes or bathe, so he'd been wearing the same clothes for over a year now and it had been just over three months since he'd last taken the time out to bathe. When he'd first escaped he'd tried to do it a bit more often, but after a few too many close calls with Dementors and Aurors searching for him, he'd stopped.

-o-0-o-

While Sirius was upstairs getting cleaned up, Harry looked at Athena and said, "Athena, I think it's time I have a little chat with Barnabas Cuffe. Would it be possible for me to go and do that?"

Remaining silent for a moment, Athena finally nodded her head and said, "I suppose I can allow it. Barin!"

"Mistress calls Barin?" the house-elf asked a moment later after it popped into the room.

"Go over to Kinloch Hold," Athena said. "See if Lord McLaggen or his wife has time today to meet with Harry and accompany him to Diagon Alley to meet with Barnabas Cuffe. If they're not available, try Lady Longbottom over at Lakeview Hall, but I really would prefer Lord or Lady McLaggen."

"Yes, Mistress," Barin said, before he popped out of the room.

Turning to Harry, Athena said, "Obviously your trainers and I cannot accompany you to Diagon Alley, Harry. There are some people who would recognize us, even with the glamours, so it wouldn't be good for you to be seen out in public with us. That's not a problem at the Cairo Bazaar because it's sufficiently far away enough from Albion that it's rare to see anyone from here over there. It helps that many of the old, traditional Wizarding families like to think that foreign goods are inferior to what's made here in Albion. Thus, even with its' reputation as being one of the premier shopping centers in the Wizarding world, a lot of them simply do not shop there. Not when they can shop in Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Highever, Gwaren, or any of the other domestic Wizarding population centers."

"Why is that I've never heard of these other cities and towns?" Harry asked. "At Hogwarts I was always led to believe that Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade were the only magical shopping areas in the country."

"It's because of the influx of muggleborns to Hogwarts, Harry," Remus answered. "Some two-hundred-and-ninety-three years ago, the Board of Governors at the time voted to make it appear that Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley were the only places in the country that wizards and witches could shop. Mainly because many of the old pureblood families wanted to keep the other villages and cities strictly for themselves and not have them sullied by what some of them would call mudblood filth. I don't agree with that stance, but there's nothing that I can do about it, since I'm not on the Board."

"At the same time that resolution was passed," Rose added, "it became an offense punishable with detention and the taking of house points for anyone to talk about the other shopping centers in the country, so that they'd remain a secret from the muggleborns and muggle-raised. Any books which mentioned the other cities and towns were removed from the Hogwarts library, and the bookstores in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, thus the vast majority of muggleborns and muggle-raised never learn about or visit the other magical cities in the country."

"That's stupid," Harry said. "Looks like I have something else to bring up with the governors now."

"You may have an uphill battle there, Harry," Cedric cautioned. "While the changes you're proposing at Hogwarts in terms of the Potions and History of Magic classes might be accepted, you'll have a harder time with getting them to reverse a decision made by one of the previous Boards. As a general rule, any decision the Board makes that isn't reversed before the passing of a hundred years is then considered tradition. And getting enough votes to overturn a nearly three-hundred-year-old tradition will not be easy."

Roger nodded. While he'd been helping Cedric brush Harry up on the laws for the Wizengamot meeting, they'd also covered the Board procedures in order to prepare the brunet for that meeting, as well. "Yeah, Harry, remember, unlike the Wizengamot where you have four votes, you only have one on the Hogwarts Board, which consists only of the Lords of the Thirteen Houses. So for anything you put to a vote, you'll need at least six of the other lords to agree with you for it to pass."

As it would turn out the Hogwarts Board of Governors was as old as the school itself. It wasn't always called the Board of Governors, the name having changed a few times over the years, but it's purpose was the same. While Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin are credited as being the Founders of Hogwarts, they're not the ones who provided the funding to start the school. While the Founders were each considered to be the most powerful and learned spellcasters of the age, they were not rich. They each had enough money to live comfortably, but nowhere near enough to pay for the undertaking of realizing their dream of building what they hoped would become the premier school of magic the world over, servicing all of the young witches and wizards of Britain and Ireland in a single facility, and perhaps if any were interested, even accepting students from abroad. 

That, of course, is where the Board of Governors came in. Consisting of the Lords of the Thirteen Houses, each of them provided a portion of the funding necessary to open the school. This wasn't without strings, of course, as the lords expected to have control over such things as the school's curriculum, rules, and staff. The Founders understood that without the family heads, their dreams would never be realized, so they accepted the terms. Now, for the most part, while the Founders were still alive, the Governors stepped back and allowed them to run the school as they saw fit, trusting in their ability and knowledge to run it well.

After the last of the Founders had died, however, the Board began taking a more hands on approach and ultimately replaced the Founders as the school's supreme authority. Out of respect to the people whose idea the school had been in the first place, however, the Founders were continued to be celebrated as the true heads of the school, even if the Board did reverse some of the decisions they'd made while they were alive, in addition to making policies they weren't likely to have agreed with. Of course, even if they had been alive to see it, they wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. Powerful and learned spellcasters though they were, they were still commoners who had entered into a legally and magically binding agreement with the Lords of the Thirteen Houses, that was reviewed and signed off on by the crown.

"I think I can safely guarantee," Cedric said, "that you will never get Lords Malfoy, Flint or Burke to agree with you on that issue. And Arcturus Lestrange would likely be another no vote on that issue. It's possible that you might be able to convince Lords Ollivander, Bones, and McKinnon. And as your ally, my uncle would probably give you his support as well, although it's important to understand that the alliance does not require him to agree with you on everything. So it is possible for him to vote against you on an issue if it's something that doesn't put you or your family in mortal danger."

"Lady Longbottom is very old-fashioned and traditional," Athena said. "So, chances are she wouldn't vote in favor of it either, unless you could convince her that it's a good idea. The problem she faces, however, is that she has to be very careful, because she is not truly the family head. Her son is and if he were to ever wake up and didn't agree with a decision she had used his power and authority to make, things could get ugly for her, especially since she's not a Longbottom by blood. I doubt Frank would ever do something like disowning his own mother, but then again, if he were to ever wake up, it's entirely possible that his personality might not be the same as it was years ago."

Rose nodded her head in agreement and said, "After almost thirteen years in a nearly comatose state brought on by severe mental and physical torture, even the best Healers in the world wouldn't be able to say with any degree of certainty how he would react to anything anymore."

Nodding, Harry said, "Yeah, that makes sense." After a moment, he said, "I don't know for sure, but I think Sirius would vote whichever way I did on the matter, so that just leaves Lord Crouch and your father, Ric. Do you have any idea how he would vote?"

Cedric took a moment to think, before he said, "I think my father would probably vote to uphold the tradition, I'm afraid. He doesn't support the Death Eaters or You-Know-Who, but he does support the maintaining of Wizarding traditions. He's a proud man and he believes in the purity of Wizarding blood. The difference between him and people like Lord Malfoy, however, is that my father doesn't believe that Muggleborns need to be exterminated. He thinks they should be just as free as anyone else to practice and use magic, but that they should do so separately from the purebloods and Wizarding raised halfbloods. Thus, I don't see him agreeing to the idea of opening Highever, Gwaren, or any of the other magical cities up to the Muggleborns."

"As for Lord Crouch, I think he'd probably vote with whichever side had the greatest support," Athena said. "He definitely doesn't support Voldemort, as he sent several Death Eaters, including his own son and heir, to Azkaban. However, he's also a very practical man who craves power. During the first war, he was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and was a favorite to become Minister for Magic. But, after King Charles died and there was no longer any input forthcoming from the throne, since the newly crowned King Edward was a toddler, he made some very controversial decisions."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

"Allowing the Aurors to use the Unforgivables for one," Athena answered. "Several suspected Death Eaters were also sent to Azkaban without even being questioned, let alone given a trial. And then a group of Death Eaters that included Lord and Lady Lestrange and Crouch's own son and heir, tortured Lord and Lady Longbottom under the Cruciatus and made no secret of the fact that they did it. They weren't worried because there hadn't been a word from the then eleven-year-old King Edward and all attempts to contact him had failed."

Rose took over at this point, continuing with, "Wanting to see justice done, Lord Crouch decided to try Lord and Lady Lestrange and his son before the Wizengamot, even though it doesn't have the authority to try the heads of the noble families or their immediate family members. That was a career killing move for him. Shortly thereafter a new Minister came to power, at which point Lord Crouch found himself being demoted and transferred to the Department of International Magical Cooperation, which is nowhere near as prestigious as his previous post. He's sought to regain his former authority and prestige ever since, so he's not likely to side with what he views as the losing side."

"For the time being, Harry," Cedric said, "I'd concentrate on the staffing changes at Hogwarts and save the other issue for later. Change sometimes takes time to be effective and you can't change everything you don't like overnight."

"I suppose you're right," Harry said. "The one thing I don't understand though is how it is that the Board of Governors was able to remove any books that mentioned the other magical towns and cities from the shelves of bookstores in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. I can see the board having power in the school, but outside of it?"

"You're forgetting one important detail, Harry," Roger said. "The Board of Governors is made up of the Lords of the Thirteen Houses and they have the power to set many of the laws in their own lands. Hogsmeade is in the Marquisate of Levenmore and Diagon Alley in the Earldom of Gullane, controlled by the McLaggen and Burke families, respectively. When the Board passed the decision all those years ago, the then Lords McLaggen and Burke simply banned the books from being sold in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. So, yes, while the Board's collective authority doesn't extend past Hogwarts itself, the same cannot be said for the individual authority of its' members."

Before anyone else could say anything, Barin popped back in and said, "Barin reports Lady McLaggen was planning Diagon trip today. Taking son shopping for school, so can accompany Lord Potter."

"Well, then," Athena said, as she stood up, "Harry, why don't you go and make yourself a bit more presentable for your meeting with Mr. Cuffe. When you're ready, I'll Apparate you over to Kinloch Hold to meet Lady McLaggen and Cormac." Noticing the look on Cedric's face, she said, "There's really no reason for you to go to Diagon Alley today, Mr. Diggory, so no, you may not go. Rose, if you could go over to Seacliff and make sure Harry's double stays put and out of sight, I'd appreciate it."

"Of course," Rose said as she stood and headed for the door.

-o-0-o-

Half-an-hour later, Harry was standing in Diagon Alley, after having his first portkey experience. Cormac was only fifteen, so he didn't have his Apparition license. Caroline would usually have taken him side-along, but since Harry was accompanying them today, she had instead opted to use a portkey to Diagon Alley instead. While portkeys were regulated by the Ministry, Caroline had no trouble obtaining one, considering that she worked at the Ministry, as the Head of the Department of Magical Transportation.

"Do you need any assistance, Your Grace?" Caroline asked, as the three of them moved out onto the main street of Diagon Alley.

Pulling the hood of his cloak up to conceal his face, Harry said, "No, thank you. Do your shopping. I'll make my way to the Prophet's offices and meet with Mr. Cuffe and then I'll meet you at Fortesque's."

"As you wish," Caroline said with a nod. "Come Cormac."

Nodding to Harry, Cormac said, "Yes Mother," as he followed her down the street towards Gringotts.

Harry, meanwhile, headed down the street to the offices of the Daily Prophet. It didn't take long because the alley wasn't very busy that day. Harry could only assume that most people didn't go school shopping yet, preferring to wait until the week before school started. He supposed it might have something to do with when exactly they got their Hogwarts letters, but then Cormac's father was a governor and Hogwarts was on the McLaggen lands, so it made sense that he might get his letter earlier than other students.

Walking into the Daily Prophet, Harry, the hood still pulled over his face, walked up to the reception desk. A bored looking witch, who didn't even bother to look up, asked, "Welcome to the Daily Prophet, how can I help you today?"

"I'm here to speak with Barnabas Cuffe," Harry answered.

The receptionist looked up at this, but couldn't see Harry's face through the dark shadow cast by the hood. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No," Harry admitted.

"Then I'm sorry, sir," the reception witch said. "Mr. Cuffe doesn't see..."

"He'll see me," Harry interrupted, as he held out his ring finger to the receptionist. "He really doesn't have a choice, if he wants to keep his job."

Seeing the golden lord's ring that marked it's wearer as Lord of the Potter family, and knowing that the Potters owned the Daily Prophet, the receptionist witch quickly stood up and said, "Right this way, Your Grace."

Following the receptionist, Harry found himself walking through a bustling newsroom, with charmed scraps of parchment flying through the air in every direction, and many reporters and staff members hurriedly moving from one area to another, all working hard on getting the next edition of the paper out. Walking up a set of stairs at the back of the room, the receptionist led Harry down a hallway and into a small outer office.

A young wizard that looked to be in his mid-twenties sat at a desk outside the door to the inner office and Harry assumed it was Mr. Cuffe's secretary. He looked up and seeing the receptionist, he asked, "Eliza, why aren't you at your desk?"

"Hello Jonas," Eliza the receptionist said, as she motioned towards Harry and said, "His Grace the Lord Potter to see Mr. Cuffe."

Once again, Harry raised his ring finger so that Jonas could see the golden ring that adorned it. He looked at it for a moment and said, "Right, I'll take it from here. You can go back to your desk, Eliza."

Motioning towards one of the chairs in front of his small desk, Jonas said, "Please, Your Grace, have a seat."

It was at this point that Harry caught sight of a nameplate on the young man's desk which identified him as Jonas Cuffe. 'Mr. Cuffe's son, perhaps?' Harry thought to himself. 'No matter, I'm not here to see him.'

"I'll remain standing, thanks," Harry said, as Jonas rounded his desk and was about to sit down when Harry's words registered. Courtesy dictated that he couldn't sit down in the presence of a standing lord. "I'm assuming from the nameplate that you are Mr. Cuffe's son?"

"Yes, Your Grace," Jonas confirmed. "Won't you please have a seat?"

Harry, however, remained standing and said, "I'm here to see your father, not you, so please tell him I'm here."

"He's in a very important meeting, Your Grace, and asked not to be disturbed for any reason," Jonas tried to explain.

"It doesn't matter what he asked, Jonas," Harry returned, as he lowered the hood of his cloak. "I own the Prophet, which makes me your father's boss and means that my directives overrule his. Now, Jonas, will you please tell him I'm here and that I wish to see him immediately?"

Jonas looked conflicted for a moment, before he nodded and said, "Yes, Your Grace," as he walked over to his father's office door. Harry could have been wrong, but it almost looked like Jonas might have gulped before raising his fist and knocking on the door.

A moment later, a gruff and clearly angry voice asked, "Yes?"

Cracking the door so that it was open barely even an inch, Harry could hear Jonas say, "I'm very sorry, Father, but His Grace the Lord Potter is here and he's insisting on meeting with you immediately."

Catching a sidelong glance of Jonas's face, Harry thought, 'Are his eyes closed?'

"Just a minute," the gruff voice said. Jonas quickly closed the door, but Harry still could hear the scrambling movement in the office and some hurried whispered words. He couldn't make them out, however. After two or three minutes, the gruff voice said again, "Enter."

Jonas opened the door in such a way that his back was facing the inside of the office, motioning for Harry to enter the room, which he did so. He immediately saw who he assumed to be Mr. Barnabas Cuffe standing behind his desk. The man stood about six feet tall, with salt and pepper hair, and was clearly a bit overweight. Certainly he was nowhere near as bad as Vernon or Dudley, but it was obvious that he was carrying around a few more pounds than was probably healthy. Harry suspected, however, that his taller frame hid that better than if he'd been a shorter man. He was dressed in what Harry knew was considered respectable business attire in the Wizarding world, although as a commoner, Mr. Cuffe's robes were certainly not cut to the same level of quality as his own. Harry also couldn't help but notice, however, that the man's clothes looked more than a little wrinkled and disheveled, as if he had gotten dressed in a hurry. It was certainly nowhere near as neatly as Harry would have expected from the Editor-in-Chief of a major newspaper who was apparently in a very important meeting.

Speaking of that, however, as Harry entered the office and looked around, he couldn't help but note the distinct lack of anyone else in the room. Had Jonas been lying when he'd said his father was in an important meeting? Because Harry certainly didn't see anyone else in the office that Mr. Cuffe could have been engaged in a meeting with. Walking further into the room, however, Harry caught sight of something, or perhaps more accurately two somethings, sticking out from under the front edge of the large desk and quickly realized just what kind of "important meeting" Mr. Cuffe had apparently been having moments earlier. This also quickly answered any questions Harry might have had about the state of his clothes.

"Mr. Cuffe, I really do not care what you do at home in your off hours," Harry said. "But, as owner of this paper, I would very much appreciate it if you would kindly refrain from entertaining your lady and gentleman callers on the premises. This is a newspaper, not a brothel."

When it looked like Mr. Cuffe was about to say something in protest of Harry's words, Harry simply removed the head from his cane, pointed at the floor and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Almost immediately, two articles of clothing floated up and into clear view: a red lace bra and a pair of blue cotton boxer-briefs. Seeing the items floating in midair, Mr. Cuffe's cheeks turned pink and Harry could hear him mumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Oh shit."

Now some might think it was possible that Mr. Cuffe had only been entertaining a woman in his office. That the bra belonged to her and that the boxer-briefs were in fact Mr. Cuffe's, but Harry had rather assumed that was not the case even before he levitated them, hence his statement to the now flustered editor. With the offending articles now floating in mid-air, however, Harry was now even more sure than he had been, as it was rather obvious that the boxer-briefs were too small to belong to the clearly embarrassed man behind the desk. If Harry had to guess, Mr. Cuffe's waist was about 42-44 inches, while the boxer-briefs looked more like they were meant for someone with a waist of only 28-30 inches.

Noting that there was no fireplace in the room, Harry soon spotted the only other door in the room other than the one he'd come in through. Harry guessed it was a cloak cupboard, which soon proved true, when he pointed his wand at the door and said, "Recludo!" At this, the door swung open to reveal a cupboard which held cloaks and two half-naked and blushing young people, a man and a woman, who were clearly hiding.

Harry fought the urge to blush himself as he levitated the articles of clothing over to the two people in the cupboard and said, "I believe these items belong to you." Once they'd each grabbed the article that did indeed belong to them, Harry added, "Close the door, get dressed, and then get out here."

As the door closed so that the two people in the cupboard could get dressed, Harry sat down in one of the chairs in front of Mr. Cuffe's desk and put away his wand. He then cocked his head to one side and asked, "Forgive me, Mr. Cuffe, but aren't you a married man?"

Gulping, Barnabas sat down and said, "Yes, Your Grace."

Shaking his head, Harry said, "I thought so, as I saw you at the Opening Ball dancing with a woman your age most of the night. I'm assuming that was your wife and yet you're cheating on her with a man and a woman who looked like they're a few years younger than your son. Your son, whom I might add, is also your secretary and sitting right outside this office. I'd ask if he knows what you were doing in here, or perhaps more importantly if his mother, who I assume is your wife, knows but honestly, I really don't care. As I said, Mr. Cuffe, I don't care what you do in your off hours, but from now on you will refrain from using these premises for your extra-marital affairs. Oh and that is not a request."

If Barnabas was at all angered by the idea of a fourteen-year-old boy coming into his office and telling him what he could and couldn't do, he wisely didn't show it. After all, no matter how much he might not like it, as the last of the Potter line, the boy in front of him did own 100% of the Daily Prophet, which made him his boss and well within his rights to dictate what could and couldn't happen in the Prophet's offices. Before Barnabas could say anything, however, the cupboard door opened and the two people came out.

Getting a better look at them now that they weren't hidden in shadow, Harry had no trouble seeing that they were indeed younger than Jonas Cuffe. Jonas looked about twenty-five or twenty-six, whereas the two people who were hiding in the cupboard didn't look like they could possibly be much older than nineteen. The young woman had long black hair, grey eyes, and stood about five-feet, six inches tall, with an impressive enough chest to make Harry wonder if perhaps the Wizarding world had a magical equivalent to breast enhancement surgery. He blushed inwardly at that thought, confident however that it didn't show on his face. The young man, on the other hand, was about six feet, two inches tall, with short brown hair, blue eyes, and a physique that Harry was pretty sure was called a swimmer's build.

"You two are both legal adults, I hope?" Harry asked, much too distracted by the matter at hand to pay much attention to the twitch in the trousers he was wearing under his robes. The twitch that had only happened after his eyes had left the young woman and moved to the young man. Of course, as a teenager, that particular part of his body reacted to something at least fifty times a day. Thus he rarely paid any attention to it, let alone what had caused it to happen in the first place. This was especially true when he was in public and didn't wish to draw attention to it.

"Yes, Your Grace, I'm nineteen," the young man said, as the young woman said, "I'm eighteen, Your Grace."

"And do you work for the Prophet?"

They both nodded again as the young man indicated that he was one of the typesetters and the woman revealed that she worked in the photography department.

"I see," Harry said. "I'll tell you the same thing I just told Mr. Cuffe. I don't care what you do at home in your off hours, but in the future, you will refrain from doing in the Prophet offices whatever it was you were doing in here before I came in. And I have a feeling I have a pretty good idea what that was, all things considered. Also understand this, as sole owner of the Daily Prophet, that is not a request and if I find out that you are ignoring my wishes on this matter, you will all be unemployed before you can say your own names. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, Your Grace," the young man said, as the young lady nodded earnestly, but remained silent.

Harry gave them both a hard look for a second longer before he said, "Both of you, out. I need to talk to your boss alone."

Once they were gone, Harry said, "You really haven't made the best first impression on me, Mr. Cuffe, and I'm seriously tempted to fire you right now, but I won't. At least, so long as you do as I tell you."

"With all due respect, Your Grace, are you blackmailing me?" Barnabas asked.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just ask me that," Harry answered, the note of warning clear in his voice. After a moment of silence, Harry cleared his throat and said, "Now, normally, I would have brought my seneschal with me to this meeting, but I received word this morning that his wife, who works in my greenhouses at Seacliff, had a mishap with one of the more dangerous plants and is currently at St. Mungo's. I believe his place is at her side at a time like this. That's all off the record, by the way."

Nodding, Barnabas said, "Of course, Your Grace." He was already in trouble and he knew it. No reason to get himself into any more by printing anything the young lord who had the power to fire him didn't want him to print. Not that it was exactly newsworthy. Plenty of the wealthier families had greenhouses with dangerous plants that caused the occasional injury to those tending them, regardless of their Herbology skills. True, the fact that it had happened at Seacliff might make it interesting to some, considering who the castle's owner was, but it really wasn't major news. Certainly not something that would actually sell any great number of papers, seeing as it was most certainly not front page material.

"I did, however, arrange for someone to accompany me today," Harry said, as he reached into an inner pocket of his cloak and pulled out a small hand mirror. Barnabas quickly recognized it as the type of mirror that was often setup for two-way communication. This was confirmed a moment later when the face of Sirius Black, looking much nicer now that he'd had a chance to clean himself up, appeared in the mirror, along with the portrait of James and Lily Potter. "Say hello to my godfather, Lord Sirius Black, and my parents' portrait, Mr. Cuffe," as Harry turned the mirror towards the editor.

"Hello Lord Black, and Lord and Lady Potter," Barnabas said, in a somewhat surprised tone. He wasn't sure who he was more surprised to see: Sirius Black, or the late James and Lily Potter.

Lily and Sirius nodded, while James simply said, "Barnabas."

"My godfather is partially the reason I'm here today," Harry explained. "I don't know if you've heard yet, as I haven't seen anything about it in the Prophet yet, but as of this past Monday, he's been cleared of all charges against him by His Majesty King Edward."

"I've heard some rumblings about it," Barnabas said. "I've had my staff trying to find out if it's true, but the Ministry has been rather tight-lipped about it."

"Well, it's true," Harry said as he pulled out the letter from the King and showed Barnabas the royal seal, before reading the missive aloud. He left out the Emperor part of the King's signature, not wanting the fact that Edward was using it to become a bigger story then Sirius getting cleared. Harry figured that if the King wanted the general public to know about that detail, he could come out of hiding and tell them himself. "So, now that you know that it's true, I expect you to run an article in the next edition of the Prophet announcing that he has been pardoned of all charges and is no longer a wanted man."

In the mirror, Sirius nodded and said, "Yes, I would very much appreciate that, Mr. Cuffe. I have business to attend to that requires me to appear in public. Obviously, I wish to do so without people panicking and calling the Aurors because they think I'm a convicted murderer."

"I would suggest you refrain from running a copy of the letter I just read, however," Harry said. "I do not know if His Majesty wished for his words to be published or not, so I think it's best to err on the side of caution."

Barnabas nodded. "Yes, of course, Your Grace. Would you mind if I brought one of my reporters in here? I won't print the letter, but I'd very much like a statement from you and the Lord Black if that's possible."

"Fine by me," Harry said. In the mirror, Sirius nodded, indicating that it was fine with him.

Pushing a button on his desk, Barnabas remained silent for a moment, before the door opened and his son Jonas stuck his head into the room. If he knew what his father had been up to with the two teenagers, it didn't show on his face. "Yes, Father?"

"Get Rita Skeeter in here," Barnabas said. "Tell her to be prepared to take statements."

"Right away, Father," Jonas said as he closed the door.

Harry, meanwhile, thought, 'Perfect. I can kill two birds with one stone.'

"Can I offer you a drink while we're waiting, Lord Potter?" Barnabas asked, motioning towards the fully-stocked bar that rested along one wall of the room.

"No thank you," Harry said. "But feel free to have one yourself, if you wish."

Apparently deciding that he did need a drink, Barnabas stood up and went over to fix one for himself. Harry could understand why the man might feel the need to have a drink. He certainly hadn't had the best of days, after all, having his boss catching him in the act of cheating on his wife and all. Plus there was the issue that he'd been caught cheating with two people, one of them male, and both of them teenagers younger than his son. Yeah, Barnabas really needed a drink. Well, more like several but he was in enough trouble with his boss without getting drunk in front of him on top of it.

All was silent in the office for a few minutes, until the door opened and a woman with a head full of blonde curls walked into the room. She was dressed in an acid green suit with fur on the collar and at the ends of the sleeves. In her hands, she was carrying a handbag that looked like it was made of some type of scaly skin that Harry couldn't identify, other than the fact that it wasn't dragonhide.

"Mr. Cuffe, you wanted to see me, sir?" Rita asked, in a sickly sweet tone.

"Yes, Rita," Barnabas said as he took a seat behind his desk, which he set his second glass of Firewhisky on. "I need you to take two statements. One from Lord Harrison Potter," as he motioned at Harry, "and one from his godfather, Lord Sirius Black," and motioned at the hand mirror in Harry's hand.

"Oh, of course, sir, it would be a pleasure," Rita said, as she sat down in the other chair in front of Barnabas' desk and opened her purse, removing a pad of paper and a quill that matched her dress. She quickly set the pad on the edge of the desk and much to Harry's surprise the quill moved of its own accord over to the pad, looking poised to start writing all by itself.

Before Rita or anyone else could say anything, however, Lily said, "Just a minute, Harry, dear that's a Quick-Quotes Quill. It's notoriously inaccurate and often adds to and embellishes upon whatever is said in its presence. I thought you had banned them from being used at the Prophet, James."

James looked sheepish, before he said, "I had planned to, Lily, but then Robert brought me some papers I needed to sign and I completely forgot about it."

Removing his wand from his cane again, Harry pointed it at the pad on the desk and said, "Accio pad."

The pad flew across the room, with the quill following closely after it, trying to continue writing whatever it had been writing down. Putting away his wand, Harry grabbed the quill in one hand and caught the pad in his other, before he began reading aloud.

"The voice of the late Lily Evans-Potter, who was tragically killed on October 31st 1981, told Harrison Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, 'That's a Quick-Quotes Quill, dear. They're famous for their accuracy and their ability to record only what the person says, with no embellishment whatsoever. I commend you for ordering they be used at the Prophet, James.'"

"I don't think I need to read anymore," Harry said, as he looked at Barnabas and said, "Mr. Cuffe, usage of the Quick-Quotes Quill is hereby banned. After today, anyone who uses one to write their notes or articles is to be fired immediately."

Before Barnabas could say anything, the quill struggled to get to the pad in Harry's other hand and due to its length, it succeeded at which point it wrote another sentence that Harry read aloud. "The-Boy-Who-Lived, a note of awe in his voice, said, 'Mr. Cuffe, usage of the Quick-Quotes Quill is hereby required. After today, anyone not using one of these truly marvelous quills to write all of their notes and articles is to be fired immediately.'"

"That's quite enough of that," Barnabas said. "Rita, stop your quill now."

"Yes, sir," Rita said, looking quite upset as she took the quill from Harry and placed it back inside of her purse.

Tearing the topmost sheet off the pad, Harry handed the pad back to Rita. "I am very serious in what I said, Ms. Skeeter. I will not tolerate the Daily Prophet printing things that aren't true as if they're facts. I would highly suggest that you dispose of the quill if you ever want to write another article for this paper."

Rita looked a bit shocked, even looking over at Barnabas, as if hoping he would contradict what Harry had just said. Of course, he didn't. "Lord Potter owns the paper, Rita, so he is fully within his rights to dictate what we can print. If you still want to use a self-writing quill, I suggest you go buy a Dicta-Quill, like they use to record the minutes of the Wizengamot meetings." Then grabbing one of the always-full quills from a cup on his desk, Barnabas handed it to Rita and said, "For now, you'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way."

"Yes, sir," Rita said in a dejected tone, as she balanced the pad in her lap.

"Let me just say that this is not an interview, Ms. Skeeter," Harry said. "I will be giving a statement, then my godfather will give a statement. You will copy them down word for word exactly as we said them and they will be printed that way. After that, I have a few other issues to discuss with you and Mr. Cuffe."

Rita and Barnabas both nodded their understanding, at which point Harry cleared his throat and said, "Recently I petitioned His Majesty King Edward to review the case against my godfather, Lord Sirius Black. I am very pleased to say that His Majesty has deemed my godfather to be innocent of all charges and issued him a full royal pardon. As such, I ask that everyone in the Wizarding world refrain from treating him like a wanted criminal and treat him with the respect that he deserves as the Head of a Most Ancient and Noble House." Then looking at the mirror, Harry said, "Your turn, Sirius."

"Thank you, Harry," Sirius said, before Harry turned the mirror to face Rita and Sirius said, "I would first like to thank my godson, Lord Harrison Potter, for initiating the royal review of my case and His Majesty King Edward for pardoning me. The truth of the matter is, I was framed for the murders I was accused of and I was never the Secret Keeper for my late friends, James and Lily Potter. I would have killed myself without hesitation before I would have betrayed them. In the coming days and months, I will be resuming my normal life and performing the duties which fall to me as Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. While I understand that many of you may see me on the streets and be afraid due to the smear campaign against me since my escape from prison last year, I assure you that you have nothing to fear from me. It's not like I'm a convicted murderer - firstly, because I never murdered anyone, and secondly, because I was never tried or convicted of the murders I was accused of in the first place."

Once Rita was finished copying down their statements, Harry held out his hand for the pad, wanting to check that she had written them down exactly as they'd been given. Rita sighed and handed it over, allowing Harry to read what she'd written. Her penmanship was rather sloppy and Harry immediately suspected that she was out of practice. He guessed it was likely due to the fact that she usually let her Quick-Quotes Quill write everything for her. Other than the poor penmanship and one or two minor spelling errors, however, Harry was pleased to see that she had written the statements exactly as they'd been given.

"Now that that's taken care of," Harry said, "on to the other matters I mentioned. I wish to set the record straight on a couple of things that Ms. Skeeter implied in her article announcing I'd claimed my birthright that simply were not true."

Rita bristled at the implication that what she'd written wasn't true, but said nothing when she caught the look Barnabas gave her. After a moment, the editor asked, "What points, Your Grace? I will see to it that retractions and corrections are made on any mistakes in the morning edition."

"It's to do with the Hogwarts staffing issues I intend to discuss with the Board," Harry said. "First off, I don't know who Ms. Skeeter's sources inside Hogwarts are and I won't ask that she reveal them, however, I would like to point out that they were not telling the entire truth of the situation when it comes to the History of Magic classes taught by Professor Binns."

"What do you mean?" Rita asked.

The next several minutes were spent with Harry outlining his feelings on Professor Binns and Professor Snape, including the reasons why he wished to remove both of them from their current positions, and the fact that in the case of the Potions Master, he wasn't seeking his complete removal from the Hogwarts staff. At the end of the discussion, Barnabas promised again to print the necessary retractions and corrections in the morning edition, on page one, above the fold to insure that all would be sure to see them.

Ultimately, Harry left the Prophet offices feeling good about his visit, if not a little embarrassed by what he'd walked into upon his arrival. This feeling wasn't helped when on his way out of the building, the young man he'd met in Barnabas' office had literally run into him. The contact had been brief and he'd apologized profusely before disappearing, but Harry couldn't ignore that a certain part of his anatomy had reacted to the contact, more strongly than it had back in the editor's office. He tried to put it out of his mind, however, as he made his way back out to Diagon Alley to meet up with Lady McLaggen and Cormac at Fortesque's.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's Chapter Six. First off, I'd like to say that I fully realize that I did not include Roger's birthday party or the Governor's Meeting in this chapter as I'd said I would last chapter. My reason for that is that I decided this chapter was running a bit too long, as it was already the longest chapter to date when I ended it. Including those two scenes would I think have made this chapter too long, as there's at least one more scene that will be happening before those two scenes can happen. So, I decided it was best to end the chapter here and move the scenes in question to the next chapter.
> 
> Also, I'd just like to assure you that, no, I have absolutely not changed my mind about the main pairing of this story. It is definitely going to be Harry/Cedric. I'm saying this because some of you may have been wondering since there hasn't been anything in the way of romantic interaction between the two characters and the fact that Harry has been noticing other men, specifically Lord Erik Bones in Ch5 and the unnamed typesetter in this chapter.
> 
> My reasoning for this is two-fold. First and foremost, I believe that it's way too early in the story for Harry and Cedric to start becoming romantically involved. Not counting meetings on the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts, they've only really known each other for about 10 days at this point and I'm sorry, but I do not view that as being enough time for them to start developing feelings of a romantic nature for one another. They will become friends first and lovers later. My other reason is because Harry is only fourteen and in my mind he hasn't even fully grasped the fact that he even likes boys yet, so, it simply wouldn't make sense for him to start dating one right now. And, then there's Cedric, who while older, has his own issues to deal with which make it so that, in my opinion, neither of them is ready for romance yet. It will happen, but I'm not going to rush it.
> 
> So, what did you think of the chapter? Regulus as History of Magic professor at Hogwarts, good idea or bad? And what about Mr. Cuffe's activities before Harry arrived? Cheating on your wife with your son right outside the door to keep people out? Talk about bold. Also, if anyone has any ideas for pranks, either for what Sirius and Regulus could do to Asterion or just what Asterion might have done to his father for the birthday prank that makes him blush, feel free to share them with me. I was never a big prankster, so, it's a bit outside of my field of expertise.
> 
> Questions, comments, suggestions? Feel free to review. I love hearing from my readers.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Seven

-o-0-o-

On Thursday, August 11, 1994, Harry came downstairs to breakfast to find everyone else sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast already. Well, everyone that is except for Athena and Roger. They were nowhere in sight.

"Morning Harry," Cedric said with a smile, as Harry sat down in the same place he'd been sitting for the last few days, which placed him between Cedric and Gavin.

"Morning Ric, everyone," Harry said, as he began filling his plate. He usually didn't eat all that well during the summer months, but ever since he arrived at Forest Cottage, the trainers made sure that he was eating three full meals a day. They were all a bit on the small side at first, as even when he would get back to Hogwarts after the summer, it would take a little while for his stomach to adjust and get used to the greater food intake without getting sick.

As the days went on, however, especially since Harry had begun taking Rose's nutrient potions just over a week ago, his appetite had been steadily growing. He still hated the taste of them, but according to Rose, the potions were working. Not only was he beginning to fill out a little so that you couldn't see any of his bones, he'd also gained an inch in height. True, he was still short, but Rose assured him that if he kept taking them until she said he could stop, he'd gain more height and soon he'd even be able to start putting on a little muscle, if he wanted. Tired of being the scrawny, short kid, Harry resolved to continue taking the potions for as long as Rose said he needed them, no matter how bad they tasted.

Cedric, who had just refilled his own goblet, was still holding the pitcher when he asked, "Pumpkin juice, Harry?"

"Yes, thanks," Harry said with a smile, before putting a forkful of eggs in his mouth, as Cedric tipped the pitcher over Harry's goblet, filling it, before placing it back on the table and resuming eating his own breakfast.

All was silent for a few minutes, except for the usual noises that accompanied a meal with a number of people eating at the same time, before Harry asked, "Where's Roger and Athena?"

"They're in Athena's study," Emma answered. "Athena wanted Mr. Davies' help with some research, so they took their breakfasts in there."

"Oh, okay," Harry said.

Eudora grinned and said, "Actually though that was just an excuse to get Mr. Davies away from the rest of you and behind a Silencing Charm."

"Why?" Terence asked. Emma had told everyone else the same thing before Harry had come down, but Eudora hadn't said anything until now. Something was obviously going on.

"Well, in case you're not aware," Rose said, after she finished chewing on a piece of toast, "tomorrow is Mr. Davies' sixteenth birthday. We decided it best that he not be around to hear us discussing the plans for his party."

Several people nodded at this and said "Oh," before Eudora smiled and added, "I'll also be taking any of you who wish to go into Cairo today so that you can buy presents for him. Lady McLaggen was kind enough to arrange for a portkey." Pausing to sip her tea, she then added, "She also asked me to tell you Harry, that now that you're legally an adult, you can get your Apparition license and she promised to help you do that as soon as you request it."

Harry nodded, but said nothing since he was in the middle of chewing.

Gavin, meanwhile, looked thoughtful and said, "I really don't know Roger that well, so I have no idea what to get him for his birthday."

Terence smiled and said, "I've been friends with him for awhile now, as has Ric," at which point Cedric nodded. "Perhaps the most obvious gift would be books. He's a Ravenclaw, after all, so he loves reading and learning."

"He's also very athletic," Cedric pointed out. "Loves Quidditch - though not as obsessively as some people I won't name," he was looking directly at Oliver as he said this, which garnered several laughs from around the table.

For his part, Oliver, who was sitting across from Cedric on the other side of the table, picked up a grape and threw it at Cedric's head. It didn't hit though, as Cedric's Seeker reflexes kicked in and he managed to catch the grape in his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, Cedric smiled and said, "Thanks Will, that was good."

"I was aiming for your head," Oliver pointed out.

Cedric grinned. "Oh I know, but I like where it ended up much better."

"Speaking of Oliver's favorite subject," Asterion said. "Isn't the World Cup two weeks from today?"

"Yes, it is," Oliver confirmed excitedly. "Dad got us tickets, I can't wait."

"I hate to break it you, Will," Gavin said, "but you probably won't be using those tickets."

"Why not?" Oliver asked. Not only was his tone completely incredulous, but he was looking at Gavin as if his brother had just grown four extra heads. Not use the World Cup tickets? Crazy talk!

"Uh, Will, we're here and our doubles are at home with Dad," Gavin said slowly, as if he was talking to a child. "If anyone will be using the tickets, it'll be them, not us."

Oliver opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped, realizing that Gavin might have a point. At this a look of such sadness came over Oliver's face that you'd think he'd just found out his puppy had died. Not that he had a puppy, mind you, but that was beside the point.

"Your doubles won't be going actually," Emma said and for a moment, Oliver perked up a bit, hoping that Emma was about to say that he'd actually be going to the Cup. "Your father sold the tickets he bought and is going to be taking your step-mother on a second honeymoon to Italy that week."

"HE DID WHAT?!" Oliver exclaimed, completely unable to believe what he was hearing. Sell your tickets for the Quidditch World Cup? In Oliver's opinion, only a certifiably insane person would do that.

"Merlin's balls, Will, quiet down," Terence said, as he lightly kicked his boyfriend in the shin. He loved him, he really did, but sometimes... "Do you want Roger and Athena to hear you?"

"That's not a problem," Rose commented. "Athena has a Silencing Ward on her study. So long as the door is closed, that room is completely soundproof. And I know that she closed the door, because she wanted to make sure that Roger didn't hear anything out here."

Before Oliver could say anything else, Gavin piped in, "I'm not really all that surprised, Will. Dad has never been all that big of a Quidditch fan and Sarah is even less of one."

Sarah Wood was Oliver and Gavin's step-mother and their father Douglas Wood's third and current wife, the first being the late Evanna Wood who'd died a few days after giving birth to Oliver. She'd been followed by Cora Wood, who was until recently, believed to be Gavin's mother. They knew differently now, of course. Well, Oliver, Gavin, and the other occupants of Forest Cottage did, at least. The rest of the Wood family was still in the dark and neither Oliver or Gavin had any idea how they could even begin to broach that particular subject.

"Gavin and I wanted to go though!" Oliver wailed. "If Dad didn't want to go, that's fine, but why'd he have to sell Gavin's and my tickets?"

"Because you won't need them, Mr. Wood," Emma said. "And do calm down, would you? I understand that you love Quidditch. I do to or I never would have played it professionally for thirty-eight years, but you act like it's the most important thing in the world and it isn't. It's definitely fun, I'll grant you that, but take it from someone who knows. Eventually, you'll get old enough that you can't play it anymore and then what are you going to do if you've based your entire life around it? You need to have other interests or you're going to have a very boring life after you can't play anymore."

To say that Oliver looked shocked would be putting it mildly. It was obvious to everyone at the table that Oliver had never even considered the idea that he wouldn't be able to play Quidditch everyday for the rest of his life. While he didn't say anything aloud, Terence was silently thanking Emma profusely for what she'd just said, because he hoped it would knock some sense into his boyfriend's head. Terence did, after all, have every intention of marrying Oliver and spending the rest of his life with him, so he really did want to avoid Oliver slipping into a state of constant depression when the time eventually came that he wouldn't be able to play Quidditch anymore.

Before Oliver could say anything, however, Gavin said, "You said we won't need them, so I'm assuming that means we're not going to the cup."

Shaking her head, Eudora said, "You should never assume anything, Mr. Wood."

"So, we will be allowed to go to the World Cup?" Harry asked, in a cautiously optimistic tone. He really did love Quidditch and had never been to a professional game before, so, he thought it would be fun to go to one.

There was silence among the trainers for a moment, before Eudora nodded and said, "Yes, you'll be able to go. We talked about it and decided that it wouldn't be fair to make you miss the first World Cup held here in Britain since 1962. Of course, any of you going is entirely dependent upon whether or not you can get seats in the Top Box. The Cup Stadium has seating for a hundred thousand people, so, we all agreed that if we let you go, we wanted all of you together in the Top Box, rather than scattered all over the stadium."

"Well, looks like we'll be going then," Cedric said with a grin. "All the noble families have reserved seating in the Top Box."

"That's all well and good for you, Cedric," Oliver said. "But Liam, Gav, Roger and I aren't nobles, so there's no way we'll be able to get seats."

Shaking his head, Sirius said, "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Oliver."

"Why?" Oliver asked.

"Because each of the noble families has a certain number of seats reserved for them," Sirius explained. "Just how many depends on their rank. For example, Harry as a Duke, has eight reserved seats. Now, as Lord Black, I'm a Marquis and have six reserved seats. The Earls each have four reserved seats."

Nodding, Cedric said, "Yeah, those seats are meant for the nobles' families, but I know my Mum isn't planning on going. Lucy is too young, so, she's staying home with her. My Dad and I planned on going, but it's just the two of us. Like Lord Black, my father is a Marquis, so we'll have four empty seats in our section of the Top Box. So, I think between the reserved seats for the Potters, Blacks, and Diggorys, you'll all be able to go."

Regulus nodded and said, "Yes, I don't think there'll be a problem. Asterion and I will be in the Black seats with Sirius, and I assume Remus, but that still leaves two seats open."

"Who says you're welcome in the Black seats?" Sirius said, as he looked over at his brother. "I'm not so sure I want you there after that stunt you pulled on me yesterday."

"What making you look like our Mum and calling Kreacher?" Regulus asked with a laugh as Sirius shuddered. "Sirius, I'm a Black - my son and I have a right to sit in the Black seats. But, if you don't want us there, I suppose we could sit someplace else, while you stay home."

"And why would I stay home?" Sirius asked.

"Because before Asterion and I leave for the Cup," Regulus answered with a grin, "I'll just make you look like our father's Aunt Lycoris for a month - complete with her sex drive, or lack thereof."

"You wouldn't!" Sirius exclaimed. Orion Black's Aunt Lycoris had never married because she was one of the biggest prudes on the face of the planet. She died in a potions accident in 1965 at the age of 61 and the whole family was sure that at that time, she was still a virgin. "You wouldn't be that cruel, Reg."

Regulus raised an eyebrow. "You want a bet? I did make you look like our mother and sic Kreacher on you, remember."

"Circe's sagging tits, Regulus, stop reminding me!" Sirius exclaimed, as his whole face paled and he shuddered violently at the memory. Several people at the table laughed at that statement, while the trainers looked rather pointedly at Sirius. They were teachers, so, they didn't like hearing that kind of language. However, he was a Marquis, while they were commoners, so, it wasn't exactly appropriate for them to chastise him for the language he chose to use, hence their staying silent.

"You're the one who brought it up, Uncle," Asterion said with a grin.

"Stay out of this, young man," Sirius said. "This is between me and your father."

Remus laughed. "That statement is just wrong on so many levels, Sirius."

From the painting, James nodded and said, "Yeah, Siri, I have to agree. With the way two are arguing, plus that statement, I'd think you and Regulus were an old married couple and Asterion was your son together."

Regulus made a gagging noise at that and said, "James, please, I'm trying to eat here!"

"For once, we agree, Regulus," Sirius added, as he cast a reproachful look at his old friend's portrait, which just made James laugh even harder, along with everyone else in the room. Well, except for Sirius and Regulus anyway.

-o-0-o-

Having friends in high places had the tendency to make life much easier. Athena was keeping Roger busy, Emma had lessons to plan, and Rose was busy brewing up more of the nutrient potions for Harry, so that left only Eudora available to take the boys shopping. True, there were other adults accompanying the group on the shopping trip, but Side-Along Apparating everyone to Cairo who was going would have taken time, especially since Sirius and Remus would also have to be taken Side-Along, since neither of them had been to Cairo before. And even if they had, neither of them was powerful enough to be willing to attempt Apparating to a different continent. Thankfully, there wasn't a problem, however, as Lady Caroline McLaggen had managed to get them an international portkey.

The first stop once they all arrived, was, of course at Gringotts' Wizarding Bank so that they could all get some money to do their shopping with. This also gave Sirius the opportunity to officially sign the necessary papers to claim the position of Lord Black. He had been considered the de facto Lord Black ever since Lord Arcturus Black reinstated him and passed on, but since Sirius had been in prison at the time, he'd never signed the appropriate paperwork and the Black family ring was in turn locked up in the family vault. It was in a private consultation room at Gringotts' that Harry and Sirius, hands clasped so that their rings were touching, took care of another piece of business.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, Marquis of Charlton, Earl of Alnwick, Viscount Langleeford, Lord of Arlington Grange, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, do hereby pledge my house's strength and support to yours, Harrison James Potter, and promise to do everything within my power to assist, protect, and shelter your family, vassals and friends as if they were my own. From this day onward, your allies will be my allies and your enemies my enemies. Your secrets will be my secrets and I vow to safeguard them with my life. On my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be."

"I, Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston, Marquis of Brynmoor, Earl of Mathry, Lord of Seacliff Castle, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, do hereby pledge my house's strength and support to yours, Sirius Orion Black, and promise to do everything within my power to assist, protect, and shelter your family, vassals and friends as if they were my own. From this day onward, your allies will be my allies and your enemies my enemies. Your secrets will be my secrets and I vow to safeguard them with my life. On my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be."

The wording was slightly different from when Harry had done this ritual with Bruce McLaggen, due to the fact that the Blacks and the Potters had never been allies in the past. Thus the words, 'As our families have stood together before, so shall we stand together again, now and into the future,' were not included. Everything else, however, from the golden nimbuses of light, swirls of color, and the pulse of magic at the end were the same. Until such time that either Sirius or Harry passed away, or they mutually decided to end it, the Black and Potter families were now officially allies.

"I've read about the Alliance Oath," Asterion commented when it was over. "But this is the first time I've ever actually witnessed it done. It was..." he hesitated here for a moment, trying to think of the right word, before he finished, "...impressive."

Cedric nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I've seen it done before, but it's still impressive."

"I could feel that burst of magic at the end," Gavin said. "It felt very powerful."

"It is," Regulus said. "The Alliance Oath is by far one of the strongest and most powerful oaths two wizards can make, since it requires them to swear on their honor, magic, and lives. That doesn't mean that the other oaths, like the Oath of Loyalty, fore example, are any less powerful or binding, but the Alliance Oath is the only one which will strip the honor, magic, and life of the party that breaks it."

"Losing your magic or life, I think is self-explanatory," Harry said. "But, what exactly does losing your honor mean? Would it matter if you're dead?"

"It matters, very much, Harry," Eudora answered. "You see, losing your magic and life, that only effects the Lord who made the oath. The honor part, however, will affect every member of the family. They're all barred from making any type of magical oath and the word dishonored will be written on their foreheads for all to see. Such people would be treated like lepers in the Wizarding world. Now, there is a ritual that a family can undergo to regain their honor, but it takes two-hundred years to complete and it can't be started until every family member who was alive at the time the broken alliance was made has passed away."

"None of the Thirteen Houses have ever been stripped of their honor," Regulus said. "However, I do know that some of the lesser, non-nobles houses have been over the years. The Weasley family being an example."

"The Weasleys?" Harry asked, shocked.

Regulus nodded. "Yes, Harry. It was back in the 1190's. At that time, the Weasley family was one of the wealthiest non-noble families in the country. They entered into an alliance with the pureblooded Cornfoot family, but then a year later, the Head of the Weasley family broke the alliance. He lost his magic and his life and for the next two-hundred-and-ninety-three years the Weasley family had no honor. During that time, nobody would deal with them, so their once vast fortune disappeared and they were forced to sell off properties and heirlooms at auction to pay their mounting debts, often getting far less for them then what they were actually worth. Now while the family did regain its honor once the ritual was completed, they never recovered financially."

"That's also the source of the bitterness between the Weasleys and the Malfoys," Asterion added. "It was the Malfoy family that bought many of the Weasley family's properties and heirlooms, and as my father just said, a lot of it was sold for much less then what it was worth. Of course, it's been so many years now that it's possible both families have forgotten the real reason for their dislike of each other. The only reason I know is because I've studied the books that record such things, as has my father. Most people don't read them, however, because dating back over a thousand years, they're so long that most people figure it's not worth the effort. You could read a thousand pages before coming across an event or name that you actually recognize."

"There is a spell that allows you to search through the books for information on a specific topic, of course," Regulus said. "But, much like the spell used to authenticate the authorship of a book, it's a mage-level spell that most witches and wizards alive today wouldn't be powerful enough to cast."

"The Cornfoot family," Harry said. "Name sounds familiar."

"There's one at Hogwarts, Harry," Cedric said. "He's in your year, but he's in Ravenclaw. Named Stephen Cornfoot. I don't know him personally, but I've heard that he's very close to a Muggleborn by the name of Kevin Entwhistle."

Terence nodded. "Yes, one of the many betting pools at Hogwarts is wagering on whether Kevin and Stephen are a couple or not. If I recall correctly, the pot is just over 50 galleons, with most betting that they are indeed a couple."

"I've seen them together once or twice," Oliver said. "If they aren't a couple, I'd be shocked. They're very touchy feely with each other."

Harry gasped. "You noticed something that didn't have anything to do with Quidditch?"

"Oh come on," Oliver said. "I notice plenty of things that aren't Quidditch related."

"That's true, sometimes," Terence said with a grin. "Rarely, but still true."

"Et tu, Liam?" Oliver asked his boyfriend.

"It's just the truth, Will," Terence said with a smile, as he leaned over and kissed Oliver lightly on the lips. "But I love you anyway."

"Well, you lovebirds, let's get going," Remus said with a smile. "I'm sure all of you want to get your shopping done and I know Sirius is chomping at the bit to get fitted for new clothes."

Sirius, who before his incarceration was an admitted clothes horse, made no attempt to disabuse anyone of the notion that he was looking forward to getting a new wardrobe. He did, however, look Remus up and down and say, "You're going to need some new clothes too, Remus. You look too ragged for your new position."

"New position?" Remus asked, as he arched an eyebrow. "What new position?"

"I don't trust my grandfather's seneschal," Sirius answered. "So I'm replacing him with you."

"Me?" Remus asked. "You want me to be your seneschal? Sirius, that's stupid. I'm a werewolf, remember. Even though I am over twenty-one, I'm barred from voting in the Wizengamot. Truth is, I can't even do half the tasks that a seneschal is supposed to do because of my condition. You'd be wasting your money."

"Ah, but you see, Remus," Sirius said with a smile, "it's my money to waste if I choose. Besides, I met with my account manager. You needn't worry about me wasting my money, Remus, unless you plan on still being alive in about four-hundred-and-fifty years from now."

"Why four-hundred-and-fifty years?" Gavin asked.

Sirius smiled. "Because if we had no money at all coming in and Remus' salary was the only expense, that's how long it would take for Remus being on my payroll at the standard seneschal's salary for the Blacks to run out of money. My account manager couldn't give me exact amounts for how much the other families are worth, of course, but the Blacks are the sixth wealthiest family in the country, surpassed only by the Pendragons, Potters, Burkes, Ollivanders, and Malfoys - in that order."

Harry was shocked by this, of course. "The Potters are the second wealthiest family in the country? Outdone only by the royal family?"

"Yes, Harry, they are," Sirius said. "As I said, my account manager couldn't give me exact amounts for the other families, but he could give me the rankings. Just among the royal and noble families, the order is Pendragon, Potter, Burke, Ollivander, Malfoy, Black, Crouch, Flint, McKinnon, Bones, McLaggen, Diggory, Longbottom and Lestrange."

"I suppose Frank being in a near coma all these years hasn't helped the Longbottoms," Regulus said. "Lady Longbottom has done what she could, but there's certain things she just can't do. Of course, the Lestrange family is in the same boat. There's plenty of things that Arcturus can't do, even as the heir, and Rodolphus can't do anything from Azkaban. Not only because nobody wants to go there and deal with the Dementors in order to do business with him, but also because it's illegal to conduct any business in Azkaban that isn't official Royal or Ministry business."

"It's also feared, of course," Asterion added, "that Lord Lestrange would no longer be of sound mind to do anything, after so many years under the influence of the Dementors." Looking at his uncle, he said, "You may have some trouble with that, yourself, Uncle. I'm not saying you're incapable, but some people may think otherwise."

Sirius nodded. "Yes, I know. Usually, the Dementors would drive one insane, but I had a secret weapon."

"And what's that, brother?" Regulus asked.

Grinning, Sirius turned into Padfoot for a moment, and then back again. "The Dementors had no affect on me while I was in my Animagus form. That's why when Animagi are thrown in Azkaban, there's usually a spell cast on them that'll prevent them from transforming. Well, it's not the only reason. They also do it in case your form would make it easy for you to escape. A bird Animagus, for example, would have little trouble flying away from the island. The thing is they only cast that spell if they know that you're an Animagus in the first place, and since I'm unregistered, they never cast it on me."

After a moment, Remus said, "Sirius, really, you shouldn't pick me as your seneschal. Besides that, I've already been fitted for new clothes, some of which I'll be picking up today. I'm already on Harry's payroll, getting the standard Hogwarts professors' salary, in exchange for helping Gavin with his remedial studies and helping Harry teach the others the Patronus Charm. Those are things I can do, Sirius, so I don't mind being paid for them, but I will not accept money from you for a job I can't do."

"Well, if you won't be my seneschal, will you at least consider secretary, perhaps?" Sirius asked. "You know how bad I am at organizing things and keeping a schedule. I don't think there's any laws which would prevent you from keeping track of my calendar and reminding me what's on it."

Remus sighed. "Fine, fine, I can see you're determined. I'll do it, but if you try and pay me even one knut more than what I deserve for doing that job, unpleasant gifts in your bed and looking like your mother or Grandaunt Lycoris will be the least of your worries, Sirius Black. Do you understand me?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes, Moony, I understand you perfectly. Now, that that's settled, let's go, shall we? The stores are all waiting to take our money and I for one am more than willing to oblige them."

-o-0-o-

Leaving the bank, Harry opted to accompany Remus, Sirius, Regulus, and Asterion to Tarik's shop for clothes, while Eudora took the others around the bazaar looking for gifts they could get Roger for his birthday. They all agreed that they'd meet up at Coulderton's Fine Wands in an hour, as they felt that while they were here in Cairo, they might as well stop in and say hello to Nick. Plus, Sirius did need to buy a new wand, as his old wand had been confiscated upon his incarceration. Assuming nobody had destroyed it, it was probably locked up in some storage room at the Ministry, but with all the government red tape, it could take years for them to actually find it. So, it was so much easier to just buy a new wand.

Sirius was initially leery about buying a wand from anyone but Lord Ollivander, however, once he found out that Coulderton's Fine Wands was, in fact, owned and operated by Lord Ollivander's grandson and heir, he decided to give it a try. It also helped that Harry, Cedric, Terence, Oliver, and Gavin all reported that their wands made by Nick worked much better than the wands his grandfather had made for them ever had.

"Ah, Lord Black, welcome," Nick said in greeting. "Let's see here, Sirius Black , ah, yes. Grandfather sold you a 15" wand made of oak wood, with a dragon heartstring as its core. It was somewhat stiff, yet malleable, and was the eighteenth wand you tried."

"That's correct," Sirius said, looking shocked. "How could you possibly know that? My parents took me to buy my wand when I was only six. I don't think you were even born yet."

Nick grinned. "You're right, I wasn't. I was born on November 27, 1969, meaning I'll be 25 on my next birthday. You on the other hand, I believe were born in 1959, right?" Sirius nodded. "So, you purchased your wand in 1965. Obviously, I wasn't born yet, however, in a nutshell one of the old Ollivander family spells had a side effect of improving our memories. I'm an extreme case, however, in that I can remember everything that I've ever seen, heard, read, touched, or smelled with perfect clarity. Now as to how I knew the details of your previous wand, the store keeps very detailed records about every wand they sell and I've read all of those records, dating back to January of 1869. I read it, therefore I remember it."

"Okay," Sirius said, drawing out the word a bit.

"Yeah, I know, it's freakish," Nick said with a laugh. "In school, I was always number one in my classes because I remembered everything the teachers said verbatim. So that was good, but it's also a curse because there's plenty of things that I remember that I really wish I didn't."

"Like all of Binns' lectures?" Roger asked with a grin.

"Yeah, I would love to forget those," Nick said. To himself, however, he added, 'Along with a handful of other memories. None more so, however, than the way I found out my father was dead.'

Of course, this thought caused Nick to sway on his feet for a second, as he closed his eyes and his mind was assaulted with images that he'd removed hundreds of times since he'd first seen them. Unfortunately, no matter how many times he removed them, there was always the chance that they'd come back, especially if he made the mistake of doing what he'd just done - thinking about it. Not that he ever intentionally set out to do so, but sometimes it just happened, no matter how hard he tried not to think about it.

"Nick, are you okay?" Cedric asked, obviously concerned for his friend as he stepped forward.

Smiling weakly, Nick nodded and said, "Yes, I'm fine. I just thought about something and it reminded me of something I'd really love to forget. Unfortunately, I can't forget anything."

"What about Obliviation?" Harry asked.

Nick shook his head. "Unfortunately, that doesn't work on me. Grandfather has taken me all over the world, to see some of the best and most renowned Obliviators that the world has to offer. None of them could Obliviate me to the point that the memories stayed gone for good. They'd wipe them and they'd stay gone for a few days or maybe even a few weeks, if I was lucky, but they always come back. All I have to do is think about something related to them and they can come flooding back in an instant. Occlumency doesn't work, either. I've tried it repeatedly, but the magic from that old family spell is far too saturated in my blood for it to be effective." Shaking his head, he sighed and said, "If you'll excuse me, I have to go use my Pensieve for a moment. I'll be back in a few minutes and then we'll see about getting you a new wand, Lord Black."

Once Nick had gone into the backroom of his shop and was safely out of earshot, Harry asked, "That must have been a horrible memory that just came back to him. Unless I'm mistaken, he was trying to fight back tears."

Cedric nodded. "You weren't mistaken, Harry. I saw it too. I know he has some memories that he hates and wishes he didn't, but he's never told me what they are and I don't ask because I don't want to inadvertently make him remember."

Regulus sighed. "I think I might have some idea what he just remembered and wishes he didn't."

"What's that, father?" Asterion asked.

Summoning his staff, Regulus quickly put up a powerful Silencing Charm, to make doubly sure that Nick didn't overhear what he was about it say. "This was before my double even joined the Death Eaters, but some of the more sadistic of the group enjoyed talking about what they viewed as past successes to anyone who would listen. Now, the Dark Lord desperately wanted Lord Ollivander on his side, figuring that having a master wandmaker like Garrick Ollivander on his side could only be advantageous to him. However, Lord Ollivander continually turned down all of the overtures that the Dark Lord made to him, so eventually, he got mad and decided to remind Lord Ollivander just who he was dealing with. That's when Garrick's son and Nick's father, Garrison Ollivander, was captured during a raid. The Dark Lord, however, wasn't just angry with Lord Ollivander's continued refusals, he was livid and decided to take out that anger on his new prisoner."

"What did he do?" Gavin found himself asking, even though he was not entirely certain he wanted to hear it.

"He used the Cruciatus on Garrison until he was in much the same position the Longbottoms are in now," Regulus revealed. "However, he then put him out of his misery, so to speak, by using the Killing Curse on him. Now if you think that sounds uncharacteristic of the Dark Lord, you may be right, but he followed his casting of the Killing Curse with several powerful Severing Charms. Basically, he cut Garrison's body up into hundreds of pieces, leaving his head intact. He then put the still bleeding remains, with the head on top, eyes wide open, into a shipping crate similar to the crates that Ollivander's routinely gets raw materials delivered in and had it shipped to the store."

"Oh Merlin," Cedric said, suddenly feeling sick. He had a bad feeling about where this was going. "Nick's mother was dead by then and his father and grandmother were Aurors, often out in the field due to the ongoing war, so, Nick spent much of his childhood with his grandfather at the store. Rather than letting him sit around and do nothing and possibly get into trouble, however, his grandfather began teaching him about wandcraft, as well as putting him to work. Now Nick can't wear it on his hand while his grandfather is alive, but Lord Ollivander put the family ring on a chain that Nick could wear around his neck. This basically gave him his grandfather's proxy so that he could accept delivery of raw materials crates that were delivered while Lord Ollivander himself was out in the front of the store waiting on customers. It was also part of Nick's job to open the crates and start putting the materials away where they were supposed to go in the back room."

"Oh Merlin, no," Terence said, shaking his head and looking more than a little green. Not that he was the only one, as the others weren't looking much better. "Nick would only have been seven when Garrison died. If he opened that crate that You-Know-Who shipped to the store..." Shuddering, he added, "I don't even want to imagine how horrific it would be to open a crate and find you father's head staring at you."

Everyone cringed at that thought, before Harry asked, "Wait, how could Nick have even done that job? He'd never even gone to Hogwarts at that point."

Cedric nodded. "That's true, Harry, he hadn't. But, all the shipping crates are charmed so that the magical seals will dissolve if the Ollivander ring is pressed against them. Then all Nick had to do was take the wooden lid off the crate and start putting everything away. That work has always been done by hand, without magic, because it's believed that using magic on the raw materials might adversely affect the wand. So, even though he had never gone to Hogwarts yet, he was capable of doing that work, because he didn't need to use magic to do it."

"I think, before he comes back," Gavin said, "it would be a good idea if we all had our memories of this conversation blocked. Just so that we don't give him any strange looks or accidentally say something that reminds him. I think he's suffered enough for one day."

"Agreed," Regulus said, as he motioned for everyone to group together, before he raised his staff and incanted, "Obliviate!" while concentrating on removing the last few minutes from the minds of everyone else in the room. Some might wonder why Regulus cast the spell, instead of Eudora, since she was more powerful than her former student. The reason was because memory spells had never been Eudora's field of expertise and she knew, more powerful or not, that Regulus was better at them than she was. As good as he was, however, Regulus couldn't memory charm himself, but he had, thankfully, mastered Occlumency during his time away. Thus, he was able to file the memory away in a deep corner of his mind and block it with several layers of powerful mental shielding. While the technique wouldn't work for Nick Ollivander, it did work for Regulus.

"What were we talking about?" Terence asked, after he blinked a few times. "Where's Nick?"

"Nick will be back shortly," Regulus explained. "He had something he had to do in the backroom."

Eudora nodded and said, "Well, in that case, why don't you boys who've bought one of Nick's wands before explain to Lord Black what he can expect?"

"What do you mean what I can expect?" Sirius asked, clearly confused.

Harry grinned. "Nick doesn't agree with his grandfather on a few key points in the making of wands. For example, he doesn't make wands in advance the way Garrick does. He matches the core and wood to each customer separately and allows them to decide from the various display models you see in the cases what their new wand will look like."

"He also stocks a greater array of cores," Oliver explained. "Each wizard's magic resonates with an element: fire, water, earth, or air. Likewise each core and wood resonates with an element, and a wand that resonates well with the wizard's magic will work best for them."

Sirius was about to say something when Gavin said, "Perhaps most importantly, Nick doesn't believe in his grandfather's standard claim that the 'wand chooses the wizard.'"

"Indeed I don't," Nick said as he reentered the front room of his shop. "Grandfather says that because he wanted people to believe it. He figured it would make them more amenable to his preference to sell only pre-made wands, rather than the way his father and previous generations of the family had been doing it for over two millennia. Great-grandfather Gervaise Ollivander died in 1941, two years after my grandfather took complete control of the store. I've read his journals from those last two years and I can tell you that while he fully supported my grandfather's decision to control the quality of raw materials used by no longer allowing witches and wizards to bring in their own wood and cores, he did not support the idea of selling pre-made wands or limiting the available cores to only three."

"You mean other wandmakers don't sell pre-made wands either?" Sirius asked.

"Some do, but they adopted the practice after my grandfather did," Nick answered. "Ollivander is one of the oldest and most respected names in wandcraft. Over the many years that my family has been making wands, we've served millions upon millions of people, including some of the most recognizable names in history: Arthur Pendragon, Merlin Emrys, Morgana le Fey, and all four of the founders of Hogwarts. We've also been called upon from time to time to serve customers outside of Albion, such as the Roman Emperor Hadrian and Egypt's Queen Cleopatra. Thus, we're highly respected and some did follow suit and adopt my grandfather's practices, figuring that if an Ollivander was doing it, it had to be the right way."

"Not everyone did though, I take it," Remus said, fascinated by what he was hearing, as he had never heard any of this before. He'd known that according to the sign on Lord Ollivander's shop in Diagon Alley that they'd been making wands since 382 B.C., but he'd had no idea that they'd made wands for so many of history's famous people, including Merlin. It made sense that they would have supplied wands to them, since the store was clearly around when the people in question were alive, but the store didn't advertise it, so how would the average customer ever know it?

"No, not everyone did," Nick confirmed. "And even many of the wandmakers who adopted the idea of selling pre-made wands balked at the idea of using only three cores. Especially the three cores that grandfather chose, but then it's an occupational hazard I suppose. Every master of an art as complicated as wandmaking is going to have a different opinion and consensus can be difficult to achieve. Anyway, shall we get started, Lord Black?"

Sirius nodded and said, "I'm ready when you are."

"Then please have a seat at the table and we'll figure out what core suits you best," Nick said, as he went on to explain how Sirius needed to close his eyes and how Nick would also be holding his hand over his eyes to make doubly sure that Sirius couldn't see the cores.

Twenty minutes later, Sirius had narrowed down his potential cores down to one, while woods were narrowed down to two. Considering the number of wands that he'd tried originally, Nick wasn't surprised to find that Sirius had not matched with a dragon heartstring.

"Well, very interesting results," Nick said, as he sat across from Sirius at the testing table. "I'm not surprised that you didn't match with any of the dragon heartstrings. Now, one of the woods you matched with was oak, like your last wand, however, you also matched with hawthorn. Oak resonates with fire, but it also resonates with lightning, which is considered to be part of the air element, which is what hawthorn resonates with. I find have to ask this, Lord Black, but do you enjoy drinking? That is do you enjoy drinking alcohol in large quantities?"

"I don't see what that has to do with my wand," Sirius said.

"Quite a bit, actually," Nick explained. "You see, the one core you indicated you were the most drawn to was the wing feather from an Abraxan. Now, according to the renowned Abraxan breeder, Madame Olympe Maxime, who is also the Headmistress of France's Beauxbatons Academy, Abraxans require forceful handling and should drink only single malt whisky. In my experience, people who match with Abraxan wing feathers are often in possession of a strong and forceful personality and have a very high tolerance for alcohol, which is why I asked about your drinking habits."

"Ah, okay," Sirius said, now understanding the relevance of Nick's question. "I do enjoy the occasional drink, yes."

"The occasional drink?" Remus asked, clearly shocked. "Please, Sirius, I've seen you throw back an entire bottle's worth of Firewhisky shots and still not be drunk."

"Only one bottle?" Regulus asked. "I've seen him drink two entire bottles without getting drunk. I would also point out that he was fourteen at the time and that it was Old Ogden's Black Label, which is much stronger than the more common and less expensive Red Label."

"That's quite the impressive feat," Nick said. "So, anyway, back to your wand, Abraxan wing feathers resonate with the air element, which matches the resonance of hawthorn and the secondary resonance of oak. I would suggest an oak handle with the shaft made of hawthorn, Lord Black."

"Okay, what's next then?" Sirius asked.

"Next, I'll clean up a bit from your testing," Nick said, "while I invite you to have a look at the display cases. None of the wands in them are finished. They're just display models to showcase the various designs that I can give to your finished wand. Unlike grandfather and his pre-made creations, I allow my customers to decide what their wand looks like. They are, after all, the ones who have to use their wands, so I believe that they should be able to decide what it looks like." Motioning towards the display cases, Nick said, "So, please, have a look around and tell me which ones you like the best. The shaft and handle are crafted separately, so I can mix and match them."

While Sirius had a look around at the displays, Harry, Terence, Cedric, Oliver, and Gavin were seated in the lounge area of the room and filled Harry in on the conversation they'd had while he was at the Wizengamot meeting, in which they'd narrowed down the number of professors. Overhearing this conversation, Nick said, "Ah, so your four trainers are actually Hogwarts professors are they?"

"Yes, Nicholas, my colleagues and I are professors," Eudora confirmed.

"There's apparently subtle clues," Harry said. "And we're supposed to look out for them so that we can figure out who they are."

Nodding Nick, said, "I see. Well, in that case, I would point out a couple of things that your trainers said here in my shop which could very well have been clues to their identities. I don't know if any of you remember the comments, but I do, obviously."

"What comments, Nick?" Cedric asked, eager to hear exactly what Nick remembered on this topic.

"Well, first off, last time she was here," Nick said, "Ms. Emma Baldwin stated and I quote, 'My magic resonates the strongest with air and I can attest to the fact that when I went to Ollivander's to replace my wand after your grandfather took over, he had a very hard time matching me with a new one.' Now, if Ms. Baldwin needed a replacement wand after grandfather took over, that tells me that she already had one before he took over. Which, to me, would suggest that if she purchased her original wand from Ollivander's that it was sold by my great-grandfather Gervaise Ollivander, who retired in 1939."

Silence filled the room at that, as the boys thought over that statement and some of them were soon nodding, that yes, Nick's assessment of what Emma had said would make sense. Nick, apparently, wasn't done yet, as he added, "Later on, after I'd explained about my memory, discussion turned to Professor Binns. And Ms. Baldwin also said, 'I was in Professor Binns' class before he died, and from what I've heard being dead hasn't improved his teaching abilities.'"

"I could be wrong here," Cedric said, "but to me that sounds like she was saying that she had Binns as her history teacher while he was still alive."

"I agree with you, Ric," Terence said. "Also, notice that she made a point of saying 'from what I've heard being dead hasn't improved his teaching abilities.' Now, to me, that suggests that she had no experience with Professor Binns as a professor after he died, if she had to go by what she'd heard to determine if dying had improved his teaching or not."

"When did Professor Binns die?" Gavin asked. After a minute, he asked, "Wasn't it mentioned in Rita Skeeter's article?"

"Yes, it was," Harry said, after thinking about it for a moment. "I think it said Binns died in 1920."

Terence nodded, "Yes, it was April of 1920, I think. Which would mean that Emma is getting up there in years if she was never in Binns' class before he died."

"What other clues have you gathered about Ms. Baldwin?" Nick asked. He may have been a Hufflepuff in school, but because he couldn't forget anything, he was also highly intelligent as he could easily retain every bit of knowledge that he ever received. Even the Sorting Hat had been divided between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but it ultimately decided that Hufflepuff was better because it judged Nick to be a hard worker and to have a high degree of loyalty to his friends.

Thinking about it, Oliver asked, "Didn't she mention that she's taught Defense Against the Dark Arts a few times when the Headmaster couldn't find anyone else?"

Nodding, Gavin said, "Yeah, she did. She didn't mention which years, but she's also said that she used to play Quidditch professionally."

"Harry also noticed that she watches a program on the television every morning," Cedric said. "Something with two elderly women talking about a recipe."

At this, Nick laughed. When he calmed down, he said, "Well, then, I can tell you exactly who Ms. Emma Baldwin is."

"They're supposed to figure it out for themselves, Nicholas," Eudora said with a frown. "Is there any way you can point them in the right direction without actually telling them?"

Nick was silent for a few moments, as he considered Eudora's question. "Well, I suppose I could try, although I'm afraid I might make it blatantly obvious. As to those clues, there's only one professor I know of who was once a professional Quidditch player. Several of them played Quidditch during their time at Hogwarts as students, but only one I know of went on to a professional career."

"Who?" Harry asked.

Nick smiled. "In keeping with Eudora's request, I'm not going to just blurt out the name of the person I suspect. However, I would tell you that the person in question played Chaser for both Slytherin house and the Holyhead Harpies."

"Any ideas Mr. Quidditch Nut?" Cedric asked, as he looked at Oliver.

Oliver took a moment to think about it, before he said, "No clue. I never followed the Harpies very closely. Besides, Rose told us that all the trainers were on staff during Professor Lupin's years as a student, which began in 1971. I was raised as a Puddlemere fan and even I couldn't tell you the names of everyone who played for them. The current team, sure, and maybe going back the last ten or so years, but going back over twenty years? I wasn't even born yet."

"Anything else you'll tell us, Nick?" Gavin asked.

"Well, as a former Prefect and Head Boy," Nick said, "I can also tell you that the professor in question was also a Prefect and Head Girl."

"That don't help us much," Terence said. "I can't say as I know who all the past Prefects and Head Girls are, especially dating far enough back that the person who held the title would have had Binns as a teacher before he died."

Nick grinned. "No, but you could look it up, I'm sure."

"Isn't there anything else you can tell us, Nick?" Sirius asked. Even though he wasn't being trained, even he was curious about who these four women were.

"There is something else," Nick said, "but I'm afraid it would probably make it blatantly obvious if you think about it enough. Honestly, Emma hasn't been being all that subtle from what I'm hearing, although then again I suppose she figured none of you would be familiar with an American television show."

"So the show she watches is an American show?" Harry asked and Nick nodded. "How do you even know about it then?"

Nick smiled. "I have a pen friend in America. We met in person over the summer between my sixth and seventh year when grandfather let me go visit for two weeks. He's a Muggleborn, so, I learned quite a bit about the Muggle world during my visit and his Mum used to watch the same show that I suspect Emma is watching. Kevin and I watched a few times, as well, mainly because as a pureblood, I'd never even seen a television before that point, so I found it interesting."

"Well then what about this show?" Gavin asked. "How is it relevant to Emma's identity?"

"Hmm, how to phrase this so that you'll have to think about it," Nick said aloud, as he stroked his chin. "The two elderly women? One of them is named Emily and that recipe they talk about? It's not something you eat. That's all I'm saying."

Both Harry and Sirius were about to say something, see if they could pry a few more details out of Nick, using their Lord status if necessary, but before they could open their mouths, four clearly Egyptian wizards entered the shop, three of them drawing their wands and starting to cast spells, while the fourth stepped forward and asked, "Who's the owner of this store?"

Stepping forward, Nick said, "That would be me, Gareth Nicholas Ollivander. Is there something I can do for you?"

"You can prepare to receive Her Imperial Majesty Queen Meritites and His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Khufu," the wizard said.

'Pharaoh Seti's primary wife and heir?' Nick thought to himself, clearly shocked, as he nodded to the man he now realized was a high-ranking officer of the Medjai - the elite Egyptian military force which guarded the imperial palaces, the Pharaoh, and his family. Next to the Pharaoh himself, Medjai officers were the highest officials in all of Magical Egypt - outranking even the Pharaoh's closest advisors. They were definitely not someone you wanted to get on the bad side of.

Nodding, Nick said, "Yes, of course, it would be my honor."

Remaining silent, for a moment, the officer said, "Why is the name of the shop Coulderton's Fine Wands, if your name is Ollivander?"

"My grandfather back in Albion is His Grace Lord Garrick Ollivander, the Duke of Whitehaven," Nick explained. "We had a difference of opinion and he forbade me to use the Ollivander name for my store. So, I called it Coulderton's Fine Wands instead. I'm the heir to the Ollivander family, so I'm permitted to use my grandfather's second-best title, Marquis of Coulderton."

"I see," the officer said. "And these other people? Some of them appear to be dressed in such a way as to suggest nobility."

"Some of them are," Nick said, at which point the guard nodded and pointed at Sirius, making it clear he wanted Sirius to identify himself.

"I'm Lord Sirius Black, Marquis of Charlton," Sirius revealed. "And Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black."

The officer nodded, pointing at Harry next.

"I'm Lord Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston," Harry said. "Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter."

"Potter, Potter, that name sounds familiar," the officer muttered, more to himself.

"You may have heard me referred to as The-Boy-Who-Lived," Harry volunteered, as he reluctantly lifted his fringe to reveal the tell-tale scar on his forehead.

"Ah, yes," the officer said, realization on his face, as he scrutinized the famous scar for a moment. "The boy who survived the Killing Curse and defeated Voldemort." Some of the people in the room flinched at the mention of the name, though Harry, Nick, Eudora, Regulus, Asterion and the members of the Medjai did not. Shaking his head, the officer said, "Are people in Albion still clinging to the completely idiotic fear of uttering that second-rate Dark Lord's name?"

"Second-rate Dark Lord?" Regulus said. "I can't say as I've ever heard anyone call him that."

"And you are, sir?" the Medjai officer asked.

"Regulus Black, Earl of Alnwick," Regulus answered. "I'm Lord Black's younger brother and heir." Motioning towards Asterion, he added, "And this is my son, Asterion Black, Viscount Langleeford."

The officer nodded and then said, "While people in Albion may view Voldemort as the most powerful Dark Lord in over a century, he is not viewed as such by the rest of the Wizarding world. While I admit, it did cause great concern when he succeeded in murdering all but one member of the royal family, his power and influence never extended much past the borders of Albion and Iwernia. And then his reign came to an abrupt end not at the hands of a fully-trained adult, but by an untrained baby still in his crib. I mean no offense, of course, Lord Potter. However, given these facts, the Wizarding communities outside of those countries still view Gellert Grindelwald as the most powerful Dark Lord. His reign of terror stretched across most of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa, something which Voldemort could never truthfully claim. He was also the wielder of the fabled Elder Wand, which he reportedly stolen from wandmaker Wilhelm Gregorovitch many years earlier."

At this point one of the officer's underlings came over and whispered something in his commander's ear, causing him to nod and say, "However, I'm getting off track. The rest of you will please identify yourself."

After everyone else had done so, the Medjai officer nodded and asked, "One other issue I find myself curious about. I suspect that there must be more to your visit here to Cairo, as there are plenty of wandmakers closer to Albion that do not subscribe to Lord Ollivander's narrow view of wandcraft. Albion nobility, especially, shopping anywhere outside of Albion strikes me as more than a little odd, seeing as how they usually view all foreign goods as inferior."

It was Eudora who spoke up. "In terms of the wand shopping, it's true there are other closer wandmakers, but none of them have the name Ollivander. As to the idea of foreign goods being inferior, it's obviously not true and it's something I'm trying to instill in the others here." Noticing the confused look on the Medjai's face, she then added, "Lord Potter, Mr. Diggory, Mr. Higgs, and Messrs. Wood are my pupils, however, I can't tell you in what, I'm afraid. It would require revealing information protected by the Fidelius, information of which I am not the Keeper."

"Ah, I see," the officer said. "Then I assume they're training as mages and no ma'am I don't expect you to confirm that. I know how the Fidelius works, so I know you can't. The spell won't stop me from suspecting, however, and I believe I'm right, even without confirmation." Tilting his head to one side for a moment and closing his eyes, he suddenly nodded and said, "Anyway, the time for talk is over, as Her Majesty and His Highness have arrived."

As if on cue, the bell over the front door of the shop rang, as a regal looking young man, dressed in white robes, cut in a style more suited to the Egyptian climate, entered the room, followed by an equally regal looking older woman. It was clear from the resemblance that they were mother and son. The young man, clearly Prince Khufu, judging from the golden and jeweled circlet he wore on his head, looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, with deeply tanned skin, black hair, and grey eyes. His five foot, eleven inch frame was slim, but muscular in all the right places, proving beyond any shadow of a doubt that the young man was clearly a very active individual.

While they did their best not to allow it to show on their faces, more than one of the younger males felt a rather uncomfortable tightening in their trousers by looking at the young man. Thankfully, however, they were all wearing robes, which did a remarkable job of hiding such conditions. The woman, meanwhile, had curly black hair with traces of gray. She was dressed in a billowing white gown, accented in numerous jewels and wore a golden and jeweled tiara upon her head. There could be no mistake that she or her son were royalty.

The Medjai officer bowed and said, "Your Majesty," as he stood and motioned towards Nick, "This is Mr. Gareth Ollivander, the proprietor."

Meritites nodded and said, "Mr. Ollivander, my son has broken his wand and requires a new one. I trust that you will be capable of supplying this service?"

"Of course, Your Majesty, it would be my most profound honor," Nick answered with a bow of his own.

"Mother, why are we even here?" Khufu asked. "This shop doesn't hold an imperial warrant."

"I realize that, son," Meritites responded. "However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't deserve one. There's plenty of stores that do hold imperial warrants that don't deserve them, after all."

"Mother!" Khufu exclaimed in a scandalized tone. Suggesting that a store that had been granted an imperial warrant from the Pharaoh of Egypt - a living god - was blasphemous.

"Don't, Mother me, Khufu," Meritites said. "I've only spoken the truth. You don't actually think that every store that holds a warrant means they're somehow better do you or that your father has personally signed off on their goods? Some of the stores were awarded their warrants over three hundred years ago and nobody in the imperial family has shopped there in almost as long. Your father just hasn't rescinded the warrants granted by his ancestors because he has more important things to be worrying about. I can also tell you from experience - because I was with him at the time - that your father has shopped at stores that didn't hold a warrant before."

"It's true, Your Highness," the Medjai officer interjected. "I too have witnessed His Majesty shopping at unwarranted stores before. Some of them were given warrants afterwards and some weren't. It was all up the quality of the goods on sale and the quality of the service he'd received."

Khufu remained silent for a moment, as he considered his mother's and guard's words. It was then that he noticed the other people in the room. "And who are all these other people?"

"Customers who were in the store when we arrived," the Medjai officer commented. "Some of them, like Mr. Ollivander here, being Albion nobility."

Meritites nodded. "Yes, I'd heard that members of the Albion nobility were seen shopping here. I found myself curious, so when Khufu broke his wand, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to satisfy that curiosity." Giving Nick an appraising look, she added, "I had not, however, heard that you were nobility, Mr. Ollivander."

"My grandfather is Lord Garrick Ollivander, the Duke of Whitehaven, Your Majesty," Nick said. "I'm his heir, so, I hold the courtesy title of Marquis of Coulderton."

"Well, the Ollivander family's renown in the wand business can't be disputed," Meritites commented. "They are one of the oldest and most respected wand making families around. I know they supplied Queen Cleopatra once. I'm sure there were other famous people over the years."

"True," Khufu said. "Though I can't say as I agree with the so-called supreme core theory that I've heard mentioned by the maker of my last wand."

"Neither does Nick," Harry said with a smile.

"And you are?" Khufu asked, as he turned to face Harry. If the latter had to guess, he'd say that Khufu wasn't that much older than him - probably a year or two at the absolute most.

"Lord Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston," Harry answered.

"He's the so-called Boy-Who-Lived, Your Highness," the Medjai officer said. "Harry Potter."

Khufu looked impressed. "Well, my opinion of you just increased Ollivander. Although, Nick? I thought your name was Gareth?"

"My given name is Gareth, yes," Nick answered. "I'm Nick to my friends though. My middle name is Nicholas and I prefer Nick to Gareth. Anyway, I'm sure your time is extremely valuable, so, shall we get a move on and get you matched with a wand?"

"Yes, that's a good idea," Meritites agreed.

-o-0-o-

After the Egyptian royals left, an invitation was extended to Nick to attend Roger's party, which he accepted. The group then exchanged their goodbyes and left Nick's shop, heading home. Arriving back at the cottage, everyone hurried upstairs to their respective bedrooms to wrap and hide their gifts for Roger. Once that was done, they all sat down and began making plans for the party itself. It was decided, much to Oliver's joy, that they'd play Quidditch. While he was just as much a bookworm as any Ravenclaw, Roger was also very athletic and loved Quidditch. Perhaps not as obsessively as Oliver did, but then few people could claim that level of devotion.

Of course, what made Oliver extra happy was that for the first time since he'd arrived at Forest Cottage they'd be playing with full teams. As usual, Emma had opted to act as the referee, but unlike the other times they'd played, the other three trainers decided that they would actually play this time. Thus, the plan was that one team would consist of Harry as the seeker, with Oliver as keeper, Terence, Sirius, and Eudora as the chasers, and Roger and Rose as beaters. The other team would be Cedric as seeker, with Cormac as keeper, Asterion, Regulus, and Athena as chasers, and Gavin and Nick as the beaters.

They'd even have an audience, as the trainers had created a duplicate portrait for James and Lily, which would be moved out to the Quidditch pitch during the game so that they could watch Harry play. Bruce and Caroline McLaggen would also be in the stands, along with Robert and Katherine Higgs. Athena's house-elf, Barin, had even agreed to act as announcer, so, this game would be the most realistic one they'd played since beginning their training.

As for the party itself, Harry called for Tilly and put the Seacliff elves to work on the food. In order to insure that Roger didn't see or smell anything being made for his party, all of the food would be prepared at Seacliff and then the elves would transport it over. Eudora had covertly cast a charm on Roger that would allow her to determine what his favorite foods were, which she made a list of and gave to Tilly. Thus, the menu would consist of all of Roger's favorite foods, which included a variety of standard British fare along with some traditionally Spanish foods, owing no doubt to the fact that Roger's mother was from Spain. This would all be topped off with a triple-decker chocolate fudge cake, severed with mint brownie custard on the side.

The next morning, the birthday boy woke up as usual and went through his normal morning routine before heading towards the stairs to go down to breakfast. Looking down the spiral stairs into the living room below, however, he grinned as he immediately knew something was up. How did he know this? Because despite the sun shining through the second floor windows, it was pitch black downstairs.

"Looks like they're giving me a surprise party," Roger said softly, as he grabbed the railing and made his way carefully down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, he could feel a ribbon tied to the railing and realized that it was meant to guide him through the pitch black room so that he didn't trip on anything. Grabbing the ribbon in his left hand, he made his way carefully into the kitchen, where no sooner had his foot crossed the threshold did the lights come on as everyone shouted, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Roger was all smiles as he said, "Thanks everyone!"

Putting her hand on the chair at the head of the kitchen table where she normally sat, Athena smiled and said, "Here you go, Roger, sit down."

"That's your chair," the Ravenclaw protested.

"Not today it isn't," Athena said. "Now sit down."

"Yes, ma'am," Roger said, knowing better than to argue with Athena. Sitting down at the table, he quickly realized that all of his favorite breakfast foods were laid out, including some traditionally Spanish fare that he usually only ate back home. He smiled. "Everything looks and smells so good."

"My elves at Seacliff did the cooking," Harry said. "And this isn't all. You'll be having all your favorites for lunch and dinner as well."

"And, of course, after dinner comes the most important part," Cedric said with a grin.

All the teens in the room, as well as Nick who'd left a trusted employee in charge of running his shop for the day so he could be there, spoke in unison as they said, "Cake!"

The trainers and other adults laughed, before Rose said, "Alright, everyone dig in. The sooner you all finish breakfast, the sooner you can head out to the Quidditch pitch."

At this Gavin grabbed a copy of the Daily Prophet that had been delivered a few minutes before Roger came down, folded it in half, and promptly hit his brother over the head with it. Oliver, who hadn't been expecting it nearly choked on his pumpkin juice. Giving Gavin a disgruntled look, he asked, "Why are you hitting me?"

Terence grinned conspiratorially at Gavin and said, "Probably because as soon as Rose mentioned Quidditch you started eating as if you were competing in an eating contest. Honestly, Will, slow down and chew your food."

Oliver looked like he was going to say something, but Terence's lightly drawing circles on the inside of his left thigh shut him up as the Slytherin leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Behave today and maybe Roger won't be the only one getting a present."

Perhaps it was the way Oliver's eyes lit up, but Sirius soon pointed a fork at the couple and said, "Oi, you two, we're trying to eat here. Don't make me hose you down."

Everyone laughed for a moment before they continued eating. After a moment, Roger asked, "We're playing Quidditch after breakfast?" The trainers nodded, prompting Roger to ask, "It's Friday though, what about our classes?"

"Cancelled for the day," Emma said. "It's not every day a person turns sixteen, Mr. Davies. We figured you deserved a day off. We'll likely do it for all of your birthdays."

Athena nodded and said, "Yes, although, next month what with Terence's birthday falling on September 15th and Cedric's on September 17th, I'm thinking we'll celebrate both on September 16th."

"That's fine with me," Terence said as Cedric nodded in agreement.

"That should be an interesting day, however," Eudora said, as she smiled brightly at Cedric. "You'll be turning seventeen, so, that means you'll be coming into your inheritance."

"Do you think you'll have performed the blood ritual before then?" Regulus asked.

Athena was quiet for a moment, as she gave Regulus a pointed look. The Black heir soon realized his mistake though. While the fact that Harry, Cedric, and the others were currently being trained as mages was protected by the Fidelius, the exact details of what that training actually involved was not. It was just usually an understood concept that those details wouldn't be talked about in front of people who weren't in training or were already mages. It wasn't really a rule, per say, more like a tradition - which Regulus had just broken since Nick, Cormac, Lord and Lady McLaggen, and Robert and Katherine Higgs had joined them all for breakfast this morning so that they'd be there for the Quidditch game to follow.

"Blood ritual?" Cormac asked.

Rose sighed. "Yes, it's part of mage training. In a nutshell, a blood ritual is performed on perspective mage students which increases their power level by four levels. This will usually push them up into the mage range. We don't pick students for training if the ritual won't put them into the mage range."

"Usually, we would have already performed the ritual," Emma said. "But, we were unavoidably delayed."

"By what?" Nick asked, as he took a sip of tea.

"Me," Harry answered. "I'm taking nutrition potions because I had some vitamin deficiencies and was a bit underweight for my age. Trainers said that needed to be fixed before the ritual could be performed, as my body wasn't strong enough to support a larger magical core."

"I see," Caroline said, and then smiled. "Well, those nutrition potions are obviously working. I didn't say anything about it that day when you first presented yourself at Kinloch over a week ago, but I didn't think you looked all that healthy. You're looking better now though."

Harry smiled and Rose nodded as she said, "Yes, I'm quite pleased with the progress he's making. He'll be taking potions every day for a month, so he'll take his last on September third." Looking at the other trainers, she said, "I believe we're planning to do the ritual the following day, correct?"

Both Emma and Athena nodded, as the former said, "Indeed, that's the plan." Then turning to Regulus, she asked, "Why did you even bring it up, Regulus?"

Asterion grinned and said, "Dad has a theory. He thinks that if the ritual is performed before the inheritance, the more powerful core will cause the inheritance to be larger."

At the curious looks from his former trainers, Regulus elaborated. "Before I performed the ritual on Asterion, I used the mage-level Temporal Sight spell and determined that he'd gain three levels in his inheritance. I was happy enough with that result as it meant that with his inheritance, plus the ritual Asterion would be a Grand Mage. Not as powerful as I am as a Magister, but still nothing to be ashamed of either. You can imagine my surprise then when he had his inheritance and he became a Magister."

"Is it possible that the spell was simply wrong?" Cedric asked.

Athena nodded. "Yes, actually, it is. Regulus, I'd remind you that only someone in the Magus range has a guaranteed 100% accuracy rating when casting Temporal Sight."

"I know that, Athena," Regulus said. "Although I don't think the 75% accuracy of the Magister range is all that bad. Although I'll certainly admit that it could have been wrong. I'd need more data from a wider sampling of mage students who haven't yet undergone the ritual or their inheritances to have a better idea of whether or not there's any truth to my theory."

"I'm assuming from the name and what Regulus has said," Caroline said, "that this spell allows the caster to see into the future?"

Eudora nodded and said, "Yes, it does. The spell allows a mage to look into the future with what they see manifesting itself in a dream-like vision. However, for those of us who are not in the Magus range on the power scale, there's no guarantee that what the caster sees will be accurate. People below the Mage range aren't powerful enough to cast the spell, while those in the Mage range have a 50/50 shot of seeing things correctly or incorrectly. That improves to 75/25 for the Magister level, however, the further ahead one is trying to look, the greater the chance of seeing inaccurate depictions of the future. You might see a series of twenty events and only five of them will happen exactly as you see them, with the rest either not happening at all or playing out in a completely different way."

"The biggest thing one has to remember with the spell," Athena continued, "is that the future is fluid. Nothing is set in stone, as a single choice can change everything. Even a Magus who is guaranteed 100% accuracy isn't going to always lead to correct information. They could look into their future and see what it holds and then make one choice that's different from what they saw, which could very well completely invalidate or change the future that the saw. So, one just has to remember that the future can always be changed, because it hasn't happened yet. As for your theory, Regulus, it's certainly possible that there may be some truth to it and if they're okay with it, I will allow you to use the spell on Harry, Cedric, and Roger before we perform the blood ritual to increase their power levels next month."

Harry shrugged. "It's fine by me."

Cedric nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm a little curious."

"I'm a Ravenclaw," Roger said with a grin. "So, I'm always interested in theories. Most knowledge we have now was only a theory at some point, so, if I can help discover new knowledge, I'd like to."

"What about Gavin?" Oliver asked. "Are you going to do the ritual on him?"

"Well, we could," Eudora answered. "Although in his case, there's no real need to perform it. He's already a Mage, after all, and he'll only become more powerful next January when he hits his seventeenth birthday. Depending on how much power he gains in his inheritance he could end up being anything from a Master Mage all the way up to a Master Magister. If we perform the blood ritual on him before his inheritance, however, he'd be going into it as an Apprentice Magister. So, with the inheritance, he could end up being anything from a Magister at the minimum to a Magus at the maximum."

"I thought the maximum you could gain in your inheritance was three power levels?" Bruce asked. "That's what I was taught at Hogwarts when the scale was covered during my seventh year, anyway."

"The maximum is actually six," Emma said. "But a witch or wizard gaining four, five, or six levels happens rarely enough that it's generally accepted that three is the most one can gain. It would be interesting if there's any truth to Regulus' theory about the blood ritual performed before the inheritance. As far as I know, there's never been any studies on whether the power of one's core going into the inheritance has any effect on how big of an inheritance one receives. From what I've read, it's always appeared to be somewhat random, but I won't rule anything out." Smiling at her fellow trainer, she added, "As Athena is fond of saying, 'Nothing is impossible, improbable maybe, but not impossible.'"

"Very true," Athena said with a nod of her head. "Anyway, as we all appear to have finished eating, I suggest we head out to the Quidditch pitch."

As soon as the words were out of Athena's mouth, Oliver was up and out the door as fast as his legs could carry him. Cedric shook his head. "Liam, your boyfriend is obsessed."

Terence grinned and commented in a sarcastic tone, "Really, Ric? I hadn't noticed."

Everyone laughed, as they all got up from the table and headed outside at a much more normal pace. None of them were the least bit surprised when they got outside to find that Oliver was nowhere in sight, as he was probably already at the pitch which couldn't be seen from the cottage, as it was on the other side of the stream that fed the pond and through a dense grouping of trees.

-o-0-o-

"Well, I'll see you all later," Harry said, as he looked over at the clock on the mantle on Saturday. "It's nearly ten, which means it's time for me to get going to the governor's meeting."

Terence nodded. "Good luck, Harry."

"And be convincing, please," Roger said. "I don't think I can take having Binns as a professor anymore."

Harry smiled, "I'll do my best."

"Well, you already know you have some votes lined up," Gavin pointed out. "Lord Black is voting with you," Sirius nodded affirmatively at this, "plus Lady Longbottom, Lord Ollivander and Lord McLaggen."

"True," Cedric said. "But, Harry still has to convince at least two of the others. He'll need at least seven votes in all and he currently only has five. Thankfully, my father is open to the idea and I think Lords Bones and McKinnon could probably get behind Harry as well. There others, though, I'm not so sure."

"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Harry said, as he left the cottage with Sirius. Since Harry had yet to obtain his Apparition License - he had an appointment on Monday to do just that - Sirius wrapped his arm around his godson and took him Side-Along to Kinloch Hold. Even though they were the Hogwarts Board of Governors, the meetings rarely took place at the school itself. They were instead most often held at Kinloch, owing to the fact that it was the closest noble estate to the school, what with Hogwarts actually being on the McLaggen lands to begin with.

"Lord Potter, Lord Black," Cormac said with a bow, as the two lords appeared in Kinloch's Apparition Chamber. "Welcome to Kinloch Hold."

"Thank you, Cormac," Harry said in a formal tone, before he grinned and asked, "Your father put you on welcoming duty?"

Cormac smiled and nodded. "Yeah, he did. It's just part of the job of being his heir. Anyway, he's in the drawing room with the other lords who've already arrived." Pointing at the door that led out to the entryway, he added, "Though the door, up the stairs and it's the double doors to your left."

Kinloch was laid out in such a way that the entryway, ballroom, and Apparition Chamber were on the ground floor, along with various storage rooms and the kitchens, while the rest of the rooms used for entertaining guests were upstairs on the first floor of the estate. Since some of the rooms on the first floor, such as the library and chapel, had dual levels, the family bedrooms were actually on the third level with guest bedrooms and a few family only rooms, such as the Master's Study, on the second floor. The fourth floor was all attic space, with the exception of a few small rooms which would serve as servants' quarters, if the house actually employed any human servants. With the exception of Bruce's seneschal, who lived with the stable master in the tack house, the McLaggen family had relied solely on house-elves for the last thirty years, so the rooms in the attic weren't used.

"Whose already here?" Sirius asked.

"Lord Ollivander and Lady Longbottom arrived ten minutes ago," Cormac answered. "And Lord Bones arrived about three minutes before you two." Cormac was just about to say that there wasn't any sign of the others, when there were a pair of pops, as Lucius Malfoy and Caractacus Burke arrived within seconds of one another, prompting Cormac to bow again, as he said, "Lord Burke, Lord Malfoy, welcome to Kinloch."

Caractacus nodded to Cormac, Lucius, and Sirius, and gave a small bow to Harry, before he asked, "Drawing room, I assume?"

"Indeed, Lord Burke," Cormac answered, at which point the elderly Marquis of Grangemore nodded, before he left the room, headed upstairs to the drawing room.

"Lord Potter, Lord Black," Lucius said, bowing slightly to both of them, since they both outranked him.

"Hello Lucius," Sirius said with a smile. "I hope Narcissa is well?"

"She is," Lucius answered. "A bit worried about Draco, however."

Harry smiled. "Well, by all means, Lucius, reassure her she has nothing to fear. Draco may be a guest in my dungeons, but he's being well-treated, I assure you. He has accommodations befitting his status as a courtesy Viscount and heir to an Earldom and my head-elf reports that he's quite healthy and well-fed. Although his general attitude still leaves quite a bit to be desired, so I've taken steps to remedy that."

"Steps, Your Grace?" Lucius asked.

"It seems to me he needs a bit of a refresher course on manners and proper decorum," Harry answered, as he did his best to hide his grin. "So, I've brought in someone to teach him. You may remember him." At Lucius' raised eyebrow, Harry added, "A house-elf, named Dobby."

Lucius sighed. A part of him wanted to be upset about the idea of a house-elf - especially one that used to work for him - teaching his son and heir about manners and proper decorum. However, there was nothing technically wrong with it. While the code of treatment for nobles held in the dungeons of another noble house did require that the noble be treated with a higher degree of respect than other common prisoners, with nicer accommodations, better food, and the like, there weren't many other rules as to their treatment. Well, other than that they couldn't be physically tortured or harmed in any way. There might be some who would see having a house-elf teaching a wizard something as mental torture, but it wasn't technically against any rules. A fact which Harry had made sure of before he sent Dobby down to Draco's cell to begin with.

Nodding, Lucius said, "Yes, Your Grace, I'm familiar with Dobby."

Anything else that might have been said was interrupted by the arrival of Lord Bartemius Crouch. As Cormac welcomed him, Harry and Sirius slipped out of the chamber to head upstairs, with Lucius and Bartemius not far behind. Arriving in the drawing room, Bruce welcomed everyone and Pokey offered them refreshments as they awaited the arrival of the rest of the board members.

Not long after he arrived, Harry was approached by Lord Erik Bones, who held out his hand and said, "Your Grace, we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Erik Bones, the Marquis of Waringsford."

Taking Erik's hand, Harry shook it and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you properly, Erik."

Once the handshake was finished, Erik commented, "Bruce was just filling me in on your plans regarding the staff at Hogwarts. I just wanted to let you know, you've got the Bones vote. I've wanted to get rid of Binns ever since I ascended to the Bones lordship. Only reason I never brought it before the board myself is because I didn't think I'd get the necessary votes."

"That's good to know, thanks Erik," Harry said with a smile. "As for passing my proposals, I'm hopeful. Assuming nobody who told me they'd vote with me changes their mind, including my own I've now got six votes lined up. Not quite the majority needed, but not far from it either."

"Indeed," Erik agreed. "Hopefully you'll get at least seven, although eight or nine would be better. Unanimous support would be ideal, of course, but that's highly unlikely."

"True," Harry said. "Unanimous support would be great, but I won't hold my breath."

"You'd probably die if you did," Sirius commented. "I'm not sure this group will ever agree on anything unanimously."

"Well, they have in the past," Harry said, prompting Sirius to raise an eyebrow. "It was while you were still in Azkaban, during my second year, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened. The board unanimously decided to remove Dumbledore as the headmaster. Of course, he was later reinstalled and from what I'd heard at the time it sounded as if Lucius had convinced the other governors that their families would be harmed if they didn't vote to remove Dumbledore."

Erik nodded his head and said, "I remember that vote and you heard right. While Lucius never made any actual threats, there was enough hint of threat given that everyone voted with him. I doubt he'd ever try such tactics again, however, as the rest of the board wasn't amused when it was all over. I'm sure if it was possible to remove someone from the board, Lucius would have found himself off of it in a second."

"Probably," Sirius agreed. "Luckily for him none of us can be removed from our positions on the board, since we all have an ownership stake in the school due to our ancestors being the original investors."

During this conversation, the other lords were steadily arriving, until finally all thirteen were present. This prompted Bruce to clap his hands and say, "Well, it looks like we're all here, so I think we should get this meeting started."

The other lords nodded in agreement as they moved over to a large rectangular table that had been setup along one side of the room. As Lord of Kinloch, it wasn't all that surprising that Bruce took the seat at the head of the table. The rest of the Lords were arranged along the sides of the table according to their rank. This placed Harry and Garrick Ollivander across from one another in the seats on either side of Bruce. Next to Garrick was Augusta Longbottom, not surprising as Harry had recently learned they were brother and sister, and then Amos Diggory, Caractacus Burke, Lucius Malfoy, and Arcturus Lestrange. Sirius was seated next to Harry, followed by Erik Bones, Bartemius Crouch, Malcolm Flint, and Callum McKinnon.

"I hereby call this meeting of the Hogwarts Board of Governors to order," Bruce said. "Now, for our first order of business, I'd just like to take a moment to welcome the two newcomers to our meeting - His Grace the Lord Potter and His Excellence the Lord Black."

The other governors all applauded, some more enthusiastically then others, as Harry and Sirius nodded their heads in thanks. After a moment, Bruce spoke up. "Now, there's not much we need to handle today. All of you, with the possible exceptions of Lord Potter and Lord Black, know from our last meeting that we've got the Triwizard Tournament coming to Hogwarts this year, which has sadly required us to cancel the competition for the Quidditch Cup, as there won't be time for the games as the host school of the tournament."

Noting the confused look on Harry's face, Sirius said softly, "The Triwizard Tournament is a magical competition between schools, Harry. Three students from the three oldest schools in Europe are selected and then they compete against each other in a series of magical tests." Harry nodded, at which point Sirius raised his voice a bit, clearly addressing the rest of the governors, as he said, "Although it hasn't been held in many, many years. Why now?"

"The Headmaster lobbied hard for it," Bartemius Crouch, Sr. said. "And my department at the Ministry had a bit of a challenge getting everything setup and the other schools to agree, but everything is worked out and a contingent from both Beauxbatons Academy in France and the Durmstrang Institute in Sweden will be arriving at Hogwarts that last week of October. For the safety of the students participating, only those who are seventeen or older will be allowed to enter their names into the Goblet of Fire, from which the names of the three champions, one from each school, will be selected before the end of the month."

"I wonder," Arcturus said with a smirk, "will you be entering the tournament Lord Potter? I realize you aren't seventeen yet, but you are legally an adult now. Nobody could say anything against it if you chose to enter."

The room was quiet at this, as Arcturus and Harry looked at each other for a moment, before Harry said, "I have no intention of entering, Arcturus. Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy the fame that's been heaped on me since I re-entered the magical world at age eleven. Until recently, I didn't even remember the events of the night that made me famous, so, all I could see was people acting like I'd done some great thing, all while seemingly overlooking the fact that I was only a year old at the time and probably didn't remember anything. And very few people ever bothered to say one word of condolence about the loss of my parents. All they ever wanted to do was look at my damnable scar."

A few of the governors looked shocked by Harry's words, while a few others looked almost ashamed, as if they realized that idolizing a young boy for events that happened when he was only a year old - events which had also orphaned him - was perhaps not a good idea.

"You don't consider defeating You-Know-Who to be a great thing, Granston?" Garrick asked.

"Oh it was a good thing, I won't dispute that," Harry said. "However, I had very little to do with what happened that night. Other than myself, I know of at least three people sitting at this table that know why I survived that night and it had very little to do with me. I was only about eighteen months old, after all, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone here that I wasn't throwing spells at Voldemort from my crib." Noticing the shudders, he added, "And yes, I dare to say his name. Fearing a name only increases fear of the thing itself and that is exactly what he would want, as it gave him more power over people. Fear is a powerful thing, after all, so by fearing to say his name, you're doing exactly what he'd want you to do and I for one am not going to do anything that the bastard who murdered my parents would want me to do."

Sirius looked proudly at his godson, as he nodded and said, "Very well said, Harry. James and Lily would be immensely proud of you."

"Oh I know they are," Harry said. "I have talked to their portrait at Seacliff, after all. Speaking of my parents," Harry turned to Amos and said, "you and I have some private family business we need to discuss, Amos. Hopefully we can work out a time in the near future to meet."

Amos was at a loss in terms of exactly what Harry was talking about, as he had been unknowingly charmed not to remember the role he'd agreed to take on in the Potter will, so he asked, in a somewhat confused tone, "Private family business, Your Grace?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, a matter involving my parents' will. That is all I will say on the subject at this time, however. It is a private, family matter, after all, and not meant for the ears of anyone not involved."

The other lords nodded their heads in understanding, as they all understood the concept of family business and all took it very seriously. That doesn't mean they weren't curious, but they all knew better than to ask for more details on matters that didn't concern them.

After a moment of silence, Callum, who had been going over everything Harry had said in his head, asked, "Forgive me, Your Grace, but did you say that you didn't remember the events of that night until recently? That would suggest that you do remember them now."

"Yes, Callum, I do," Harry said. "For many years, all I remembered was the briefest flash of green light and the occasional cold, cruel laugh. I had no clue what either memory was in reference to, however. There's simply no way that I could have known, as I didn't know how my parents really died until I was eleven. I didn't even know I was a wizard until Hagrid told me when he delivered my Hogwarts letter."

"Didn't know you were a wizard?" Augusta asked. "How is that even possible?"

Harry smiled. "Simple, really. I was raised in the household of my mother's sister, Ms. Petunia Dursley, and her family. They're muggles and after talking with my parents' portrait a few times, I've come to realize that my aunt is insanely jealous of the fact that her sister was a witch and she wasn't. They were very close as young children, but Mum getting invited to attend Hogwarts drove a wedge between them, causing a rift that never healed. Essentially they hated one another and thus my aunt banned any and all talk of magic from the house because she'd come to think of her sister as an unnatural freak. I believe it was her way of coping with her jealousy. At any rate, they never told me I was a wizard and allowed me to believe that my parents had died in an automobile accident."

"That's disgraceful!" Caractacus exclaimed.

'Huh and you don't know the half of it,' Harry thought. 'I can only imagine how they'd all react if they knew that I lived in a cupboard under the stairs or was treated no better than a house-elf. I don't want their pity, however, so I'm not saying anything about that.'

Aloud, Harry said, "Perhaps, but that's what happened. Anyway, as to my remembering what happened, I finally remembered last year. As he seemed to take great pleasure from my reaction to them, Lucius, I'm sure Draco must have mentioned to you that I had a rather extreme reaction to the Dementors stationed at the school last year?"

Lucius looked a bit startled to be put on the spot, as he felt all the other nobles' eyes on him, but he nodded and said, "Yes, Draco mentioned that you fainted when they stopped the train to search for Sirius at the beginning of last year."

"The reason I fainted is because that's when I remembered that night," Harry said. "I heard my father telling Mum to take me and hide, that he'd hold off Voldemort as long as he could. Then I remembered my mother pleading with Voldemort to spare me and him telling her to move out of the way. He made it rather clear that he intended to spare her, just so long as she moved and allowed him to kill me. She didn't, of course, so he finally killed her and then attempted to kill me. He laughed just before he tried to kill me and that was the cold, cruel laugh I'd remembered previously. And of course the flash of green was the Killing Curse. I guess remembering the night so abruptly without warning was too much and that's why I fainted. After that, whenever I got near a Dementor, I didn't faint, but I could hear my Mum pleading with Voldemort not to kill me."

Sirius put a hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

Harry smiled. "It's okay, Sirius, honestly. Some good did come out of it in that Professor Lupin taught me how to perform the Patronus Charm." Turning to the other governors, Harry said, "It's unreal, you know, that in the three years I've been at Hogwarts, I've had three different professors for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and only one of them - Professor Lupin - was actually qualified for the job. I realize that he was sacked because he's a werewolf, but he was hands down the best professor I've ever had for the subject. And I can tell you that many of the other students felt the same way. Even those who were put off by his lycanthropy agreed he was the best in recent memory."

"You can perform the Patronus Charm?" Bartemius asked. "That's very advanced magic. Forgive me, Lord Potter, but most fourteen-year-olds couldn't cast that spell to save their lives. And you were thirteen when you learned it?" Harry nodded. "It's just a shapeless mist then, I'm assuming."

"You're assuming incorrectly," Harry said as he pulled out his wand. It was one of his new wands, so he immediately noticed the look on Garrick's face. "Yes, Garrick, I've gotten a new wand. I'm afraid the one you sold me when I was eleven broke."

That wasn't true, but ever since Harry's duplicate had been created the wand had been working less and less. Finally, the trainers decided to have Nick create a copy of Harry's new spare wand for his duplicate to use. The reason they'd chosen the spare instead of Harry's primary wand was simply because the spare, being oak with a Hungarian Horntail core, cost much less then the primary wand of mahogany with a Chimaera scale.

"Why didn't you come to me for a replacement, then?" Garrick asked.

"Because it happened while I wasn't in the country," Harry answered. "I'd met your grandson at the Opening Ball and he invited me to visit him in Cairo sometime. I'd never set foot outside of Britain before, so, I figured it was time for a vacation, so remembering Nick's invitation, I chose Cairo. It was short, as I left the day after the opening of the Wizengamot and returned yesterday, but I enjoyed myself. Anyway, my wand broke and I opted to have Nick make a new wand for me rather than cutting my trip short."

"I see," Garrick said. "If I may ask, what is the configuration of your new wand?"

"16 3/4 inches, oak, with the heartstring of a Hungarian Horntail," Harry answered. "And I must say that it works very well, Garrick, I'm very pleased with it." Shaking his head, he said, "Anyway, as I said, Bartemius, your assumption about my patronus is incorrect. Observe," as he waved his wand and incanted, "Expecto Patronum!"

The other lords were all wearing varying degrees of shock or awe on their faces as the fully corporeal stag leapt from the tip of Harry's wand. It was rare for anyone to produce a corporeal patronus and even for those who could, it usually took a number of years. It was almost unheard of for a person who was only fourteen to be able to produce one.

As he dismissed Prongs, Harry put his wand away and looked at the other governors. "As I said, Professor Lupin taught me that spell and while it did take me a few months to make a corporeal patronus, he still managed to teach me. Now I'm not suggesting we bring him back as professor of the subject, as I understand that the Headmaster has already hired a famous and respected Auror for the position. I would, however, suggest that we consider looking into why nobody has held the position for more than one year at a time since Professor Galatea Merrythought retired in 1945. It's long been rumored among the students that the position is cursed and I can see why some would think that, since nobody has been able to hold the position for more than one year in nearly fifty years."

"What would you suggest we do, Granston?" Augusta asked.

"Bring in a team of curse-breakers and have them check the school," Harry said. "If they find anything dangerous, than obviously it would be in everyone's best interests for it to be removed. I'd even be willing to foot the bill personally if it ensures it gets done."

"That won't be necessary, Granston," Garrick said with a shake of his head. "Hogwarts has a fund meant specifically to cover that type of expense. In truth, Hogwarts used to bring in a team of curse-breakers every few years to check for and remove any harmful spells. Though to the best of my knowledge it hasn't been done in a number of years. I couldn't say when exactly the last time was, however."

"1943," Harry answered. When some of the lords looked surprised that Harry knew that, he grinned and said, "I had my seneschal check the school records. A team of curse-breakers did a thorough check in 1943 and removed over a hundred curses and jinxes that were adversely affecting the school or its inhabitants in some way, but unless it wasn't recorded in the school records, it hasn't been done since."

"Well, let's put the matter to a vote then," Bruce said. "When I call your name, please indicate if you're for or against Lord Potter's suggestion of brining in a team of curse-breakers to check the school for any potentially dangerous curses. Please say 'Aye' if you're in favor or 'Nay' if you're not. Garrick Ollivander?"

"Aye," Garrick said.

"Augusta Longbottom?"

"Aye."

"Amos Diggory?"

"Aye."

"Caractacus Burke?"

"Nay," Caractacus said. "It'd be a waste of money in my opinion."

"Lucius Malfoy?"

Lucius remained quiet for a moment, before he said, "I agree with Lord Burke. Nay."

"Arcturus Lestrange?"

"Nay."

"Harrison Potter?"

"This should be obvious, but aye," Harry said. It was his suggestion, so of course he was going to vote in favor of it.

"Sirius Black?"

"Aye."

"Erik Bones?"

"Aye."

"Bartemius Crouch?"

Like Lucius before him, Bartemius was quiet for a few moments, as he considered how to vote. It seemed Cedric was correct in his assessment of Bartemius, however, when he'd said that he'd probably vote in favor of whichever side appeared to be the winning side, as he cast his vote of, "Aye."

"Malcolm Flint?"

"Nay."

"Callum McKinnon?"

"Aye."

Bruce nodded his head and said, "I vote aye." Turning to his house-elf, who acted as the board secretary, Bruce said, "Pokey, let the record show that the motion has passed with a vote of 9-4." Pokey nodded and wrote the results down on the parchment in front of him, as Bruce said, "I will contact Gringotts and ask them to send over a team of their best curse-breakers to check the school for any curses or jinxes that should not be present."

"I'd suggest you try to get the check scheduled for before the beginning of the school year," Erik said. "If not, then definitely before the contingents from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrive, as I believe if there are any curses or jinxes present, it wouldn't look good for Hogwarts if someone from one of the other schools discovered them."

Bruce nodded. "Quite right, Waringsford, quite right. I'll see what I can do." After a moment's pause, Bruce then said, "Now, moving on, I believe Lord Potter has some other staffing issues to bring up for a vote."

"Yes, Bruce, I do," Harry said. "As a current student at Hogwarts, I can tell you that the History of Magic instruction has been less than satisfactory during my entire career at the school. Professor Binns may have been a good teacher at some point, but the fact of the matter is that he isn't any longer. He lectures in a monotone voice that lulls must of the students in his classes to sleep. I also had my seneschal do some checking and it would seem that when he died some seventy years ago, Professor Binns was in the middle of lecturing on the goblin rebellions. Now this in turn is a subject which he has continued to lecture about since he died, to the exclusion of almost everything else, which means he isn't even teaching a quarter of the material that appears on the OWL and NEWT exams for the subject. This has resulted in the vast majority of students needing to seek outside tutoring to pass the class. I simply don't believe that we should allow such incompetence to continue and it's high time we remedy it."

"I'm inclined to agree, Your Grace," Amos said, "but unless you have a candidate in mind to replace Binns, I suggest we table a vote on this subject until our next meeting. Incompetent as he might be, a professor is better than no professor."

"With all due respect, Taleford," Erik said, "I think in this case, no professor would be better than Binns." Turning to Harry, he asked, "I know you had your seneschal making inquiries, however. Did you turn up anyone interested and qualified?"

"Actually, yes, I have," Harry answered with a smile. "He achieved an Outstanding on both his OWL and NEWT in History of Magic. He spent time apprenticed to Bathilda Bagshot and holds a Mastery in the subject, which is recognized not only here in Albion, but also in eleven other countries around the world, including Egypt, France, Spain, and the Netherlands."

"That's more than acceptable," Garrick said. "Who is this candidate?"

"My brother, Regulus," Sirius answered. Seeing the looks on everyone's faces, Sirius said, "I know that probably surprises some of you. Merlin knows it surprised me, even though I knew that he had done well on his OWL and NEWT in the subject. However, it would seem that he's been very busy while he was thought to be dead. He's used a pseudonym, of course, but he's become a very well respected historian and has had his mastery of the subject confirmed by all the countries that my godson mentioned and then some. I've seen the paperwork confirming it and Robert Higgs double-checked with the appropriate governments."

"He sounds more than qualified," Augusta said. "I think we can call for a vote on this."

"I agree," Bruce said. "When I call your name, indicate with either aye or nay if you are for or against the sacking of Professor Cuthbert Binns from the position of History of Magic professor and replacing him with The Right Honorable Regulus Black, Earl of Alnwick."

"Wait," Amos said and everyone turned to look at him. "Before we vote, I think we need to know something else. Does Regulus have any experience in actually teaching a class? Yes, his credentials appear to be in order, but that doesn't mean he'd make a good teacher. Knowing the subject matter is one thing and teaching it is quite another. If he has no experience or ability to handle a class effectively, then I don't see how he'd be an improvement over Professor Binns."

'He's alive, that's a big improvement, right there,' Harry thought, but didn't say it aloud, as he didn't want to be seen as discriminating against ghosts.

"That's a fair question," Bartemius said. "I'd very much like the answer to that myself."

"Regulus doesn't have any formal classroom experience, no," Harry admitted. "It's rather hard to get a job in an actual classroom when you're thought to be dead. However, I would point out that his son Asterion was homeschooled by Regulus and never attended any formal school for magic." As Asterion's uncle, Callum looked rather upset by this revelation, although it was short-lived when Harry continued speaking. "Upon turning seventeen, he sat the ICWATs and passed every subject he took the test for with an Outstanding grade."

The ICWATs, or the International Confederation of Wizards Aptitude Tests, were considered to be the gold standard test by many countries. While almost all countries had their own aptitude tests, like how Albion had the OWLs and NEWTs, those tests were localized to their own countries and would not count towards ones' qualifications in another country. Thus if someone in Albion got an Outstanding NEWT in Transfiguration, they could very likely get a good job in that field in any area under Albion jurisdiction.

They would not, however, be able to get a good job in France or Spain using their NEWT score, as neither country recognized the NEWT as an acceptable test of aptitude. So, in order to make things easier for wizards moving to other countries, the ICW created their own aptitude tests which were internationally recognized by every member country. Of course, as some of the member countries had much higher standards of education than some others, this resulted in the ICWATs being one of the hardest tests to pass, with the Outstanding grade only being awarded for perfect scores.

"Every subject?" Amos asked, clearly impressed. "Which ones did he take?"

"See for yourselves," Harry said, as he reached into a hidden pocket of his robes and pulled out a tiny folder, which he enlarged with a flick of his wand. "He gave me permission to make copies of his results for all of you to peruse."

Opening the folder, Harry took out several sheets of parchment, which he handed out to the other board members. True enough, Asterion had received an Outstanding grade in each and every subject he'd taken the test for. All of the standard Hogwarts core classes were there, along with Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Wizarding Law, Magical Finance, Magical Languages, and Spell Creation. Of course, what Harry didn't tell the other governors was that this was actually not a complete list of the subjects that Asterion had taken the tests for. It was only a list of the classes that were offered at Hogwarts.

Since Regulus and Asterion had travelled all over the world, Asterion had learned quite a bit about some of the more regional forms of magic that were taught at some of the world's other schools and had taken the tests for some of them just as a challenge to himself to see how he'd do. If those classes had been included, then the governors would have seen that Asterion actually hadn't gotten Outstanding on all of his ICWATs, as he hadn't gotten the perfect score on some of the more obscure regional subjects such as Shamanistic Magic or Aboriginal Magic. Harry hadn't included those subjects on the lists he gave his fellow governors because he didn't view them as being important, since the other governors likely wouldn't have heard of them to begin with. Well, that and Asterion had only given him permission to share the results that were tied to Hogwarts subjects.

"Well, these are impressive grades," Bartemius said. "Honestly, with these grades young Mr. Black could easily get a job pretty much anywhere in the world. If his father was even partly responsible for these grades, then I would think he'd be a very good teacher."

"I'd be inclined to agree," Callum said. He was very proud of his nephew - a fact which clearly showed on his face as he looked up from Asterion's results. Then looking at Bruce, he said, "Perhaps we should amend what we're voting for. Make it sack Binns and give Regulus a one-year trial in the position. That way he'll get classroom experience and we'll then be able to judge for ourselves if he's a good professor or not. Based on these scores, it would appear that he is, but teaching one student is quite different from teaching a whole classroom full. In the meantime, we can keep our eyes open for possible replacements if we should decide not to retain him for another year or he decides not to continue teaching."

Harry nodded. "That sounds acceptable to me."

"Alright then," Bruce said. "We'll vote on it the way Callum just proposed it. Say aye or nay when I call your names."

Bruce went down the line again, calling each governor by name, as they each cast their vote. The end result was ten for and three against. The governors voting against the measure were Caractacus Burke, Arcturus Lestrange and Malcolm Flint, all citing monetary concerns about sacking Binns in favor of a living professor. After all, Binns hadn't been a paid member of the staff since he died, which had saved the school a pretty respectable sum in the over 70 years since the professor's death. By hiring Regulus, however, that savings would be eliminated as even though the Blacks were an old, wealthy noble family who partly owned the school, they would still have to pay Regulus simply because he was alive.

Both Harry and Sirius were surprised when Lucius voted in favor of the measure, but then it may have helped that the candidate replacing Binns was a Black. Knowing Narcissa, Sirius thought, 'Probably was afraid of how she'd react if he came home from the meeting and told her that he'd voted against a member of her family getting a position that they're more than qualified for.' Like most noble women who married into one of the other noble families, Narcissa was still very interested in the continued welfare of the Black family. That isn't to say that she didn't care about the welfare of the Malfoy family, as she certainly did, but her birth family would always hold an important place in her heart.

"Let the record show that this body has voted 10-3 to sack Cuthbert Binns and hire Regulus Black in his place," Bruce said, as Pokey nodded and made the necessary notations. "Now, there was one more issue you wished to present, correct, Lord Potter?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, it involves the Potions classes. Hogwarts' current Potions Master, Professor Severus Snape, has made it abundantly clear over the years that he absolutely despises teaching and pretty much every student who isn't a Slytherin. Why he remains on staff, I can only guess, although I'd assume it may have something to do with the persistent rumor that he wants the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. Perhaps he's hoping that being on staff will give him a better shot at landing the position. I really couldn't say. However, I do not believe that a person who doesn't like teaching to begin with is an ideal person to be teaching a class that is required for several careers. There's several students at the school who don't take his NEWT level class, even if they do meet his Outstanding OWL qualification, simply because they don't want to be in his class for two more years."

"With all due respect, Lord Potter," Arcturus said, "it's a rather well known fact that you and Professor Snape do not get along. Why should this body take your word on anything regarding him? I do not believe it's fair to deprive a talented Potions Master, of which there are so few to begin with, of his livelihood simply because one of the governors doesn't like him."

"I assume you didn't read the Prophet then," Harry said. "If you had you'd know that Rita Skeeter's statements regarding my reasons for wanting Snape out of the position were false."

"I glanced at it," Arcturus said. "However, you'll forgive me if I don't believe the Prophet on this issue, Lord Potter. You do own it, after all, so they'll print whatever you tell them to print, regardless of whether it's the truth or not."

"You're treading on thin ice, Arcturus," Harry warned. "I'd remind you that I've already got one noble heir in my dungeon, so, I'll thank you to not insult me again by implying that I'm somehow not truthful or that I would use my ownership of the Prophet to print lies. If you'd read the article in its entirety, you'd know that I fully admit that I don't like Snape. However, as the article also made clear, I am not seeking his removal from the staff. Instead, I'd see him moved into the position of Master Brewer and we bring in his mentor, Professor Horace E.F. Slughorn, as the Potions professor."

"Harry has spoken with Slughorn," Sirius said. "He's willing to return to his post as Hogwarts Potions professor and he's even willing to accept Snape's current salary, which as it turns out is actually a 15% increase over what he was making when he retired in 1981. His only demand is that he be given the currently vacant office that used to belong to Professor Merrythought. Considering his past seniority at the school of nearly sixty years, I don't see anything wrong with allowing him to have that office."

"So, Lord Potter," Caractacus said, "not only are we eliminating the savings we had from not having to pay Professor Binns by bringing in Lord Black's brother, who we'll have to give a pay raise to, since we can't pay him what Binns was making when he was last paid in 1920, now you want to move Professor Snape into a different position and bring in another Professor? Are you trying to insure the school operates in the red? Or were you planning on suggesting we raise tuition next?"

"Nothing of the sort, Caractacus," Harry said. "In fact, by my calculations, Hogwarts will actually be saving money if we make these changes."

"How do you figure that?" Malcolm Flint asked.

"Simple," Harry answered. "By moving Snape into the position of Master Brewer, it will become his sole responsibility to brew all of the potions for the Hospital Wing. All of the ingredients for the most commonly used of those potions are in fact grown in the Hogwarts greenhouses or can be found in abundance in the Forbidden Forest. And yet instead of making use of these free ingredients and brewing them onsite, we're paying a premium to import the finished potions from outside sources."

Sirius nodded. "I've looked at the numbers myself and had the Black family accountant look them over. Just eliminating what we're already paying to import finished potions, we'll be saving more than enough money to cover both Snape's and Slughorn's salaries with a little left over. Plus, Hogwarts can in turn sell any excess potions that Snape brews that are over and above Madam Pomfrey's needs. This will provide another revenue stream for the school, as there is always a demand for potions made by a qualified Potions Master."

"In fact," Harry said, "I've already had Robert make inquiries and St. Mungo's would be willing to purchase any excess medicinal potions that Madam Pomfrey doesn't need, just on Professor Snape's reputation as a brewer alone. Also, Robert has contacted the apothecaries in Highever, Perendale and Ayesleigh and they're all willing to buy Snape's potions as well. I'm sure other apothecaries would be interested, but Robert only contacted St. Mungo's and the ones on my own lands. It does, however, show that there are ready customers willing to purchase from Hogwarts, thus insuring a respectable new revenue stream, which should also offset the cost of having to pay Regulus."

"Anybody else have anything to add?" Bruce asked. When nobody said anything, he said, "Alright, then, let's vote. The motion is to put Severus Snape into the position of Hogwarts Master Brewer and rehire former Professor Horace Slughorn to teach potions. As usual, say aye or nay when I call your name."

Once again, Bruce called out each lord's name and the votes were cast and tallied by Pokey. Much as Harry expected, the vote wasn't unanimous, but then it didn't need to be. As long as at least seven people voted in favor of it, it would pass. And pass it did with a vote of 11 to 2, with only Arcturus Lestrange and Malcolm Flint voting against the measure. Neither of them gave a reason why, although Harry suspected it was simply because it was a Gryffindor who'd suggested it. He wasn't going to let it bother him though, since the motion passed. That's all he really cared about.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's Chapter Seven. I hope it was worth the wait. I'm sorry it's taken this long, but I've been busy, not only with working on a couple of my other stories, but also with life in general. My boyfriends' mom had some serious health issues that required everyone to pull together and support her. It's not over yet and might not be for awhile, so it's possible that my writing might take a back seat from time to time. Anyway, I was debating if the scene dealing with Roger's birthday was a bit rushed. I had planned on detailing the actual Quidditch game at least, but then I thought maybe the chapter was getting a little too long, even though I have written chapters longer than this. I don't know. Of course, I suppose there's something to be said about leaving some things up to the readers' imaginations.
> 
> So, any thoughts on the chapter as a whole? The cameo appearance by the Egyptian royalty was something of a surprise for me. I hadn't planned it. I was just writing and it happened. Don't know if anything will really come of it in the future or not. Anyway, not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but I do have a Yahoo group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/storiesbyjayson/. I have a photo album for this story there, with pictures of some of the characters, if you're curious. I also have been known to give previews of upcoming chapters there, as well as ask for suggestions as to the direction a scene should take. So, some of the messages could be viewed as a bit spoilerish. I've also recently gotten a Twitter account and will be posting short progress updates and what not there. So, if you want to, you can follow me @JVascardi.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Eight

-o-0-o-

On Saturday evening, after returning to Forest Cottage from the Board of Governors meeting, Harry found Robert waiting for him as he arrived in the upstairs sitting room that served as the common room for himself and his fellow students. Roger and Cedric were seated at one of the tables playing chess, while Terence and Oliver were cuddled together in one of the armchairs by the fireplace. There was no sign of Asterion, Regulus, or the trainers, but Gavin was at one of the partners desks with Remus surrounded by books, obviously working on his remedial work.

"Hello Robert," Harry said, with a raised eyebrow. "What brings you here?"

"This letter arrived for you today from Gringotts," Robert said as he stood up from where he'd been seated on the sofa, chatting with Sirius, and held out a sealed envelope. "It's from Ragnok."

Harry nodded as he took the envelope from Robert, broke the seal and pulled out the missive inside.

_Dear Lord Potter,_

_I have a team of goblins working on the investigation into the unusual circumstances regarding your placement with your Muggle relatives and the fact that your parents' will has remained sealed all of these years. I know you're not familiar with wizarding law and customs, so I will tell you that Scarclaw is aware of the provisions of your parents' will, as such documents are almost always drawn up in the presence of a families' Gringotts' account manager. Having goblin assistance in the drafting of the document provides certain protections in terms of making the will as unbreakable as any contract used by our institution._

_I would suggest, Lord Potter, that you schedule a reading of your parents' will for as soon as possible, as it's long past time that their wishes were made known. However, Scarclaw informs me that there are certain stipulations in the document which are of a sensitive nature and pertinent to our investigation. Thus I would strongly suggest that certain sections of the document not be read aloud during the reading of the will to ensure that our investigation can continue unhindered._

_I would further suggest that you obtain the services of a solicitor who has no previous connection to the Potter family to handle the actual reading of the will. While I'm sure that Ethan Pierce would be capable of handling it, he is connected with the investigation through his grandfather Kendrick who obviously also knew all of the details of the document since he wrote it. The fact that he never tried to find you to execute the document for all these years raises serious questions and concerns and we do not wish to tip off the wrong people about our investigation. The choice is, of course, entirely up to you._

_Should you desire to do as I suggest, I can provide you with a shortlist of potential solicitors that Gringotts' has worked with in the past that we feel can be trusted. Or, if you prefer to find your own, we can also assist in checking the reputation and references of the candidate to insure that they can be trusted. I will await further communication from you on your wishes._

_Signed,_  
_Ragnok_  
_Director, Gringotts' Bank_

Handing the letter to Robert so that he could read it, Harry sat down at the table and remained silent while his seneschal read. He wasn't entirely sure how to proceed and wanted Robert's advice. James and Lily were in the painting above the fireplace again and James asked, "What was the letter about, Harry?"

"The reading of your will," Harry said. "And Gringotts' investigation into why it hasn't been read yet. Ragnok has a team of goblins working on it and suggests that certain elements not be read aloud to protect their investigation."

"I can see how that might be a good idea," Lily said, as she thought back to what was all included in the document. "There are certain things in it which nobody outside of the family needs to know."

Robert finished reading the letter at this point and looked up. "Ragnok's suggestion that you find a solicitor not previously connected with the Potter family is a good idea, Harry."

Roger looked up at that and asked, "You need a solicitor?" Harry nodded. "My father, Michael Davies, is a solicitor."

"I know him," Robert said with a nod. "He's certainly qualified and I can't think of any previous connection to the family. James?"

Taking a moment, James finally shook his head and said, "No, I can't say that I recall Michael ever working for us before."

Standing up, Harry went over to the desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment. Dipping a quill in the ink well he began a response to Ragnok. With help from the trainers and practice, Harry's handwriting had improved to a level which better reflected the fact that he was one of highest nobles in the country. Pausing his writing, he said, "Ragnok offered to check the reputation and references of the person I chose if they weren't on the Gringotts' shortlist. Any objections to that, Roger?"

The Ravenclaw shook his head and said, "No, that's fine. Seems like a wise precaution when hiring someone to work for you. My father has a good reputation and is sure to have plenty of references, but I don't expect you to take my word alone for that. Having Gringotts check him out is wise."

"I'd have to agree," Cedric said as he moved his queen to take Roger's rook. With a grin, he added, "Checkmate, by the way."

Roger turned back to the board at that and groaned. "Merlin's balls, Cedric, that's..."

"Five games in a row," Terence said as he briefly came up for air, before going back to making out with Oliver.

"Get a room you two," Roger said, prompting both Terence and Oliver to hold up their middle fingers in Roger's direction. "No thanks, guys, I don't swing that way."

Dipping the quill back in the well, Harry wrote down that he'd like Gringotts' to check on Michael Davies, telling Ragnok that a friend had recommended him.

"Now the only thing I need to figure out is when to schedule the reading," Harry said.

"Reading of what?" Eudora asked as she came up the stairs.

"My parents' will," Harry said. "Ragnok sent me a letter saying it's past time that it is read. Although he suggests leaving out some parts of it that might adversely affect the goblins' investigation."

"Well, I can see why he would think that," Eudora said. "James and Lily died over a decade ago. I can't think of any instance where it's taken this long to read a will, especially when it's the will of one of richest and oldest noble families in the country."

Cedric nodded. "Yes, it should have been read by now. Part of it may have been because nobody seemed to know where you were Harry or at least those who should have been looking for you never did." Cedric got a contemplative look on his face and then after a moment added, "Of course, now that I think about it, Kendrick Pierce might have been waiting on tracking you down so that you would be old enough to be installed as the new Lord Potter before the will was read."

"But then he contracted dragon pox and died," Roger said. "Which oddly enough, would have been right around the time that Harry was turning thirteen and thus old enough to claim his birthright."

"Why would it matter if I was Lord Potter or not at the will reading?" Harry asked.

"It matters, Harry," James said, "because the current Lord Potter does have the ability to invalidate bequests or any other terms in any family will, even those of the past lord. So, if there's a section of our wills that you don't agree with, you have it within your power to declare it null and void."

Shaking his head in confusion, he asked, "Why would I want to do that?"

"Well, I can think of one reason, Harry," Lily said. "One of the bequests that James and I left is a million galleons to Albus Dumbledore, as head of the Order of the Phoenix. The Order was founded during the first war with Voldemort by Albus and consisted of people who had banded together to fight Voldemort and the Death Eaters. However, knowing that he left you with my sister, even if he didn't know the terms of the will, I find myself thinking I'm not so sure anymore that I want him to have that money."

"Wouldn't that cause a problem, however?" Harry asked. "I would imagine that the section dealing with my placement while a minor would be one of those sections that won't be read aloud, seeing as how it doesn't matter anymore. But how could I possibly justify invalidating the bequest if I can't prove that Dumbledore knew about the terms of the will and ignored them?"

"That's the beauty of being Lord Potter, Harry," James said. "You don't have to justify it. At Seacliff Castle and anywhere else on your lands, your word is law. Back in Albion's earliest days, King Arthur himself granted the Lords of the Thirteen certain discretionary powers which would be beyond even the authority of the crown to overrule. Among those powers are the ability to set the marriage laws and tax rates on their lands. They can also disown their heir for any reason they chose, or declare any marriage involving a member of their family invalid, assuming that is it isn't with another noble house and if it is it has to be with a lower house. And each lord also has complete control over all money and property belonging to their family, whether it be in the family vault or the personal vaults of the families' individual members."

"Not that it really matters seeing as how I'm the only living Potter," Harry said, "but on the marriage thing what happens if it isn't with a lower house?"

"If the two houses are the same rank, both lords have to agree," Cedric answered. "And if the other house is a higher rank, the lower lord can petition the higher lord for invalidation, but there's no requirement that the higher lord grant the request."

After a moment of silence, Eudora walked over to the railing of the stairs, leaned over, and called out, "Athena? Could you come up here for a moment, please?"

As she'd been sitting with the other trainers in the ground floor sitting room, it didn't take Athena long to come up the stairs, followed by Emma and Rose, who'd opted to come with her should their help be needed. Eudora explained what was going on and Athena nodded. "I see. Well, Harry, if you'll just give me a moment to confer with the others, we'll see if we can't work out a date for you to give to Ragnok."

Harry nodded, as the trainers grouped into a circle and began talking quietly amongst themselves. After a moment, Athena nodded and turning towards Harry, she said, "Ideally, we'd have you schedule this for Monday, but you have your appointment at the Ministry for your Apparition license at 1pm. It'd be too late in the day to schedule a will reading after that and scheduling it beforehand could pose problems if the reading runs long, as such things do on occasion." Harry nodded in agreement of Athena's reasoning. "So, your other trainers and I think it would be best to schedule the reading for Tuesday, the sixteenth of August."

"Okay, thanks," Harry said, as he dipped the quill back into the ink well and wrote down the date in his missive to Ragnok. Once it was done, he pulled out his wand to cast a Drying Charm on the ink, before folding it up addressing the front of it. He then flipped it over and used his wand to light the candle that sat near the ink well on the desk. Grabbing a stick of red wax, Harry held one end of it in the candle flame, allowing the liquid wax to fall onto the folded letter below. Once there was enough of it, he set the wax and candle aside as he removed the Potter family ring from his finger and pressed it into the wax.

Once this was done, Harry called out, "Tilly!"

"Lord Potter calls Tilly?" the little elf asked a moment later, as she appeared.

"Yes, Tilly," as he held out the letter. "Please take this back to Seacliff and send it off with one of the family owls. It's important that Ragnok at Gringotts gets this as soon as possible."

Tilly nodded as she took the letter from her master, "Yes, Lord Potter. Tilly will do it right away."

No sooner did Harry mutter a thanks in return did Tilly disappear with a pop.

-o-0-o-

The following morning, Sunday, Harry had just finished getting dressed for the morning and was preparing to head downstairs for breakfast when a pop announced the arrival of Athena's house elf.

"Lord Potter?" Barin asked.

"Yes, Barin?"

"Barin was laundering Lord Potter's cloak," Barin explained. "Found this, sir."

At this, the elf held out his hand and Harry could see that Barin was holding a sealed note that Harry had never seen before. Assuming that it must be safe as nothing had happened to Barin by his touching it, Harry took the note and said, "Thank you, Barin."

The elf nodded, before popping back out of the room, leaving Harry alone in his bedroom once more. Looking at the note in his hand, Harry realized that it was a single sheet of parchment, folded into fourths and sealed with a small dot of red sealing wax. There was no indication as to who it was from, as there was no crest in the wax and the only thing it said was 'Lord Potter' on the opposite side, written in handwriting that Harry didn't recognize. Harry was very curious about what it was, but he'd learned enough from the trainers by now that he knew better than to blindly open communications when you had no idea who they were from. It was possible, he had learned, to charm notes with nasty hexes that didn't activate until the seal was broken.

Heading out to the common room, Harry found Cedric talking with Sirius. At his arrival in the room, Sirius smiled and said, "Hello pup," as Cedric said, "Morning Harry."

"Morning," Harry said. Deciding they might be able to help with the strange note, Harry said, "Um, Sirius, Ric, I need some help. Barin gave me this note." Harry held it up for both of them to see. "He says he found it in my cloak while laundering it. Thing is, I've never seen it before and I have no clue who it's from."

"Let's see it then," Cedric said, as Sirius nodded.

Walking over to where Cedric and Sirius were seated in front of the fireplace, Harry placed the note in the middle of the coffee table as Cedric pulled out his wand and said, _**"Specialis Revelio!"**_

After a moment, nothing happened and Sirius pulled out his own wand and cast a couple more advanced spells meant to check for dark hexes or curses that the spell Cedric had used wouldn't catch. A few minutes later, Sirius put his wand away and said, "It's clean, Harry. There's no charms of any kind on it."

Cedric nodded his head in agreement, as Harry nodded and picked the note back up, breaking the seal and opening it. It was a short message, but what it said made Harry blush as he remembered the events of the day he'd met the note's sender.

Noticing his godson's reddened cheeks, Sirius grinned and said, "Is it a love note, Harry?"

Before Harry could answer Sirius, Cedric smiled as well and asked, "You have a secret admirer?"

Shaking his head, Harry said, "No, the person is making no secret of who they are." Shaking his head, Harry said, "There was something that happened during my meeting with Mr. Cuffe on Wednesday that I didn't mention."

Launching into explanation mode, Harry filled his godfather and friend in on the things he'd left out of his initial recounting of his meeting with Barnabas Cuffe. After a moment, he finished his tale with, "I think Mr. Cuffe dressing in a hurry actually happened in the time that passed between Jonas announcing me and Mr. Cuffe saying that I could come in."

Cedric's eyebrows shot up, as he asked, "Harry, surely you don't mean that you think Mr. Cuffe was naked in his office before you came in?"

"That's exactly what I think, Ric," Harry answered. "You know those items I mentioned?" Sirius and Cedric nodded. "One of them was a pair of blue cotton boxer-briefs and the other a red lace bra."

Sirius burst out laughing at that and after a moment he calmed himself down and said, "So, old Cuffey was having sex with a woman and had to get dressed in such a hurry when you were announced that his lady friend left her bra on the floor and he forgot to put on his own underwear? Ha, ha, that's hilarious."

Shaking his head, Harry said, "No, Sirius, that underwear did not belong to Mr. Cuffe." At this statement, Sirius stopped laughing and looked at his godson with a clearly confused but curious look. "Once I'd noticed the items, I told Mr. Cuffe point blank that I don't care what he did at home, but as owner of the Prophet, I didn't want him doing that on the premises. It's a newspaper, after all, not a brothel. Now, obviously, standing on the other side of the desk, he didn't see the items on the floor so he looked mad at me for that comment and was about to say something when I took my wand out of my cane and levitated the items on the floor up so that he could see them. He then blushed and muttered, 'Oh shit,' under his breath."

"You said the underwear didn't belong to Mr. Cuffe?" Cedric asked, a slight blush on his own face, and Harry nodded. "How did you know that?"

"I'd like to know that myself Harry," Sirius added.

"From the size of them," Harry revealed. "You see, even before I levitated them, I had the feeling they weren't Mr. Cuffe's, and in my comment before saying the Prophet was a newspaper and not a brothel, I even said as much. After levitating them, however, it become painfully obvious that the boxer-briefs were too small to be Mr. Cuffe's. A fact which I confirmed moments later when I scanned the room and noticed the only other door in the room. I used the Opening Charm on it and realized it was, as I'd thought, the cloak cupboard, containing cloaks obviously, but also the two half-naked teenagers that the levitated undergarments belonged to."

Shaking his head and blinking a few times, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, Cedric said, "So, Harry, let me get this straight, you interrupted Mr. Cuffe having sex with two teenagers? One of them male? The same Mr. Cuffe, father of six by the way, whose been married to his wife for just over 37 years now?"

Nodding, Harry said, "That's about it, yeah. I saw Mr. Cuffe dancing with the same woman at the Opening Ball most of the night, so I assumed it was his wife, but I had no idea how long they'd been married and honestly that didn't come up. He did confirm that he was married though when I asked, though I had no idea that he had five kids other than Jonas."

Cedric nodded and said, "Barnabas Cuffe went to school with my parents and my Uncles Bruce and Tiberius."

"Uncle Tiberius?" Harry asked. He'd never heard Cedric mention that name before.

"Well, you know my Mum is a McLaggen," Cedric said and Harry nodded. "She's the youngest of three. Uncle Bruce is the eldest, then comes my Uncle Tiberius McLaggen, and then my mum, Amelia McLaggen Diggory. Anyway, my Uncle Tiberius was best man at Barnabas' wedding, so, that's how I know how long they were married. Barnabas and his wife were both 17 and fresh out of Hogwarts when they got married."

Quickly doing the math in his head, Sirius was chuckling, a big grin on his face, as he said, "So, that would make Cuffe and his wife 54 years old and now he's cheating on her with a pair of teenagers." After a moment, however, he must have realized what he'd just said and sobered as he asked, "They were both legal, right?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I asked and the boy said he was nineteen, while the girl was eighteen."

"So what happened then, Harry?" Cedric asked.

"I levitated their clothes over to them," Harry replied. "Told them to get dressed and then come out. Had a chat with Mr. Cuffe while they were doing that, telling him that he wasn't to continue using his office for that type of activity. I reiterated that when the two teens came out of the cupboard, saying that I would fire all of them before they could say their own names if I found out they were ignoring my wishes. Afterwards, I thought maybe I was a little harsh, but then again, as I found out both of the teens work at the Prophet, so, they're all on my payroll." Blushing a deep crimson, Harry added, "And I most certainly am not paying them to have orgies in the Editor's office when they're supposed to be working."

"I would have reacted exactly the same way, Harry," James said. He'd been listening from his frame above the fireplace along with Lily. "I never begrudged people having that kind of fun, but I'd rather they not do it in the workplace when they're supposed to be doing a job that I'm paying them for."

Lily nodded. "I remember Barnabas, but only vaguely. He never struck me as the type to do this kind of thing, but then I really didn't know him well and other than the meeting via the mirror, it's obviously been a number of years since I've had any contact with him."

"Well, after that the teens left and I got down to the actual reason I'd gone to see Mr. Cuffe," Harry said. "Which I've already told you all about." After a moment, a look of realization hit him, however, and Harry added, "One thing I left out though is that on my way out of the Prophet's offices, the young man from Cuffe's office literally ran into me. He apologized profusely, before disappearing in another direction, but now that I think about it, that must be when he slipped this note into my cloak. I didn't feel him do it, so I never even knew about it until Barin gave it to me."

"Makes sense," Cedric said. "So what does he have to say?"

"I haven't actually read the entire note," Harry said. "Only the first sentence which told me who it was from. Other than that it's pretty short though." Harry cleared his throat and read the note aloud.

Lord Potter,

My name is Kolin - you met me in Mr. Cuffe's office. I know what you think was going on and for the most part, you were correct, but there's something you don't know. Something I think you really should know, but I don't dare write it down here at work. Could we meet? Say in the Leaky Cauldron on Saturday at about 6pm? I know you don't really know me and your first impression probably wasn't that great, but I hope you'll come and hear me out. I really need your help.

"That's all he wrote," Harry said. "What do you think it could mean? Something I should know and he needs my help? And the word 'really' is written much darker than the rest of the words and it's underlined."

Nobody said anything for a moment, before Lily said, in a hesitant voice, "You don't suppose... I don't even want to think this... but, is it possible that maybe this Kolin wasn't a completely willing participant in what was going on in Barnabas' office?"

"What gives you that idea, Lily?" James asked, obviously confused.

"Well, it may be a leap and completely untrue," Lily responded. "But he seems to be saying that there's something more to what Harry thinks was going on in the office that day. Something that he's afraid to put down on paper at work, presumably where someone might see it, and wants to meet with Harry in person to tell him." She paused here and shook her head, "I don't know. I really hope I'm wrong."

"I hope you're wrong too, Mum," Harry said. "Cause he asked to meet me last night and I never showed."

Cedric had a thoughtful expression on his face. "If there's any truth at all to what you're thinking Lily... I don't know, but if it was me and I was asking someone for help and they never showed, I think I'd be upset. Or perhaps think they didn't care."

Harry suddenly felt a little sick. "I told all of them that I didn't care what they did in their off hours. If Mum is right and now I never showed up to meet him, I can only imagine Kolin must think that I really don't care. I did tell him as much, after all, and threaten to fire him. What am I supposed to do now?"

"First of all, don't panic son," James said. "We don't know for sure yet if anything untoward is actually going on. Your Mum could be reading too much between the lines." Looking at Lily, he said, "I really do hope that's the case, Lils."

Lily nodded. "I hope so too. Not only for that boy's sake, but also because if it is true and it gets out, it'll be a huge scandal and that's the last thing Harry needs this soon after claiming his birthright."

"True," Sirius said. After a moment of silence, he said, "If you want to check this out, Harry, I'll come with you."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I think I should. If there's anything wrong at the Prophet, I want to know about it."

Sirius nodded, understanding where his godson was coming from. Standing up, he said, "Well, let's go see Athena and see if she'll let us go out and check on this."

Harry nodded as he nodded goodbye to Cedric, before following his godfather out of the room.

-o-0-o-

Athena allowed Harry to go to Diagon Alley to check it out, however, she suggested that Regulus accompany him instead of Sirius. This was mainly because Sirius' face was too well known, so if Harry wanted to keep any sort of anonymity while in the alley, it would be next to impossible to do so with Sirius at his side. Donning the hooded cloak he wore when he visited the Daily Prophet, Regulus took Harry side-along to Diagon Alley and they made their way towards the Leaky Cauldron. They both knew that it was a long shot that this Kolin would still be there. However, they both agreed that checking the Prophet records for Kolin's address should be a last resort, as they didn't want to do anything that might tip off Mr. Cuffe if there was indeed, as Lily feared, anything untoward going on.

Entering the pub, which wasn't all that busy at the moment thankfully, Harry walked over to the bar and asked, "Tom, did you perhaps see a young man here last night around six, who may have seemed to be waiting for someone?" He then gave the bartender a basic description to the best of his memory.

The bartender looked up as Harry spoke. Harry used one hand to pull the hood off his head just enough that his face wasn't hidden in shadow and with his other hand, had a finger to his lips. Tom correctly assumed that this meant that Harry didn't want him to say his name aloud, so that the other customers would hear it. Nodding, he said, "Yes, sir, come to think of it there was a young man fitting that description here. He's been in several times, in fact. Works for the Prophet, I believe, and is often sent over to fetch Mr. Cuffe's orders when he opts to have lunch in the office."

"Do you have any idea where I might find him now?" Harry asked. "He was actually waiting for me last night, but I didn't get the message that he wanted to meet with me until this morning, unfortunately."

"Actually, yes," Tom said. "Around 6:30 last night he ordered a glass of Firewhisky, drained it, and ordered another. He seemed rather upset and kept ordering more until he finally passed out drunk somewhere around 7:30 to 8:00. Was just about to cut him off when he passed out, so, I had my cook help me get him upstairs to one of the vacant rooms, so he could sleep it off. I've been here all day with a clear view of the stairs and I haven't seen him leave, so, as far as I know, he's still up there."

"Could we perhaps have a key to the room?" Regulus asked, from his place next to Harry. "We're concerned for him, especially if he had as much to drink last night as you say he did."

"Normally, I would say no," Tom said. "Not exactly appropriate to be letting just anyone into guests rooms without their permission and all." Looking at Harry, he added, "However, since he technically never checked in and he is one of your employees, sir, I suppose it would be alright. With him being so young and the amount he drank last night, and now not seeing him at all this morning, I'm a bit worried myself, honestly."

Tom turned and grabbed a key off of a board and handed it over to Harry. "There you go, sir. Room 12. That's the first door to your left on the third floor landing."

"Thank you, Tom," Harry said. As he turned to leave, Tom cleared his throat and said, "Um, sir?"

"Yes, Tom?" Harry asked.

"I hesitate to even bring this up, but there is the small matter of his bill," Tom answered. "Didn't pay for his drinks or the room. I normally allow customers to pay on their way out, but as far as I know he never left and was in no condition to pay for anything last night."

"Regulus, could you handle that?" Harry asked of his companion. "I'll reimburse you later."

"Sure," Regulus said, as he pulled out his coin pouch. "Go check on Kolin and I'll be up as soon as I settle his bill."

"Thanks," Harry said, before he turned and headed for the stairs. On the third floor, he stopped in front of the door to Room 12 and even though he had a key, he figured he should try knocking first. When there was no response and he couldn't hear any movement in the room, he knocked again and called out, "Kolin?"

After not getting any response for another minute, Harry put the key in the lock and opened the door slowly, calling out, "Kolin? It's Lord Potter." Stepping into the room, Harry saw Kolin lying face down on the bed and said, "Kolin? I'm sorry I didn't meet you last night, but I only just found your note this morning. Can you even hear me?"

Walking closer to the bed, that's when Harry saw a sight which made all color drain from his face. The reason Kolin wasn't responding was because he was lying on the bed, presumably unconscious. His wand was held loosely in his left hand and his right wrist was slashed and bleeding.

"Oh Merlin," Harry said as he raced forward and grabbed for one of the sheets, which he quickly wrapped around the older teen's wrist to try and stem the blood flow. His body was still warm, so, Harry knew he wasn't dead, but that would change if he didn't get medical attention quickly. Remembering the pendant that the trainers had given him upon his arrival at Forest Cottage, Harry fished it out from under his shirt and tapped the center of the stone three times.

About a minute later, there were four pops as the trainers appeared, all with their wands drawn. Athena asked, "Harry, what's wrong? Where's Regulus?"

"I'm right here," Regulus answered as he entered the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Never mind that!" Harry exclaimed. "This is Kolin and it looks like he did a Slashing Hex on his wrist."

Rose summoned her staff and hurried over, the gem on her staff glowing brightly as she unwrapped the sheet from the teen's wrist so that she could get a better look at the wound. After a moment, she said, "He's alive, but just barely. You found him just in time, Harry. Any longer and there would have been nothing I could do."

Holding her staff in both hands, Rose held it over Kolin's body, the gem at the top flashing brightly as his whole body began to glow with a light blue aura. Harry could only watch in fascination as the blood still near the wound reversed course and went back into the teen's body, before the cut on his wrist began to mend itself. Even his skin, which had paled from the last time Harry had seen him due to blood loss, began to look better. After another minute or so, Rose stopped her spell and said, "He'll live."

"What was that spell you did?" Harry asked. "I'm been to the hospital wing several times and I've certainly never seen Madam Pomfrey do anything like that."

Emma nodded, as she looked at Kolin. The look on her face was quite sad, though Harry could understand that since it would appear that he'd tried to commit suicide. In an absent-minded tone, she said, "You wouldn't, as she isn't a mage."

"Emma!" Rose exclaimed, as she cast a disgruntled look at her associate. The exclamation caused Emma to look away from Kolin and her expression changed from sad to sheepish, as she obviously realized her mistake. After a moment, Rose shook her head and said, "There goes my misdirection."

"Misdirection?" Harry asked, as his eyebrows shot up.

Athena nodded and said, "Rose was of the opinion that the rest of us had made the clues for our true identities too easy for all of you to figure out. So, she decided to make figuring out who she was harder by dropping a few false clues which would make you think she's Poppy Pomfrey, while being much more careful about the clues which would suggest who she really is."

"Interesting strategy, Rose," Regulus said with a grin. "And you're right, the others probably did make things too easy. Back when I was a student, I had it figured out in about two days."

"Two days?" Athena asked, shocked, as she turned to her former student. "We did not make it that easy, Regulus."

Regulus grinned, "No, you didn't. I'd say it's because I'm the cunning Slytherin, but truth is that had nothing to do with it. I just used one of the old Black family spells which allows the caster to see past Glamour Charms." After a moment, his grin widened and he added, "I'm guessing that Sirius forgot all about it."

"You mean you know who they are?" Harry asked. "All of them?"

"Of course, I do, Harry," Regulus said. "And don't look so shocked. I'm one of their past students, remember. You don't think they spent the entire time they were training me Glamoured do you?"

Any response that Harry may have had was cut off by a groan from the bed. The trainers quickly left the room and Harry could hear the faint pops of them Disapparating in the hallway. Kneeling next to the bed, with Regulus not far behind him, Harry asked gently, "Kolin?"

It took a moment for him to say anything, before he asked, "Lord Potter?" He coughed after this, obviously still a little weak.

Reaching into a concealed pocket of his cloak, Regulus pulled a potion vial from within, uncorked it, and held it out to Kolin. "Here, drink this, it'll make you feel better."

"Who are you?" Kolin asked, as he noticed Regulus for the first time.

"Kolin, this is Regulus Black," Harry answered. "You can trust him - my family and his are allies, so he won't do anything to harm you."

Kolin still looked a little dubious, but grabbed the vial, nonetheless. Downing it, he instantly perked up, as steam shot out of his ears. "Pepper-Up Potion," Kolin said, a note of distaste in his tone, once the steam stopped.

"I'm sorry I didn't meet you last night," Harry said. "I didn't see your note until this morning when one of my house elves found it while he was laundering my cloak."

"I see," Kolin said, as he sat up on the bed, bending his legs upwards and wrapping his arms around them. He winced slightly when his previously slit wrist rubbed against the other wrist, but otherwise said nothing. "I thought maybe you didn't care. I mean why would you? You're a high-ranking and powerful lord who defeated You-Know-Who for Merlin's sake. I'm just an insignificant typesetter at a newspaper, so there's really nothing special about me. I don't know why I ever thought you'd help me. You have no reason to, as you don't even know me."

"Kolin, you're rambling," Regulus said in a gentle tone, as he took a seat at the foot of the bed.

"I'm sorry," Kolin said, as he shifted slightly. After a moment of silence, he looked at Regulus and asked, "I don't suppose you have a hangover cure on you do you?"

"As a matter of fact," Regulus answered with a grin, as he reached into the hidden pocket of his cloak and pulled out another vile, which he handed to Kolin.

"Do you have a whole apothecary hidden in your robes, Regulus?" Harry asked, one eyebrow raised, as Kolin uncorked the second vial and downed the potion.

"No, Harry, but I do keep a supply of various potions with me at all times," Regulus answered. "You never know when you might need one. Besides, you know Asterion and I did a lot of travelling," Harry nodded. "Well, sometimes we were going to a place where potions wouldn't be readily available, so I always made sure that I was well prepared."

"I guess that makes sense," Harry said.

"Who’s Asterion?" Kolin asked.

"My son," Regulus answered. "He's about your age actually. I believe Harry said you were nineteen?" Kolin nodded. "Well, Asterion is seventeen."

Kolin looked shocked. "You don't look old enough to have a seventeen year old son."

Regulus smiled. "Thanks for that. I admit, I sometimes find it hard to believe myself, as do many others. During our travels, there were several people who thought he was my younger brother, actually." After a moment of silence, he grinned and added, "Of course, there were also people who had a knack for overlooking the familial resemblance and thought he was my lover."

Having seen both Regulus and Asterion, Harry had a hard time believing that anyone could look at them together and think they were a couple. True, Asterion did take after his mother in some respects, but there were still Black family traits which were also present in Regulus. Deciding not to dwell on it, however, Harry turned his attention to Kolin and asked, "So, why did you want to meet with me, Kolin? Your note was a little vague, but from the wording, it almost seemed as if you were implying that you weren't a willing participant in what I caught you doing with Mr. Cuffe and that girl."

Kolin remained silent for a moment, before he said, "That's not entirely true. I was willing," he paused here and then added, "at first."

"What do you mean at first?" Regulus asked.

"The first time Mr. Cuffe made advances," Kolin clarified, as he blushed and added, "I've always been attracted to older, more distinguished men. So, when Mr. Cuffe first made advances on me, I was definitely interested. He isn't exactly my type, a bit older and heavier than I'd usually prefer, but I was still a virgin at the time and my hormones were still doing a lot of my thinking."

"So, when did your willingness begin to fade?" Harry asked.

"It didn't take all that long actually," Kolin replied. "While it was just flirting and touches, I enjoyed it. I hadn't had a whole lot of experience with guys liking me in that way, because I grew up in a small town and there really weren't any men who swung that way as far I as I know. That's part of the reason I moved to the UK after I finished school, because I was tired of being alone. So, when Mr. Cuffe started flirting with me and making it clear he was interested, I was willing to see where it would go."

Regulus and Harry nodded, giving Kolin encouraging smiles, but remained silent, hoping the boy would continue with his story. It didn't take long. "My willingness to be with him began to fade the first time we had sex. While I don't mind his face so much, I'm not all that crazy about the rest of his body. He insisted on topping me and refused to use a condom. He did use a spell to provide lubrication, thankfully, but even that didn't help much, as he likes it rough. We'd done it about ten times over the course of two weeks and that's when he brought in Chelsea."

"I assume Chelsea is the girl you were hiding in the closet with?" Harry asked.

Kolin nodded. "Yes. I'd known beforehand that Chelsea had a crush on me, just from the way she looked at me and snippets of conversations that I'd overheard. Apparently Cuffe heard it as well, because he decided to bring her into the fold. I don't know if he thought I was crushing on her as well or what, but he wanted me to have sex with Chelsea while he watched. And by watched I mean watch while he was fucking me. Of course, sometimes he'd also reach around me to fondle her breasts or even kiss her. Before Chelsea entered the picture, he had fondled my equipment a few times while he fucked me, but he never kissed me."

"So, I take it you did have sex with this girl?" Regulus asked.

Kolin nodded. "Yes, several times. Thankfully, whatever Cuffe has against condoms didn't extend to me wearing one, because the last thing I want at this stage in my life is a child. I don't feel anywhere near ready for that responsibility yet. Of course, I'm gay and the only reason I was even able to perform with Chelsea at all was because Cuffe was fucking me. Even though by that point my willingness to continue had faded completely, my body still reacted to the stimulus of him being inside me and I got hard enough to have sex with Chelsea."

"And Chelsea was willing?" Harry asked.

"The first time, yes," Kolin answered. "However, not so much after the next few times. I think she picked up on my body language and knew that I really didn't like having sex with her. And then after about the fifth time in as many days, I was silently crying while doing it. Cuffe didn't notice, since he always takes me from behind, so he couldn't see my face. After we were out of the office, Chelsea pulled me aside and asked me why I'd been crying and I told her. She was a little upset at first, I suppose it's only natural after finding out the person you're crushing on doesn't like you because you're the wrong gender. And I'm sure the fact that we'd had sex didn't help matters, although she seemed to accept the fact that I was only able to perform because I was turned on from being fucked."

Kolin took a deep breath at this and said, "Honestly, I think she didn't really like the situation anymore then I did. We didn't get into specifics. At least on my part I was afraid to talk to her because I feared it might get back to Mr. Cuffe." Looking at Harry, he said, "Even slipping you that note had me scared out of my mind. I rationalized, however, that you were Mr. Cuffe's boss and that he couldn't do anything to me if you were on my side. Of course, then you didn't show up last night. That's when I got plastered and thought that maybe you didn't show up because you didn't care. You did say that a few times in Cuffe's office as I recall."

"I never meant it that way," Harry said. "At the time, I didn't realize that you weren't an entirely willing participant in what was going on. All three of you were adults and as far as I could tell, you were consenting adults. So, what I meant was that I didn't care what you did in your homes or anywhere else, really, but that I didn't want you three having sex in the editor's office. I own the paper, so you're all technically on my payroll and I didn't like the idea that three of you were having sex on the premises during work hours, rather than doing the jobs that I'm paying you for. As I told Mr. Cuffe, it's a newspaper, not a brothel."

Kolin laughed at that and said, "Chelsea and I heard that comment from the closet. Despite the situation, we both grinned at that. Not because we found the situation particularly funny, but because we could both picture the look that was surely on Mr. Cuffe's face when you said that. His skin has a tendency to turn an interesting shade of purple when he's angry and his face puffs up."

Harry laughed and nodded. "Yeah, that's about right. It didn't last long though as it went from what you just described as his angry look to what I'd assume was his mortified look as soon as I levitated your underwear and Chelsea's bra into his sight."

Kolin stopped laughing and lifted the side of his shirt to reveal a faint bruise on his skin. It was pretty large and that's the only reason it was even still visible by the looks of it. Gesturing towards it, Kolin said, "This was my punishment for leaving my underwear on the floor. He hit Chelsea, too."

Is that the only time he hit you?" Harry asked.

Kolin shook his head. "No, there were other times as well. The worst was when I worked up the courage to try and break things off with him. He laughed and said that if anyone was going to end things between us it would be him, not me. He then threw me to the ground and kicked me in the ribs a few times for daring to think I had any right to end our relationship. When he was finished kicking me he pushed up my robes, ripped my underwear off, and proceeded to fuck me harder than he ever had before, while also punching me repeatedly in the back. By the time it was over, my whole back was covered in bruises and my ass was bleeding."

"Harry, you have to do something," Regulus said, a completely disgusted look on his face. "Cuffe is a monster and deserves to be in Azkaban for what he's done."

"I whole-heartedly agree," Harry said, as he stood up, his face looking thoughtful. After a moment, Harry called out, "Tilly!"

Seacliff's head-elf appeared seconds later and bowed to Harry. "What can Tilly do for Lord Potter?"

"Tilly, I need you to go to the Ministry," Harry said. "Tell Madam Amelia Bones in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that Lord Potter requests to see her at the Leaky Cauldron in one hour from now. Tell her to bring with her a team of Aurors that she trusts implicitly." After a moment, Harry bent down and whispered something in Tilly's ear, before adding aloud, "Oh and Tilly, make sure you and Amelia are alone when you deliver my message. Tell her I consider it to be a matter of family business and that I want it handled as quickly and quietly as possible."

"Yes, Lord Potter, sir," Tilly nodded and disappeared with a pop.

"Why one hour?" Regulus asked.

Harry didn't answer, however, as he instead called, "Dobby!"

Regulus and Kolin just looked dumbfounded as a second house-elf appeared in the room. This one, of course, was the strangest house-elf either of them had ever seen, seeing as how it was wearing actual clothing and not a tea cozy. The little elf bowed to Harry and said, "Lord Harry Potter calls Dobby?"

"Yes, Dobby," Harry said. "Can you deliver a message for me?"

Dobby nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yes, Lord Harry Potter, sir, Dobby would be most honored."

"Good," Harry said. "I need you to find Lord Erik Bones and tell him to meet me here at the Leaky Cauldron immediately. Be as discreet as possible and don't deliver my message in front of witnesses. It's for his ears and his ears only, Dobby. If he asks what the meeting is about tell him it's family business."

"Yes, Lord Harry Potter, sir," Dobby said with a nod, before he popped away.

Kolin looked confused, because as a foreign-born commoner, he really didn't understand all the intricacies of how Albion's noble families operated. Regulus, however, grinned and nodded his head in understanding. "Very shrewd of you, Harry. I assume you plan on covering your bases with Madam Bones by forging an alliance with her nephew first." Harry nodded. "A good plan, Harry, although I would only point out that while that will prevent Madam Bones from revealing anything you don't wish revealed, it won't do anything for the Aurors."

Harry just grinned. "Ah, Regulus, but you saw me whisper something to Tilly, right?"

"Yes," Regulus nodded, not following what the brunet was getting at.

Harry smiled. "I told her to tell Madam Bones that the Aurors she brings should all have been born and continue to live on either my own lands, or those belonging to the McLaggen, Black, or Bones families."

"What difference does that make?" Kolin asked, with both his tone and his face showing total confusion and bewilderment.

Regulus laughed and patted Harry on the back. "Oh, Harry, you're good." Harry grinned at the praise, as Regulus turned to Kolin and said, "Lord Potter is allied with Lords McLaggen and Black, and plans on forging an alliance with Lord Bones. By limiting the Aurors to only ones born in his own lands or those of his allies, he can insure that the Aurors don't say anything they're not supposed to. You see by asking for Aurors who were born and continue to live on one of those lords' lands, one can assume that they'll have a strong degree of loyalty to the local lord. And even if they don't, if their local lord orders them to keep their mouths shut about something and they don't do it, they'll be earning themselves tickets to the dungeons of Seacliff Castle, Kinloch Hold, Arlington Grange, or Thornhill Abbey." Kolin still looked a little confused, so Regulus added, "Those are the family seats of the Potter, McLaggen, Black, and Bones families respectively."

Kolin nodded, but any response he might have had was cut off by the arrival of Dobby, who bowed to Harry and then said, "Lord Bones awaits downstairs, Lord Harry Potter, sir."

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said. "If you would, please escort him up here - Room 12 on the third floor."

Dobby nodded and popped out. Nobody said anything and about two minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Regulus walked over and opened it to admit Dobby and Lord Erik Bones, who looked a bit surprised to see Regulus, not to mention a boy he'd never met lying on the bed. Looking over at Harry, he asked, "What is this about, Lord Potter? This elf said it was family business?"

"First off, please, Erik, call me Harry." Erik nodded, before Harry continued. "Now as to that matter of family business I had Dobby bring you here for, if you're not adverse to it, I should like very much for our families to forge an alliance."

Erik was speechless for a moment, before he said, "I'd be happy to do that, Harry, although forgive me this seems rather sudden."

Harry nodded and said, "I know and I admit that certain recent events have prompted me to seek this alliance, but, I assure you that I have only the most honorable intentions. I'll gladly tell you what recent events I speak of, but first..."

"We need to swear the Alliance Oath," Erik said and Harry nodded. Coming over to stand before Harry, Erik held out the hand that bore his family ring. "Shall we?"

Harry nodded, as he took Erik's hand so that the Potter ring touched the Bones ring, as Erik began the ritual. "I, Erik Anthony Bones, Marquis of Waringsford, Earl of Banbridge, Viscount Kinallen, Lord of Thornhill Abbey, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Bones, do hereby pledge my house's strength and support to yours, Harrison James Potter, and promise to do everything within my power to assist, protect, and shelter your family, vassals and friends as if they were my own. From this day onward, your allies will be my allies and your enemies my enemies. Your secrets will be my secrets and I vow to safeguard them with my life. As our families have stood together before, so shall we stand together again, now and into the future. On my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be."

Harry was glad that Erik had to go first as the Lord of the lower house, because truth be told, Harry hadn't known that the Bones and Potter families had been allied in the past and thus would not have known to include the necessary line. As he spoke his part of the ritual, he made a mental note to ask Robert for some more reading material on the Potter family. Specifically the history of any and all alliances the family had entered into so that he'd know which families had, at any time in the past, been Potter allies. As Harry finished, "On my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be," and the golden nimbuses of light, swirls of color, and the pulse of magic completed the ritual.

Kolin looked somewhat shocked, as it was the first time he'd ever witnessed an Alliance Oath performed. He'd read about them, of course, and the magical noble families in his home country had something similar, but reading about it and actually witnessing it are very different. Especially the pulse of magic at the end - Kolin was sure that if he hadn't already been lying on the bed, he would have fallen over from the sheer power of that pulse. He imagined the only reason that Regulus hadn't fallen over was because he'd been expecting it.

It was then that Harry filled Erik in on the situation and to say that Erik was appalled would be an understatement. He couldn't believe that the editor of a respected newspaper would behave in such a reprehensible way. Of course, the fact that Erik's late mother had been best friends with Mrs. Cuffe, who happened to be Erik's godmother, didn't help matters, nor did the fact that Erik's first girlfriend was Abigail Cuffe - Mr. and Mrs. Cuffe's youngest daughter and Jonas' sister. This fact did, however, allow Erik to share his unique perspective on the matter of Jonas.

"I'm not surprised that Jonas helped his father," Erik said. "All six of Mr. Cuffe's children are very loyal to their father, mainly because he's a really strict disciplinarian and rules his household with an iron fist. So, it isn't that much of a stretch to say that Jonas is probably afraid of his father, which combined with years of conditioning, he would be willing to do whatever he's told, despite the fact that he's in his twenties now. I am, however, amazed that Mr. Cuffe would be engaging in extra-marital affairs to begin with, because when I was dating his daughter, he always seemed to be devoted to his wife. Of course, I suppose that could have been an act. Merlin knows I've seen plenty of married couples acting like their bond is rock solid in public and then privately having more affairs than a squirrel has nuts."

Regulus nodded. "Yes, that's very common, especially among pureblooded families where arranged marriages are often entered into. Such arrangements very rarely take such things as love or attraction into account, so, it's very easy to end up married to someone you don't love and aren't even attracted to. Usually the new couple will only get together enough times to sire an heir or two and then they'll discreetly start turning to outside sources to fulfill their desires. That's probably why most of Albion's noble families have only one heir, actually, because very few of the nobles married for love."

"Well, I'm glad that I'm the head of my family then," Harry said. "Nobody can force me into an arranged marriage."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Erik cautioned, which prompted Harry to give him a questioning look. "While not every marriage that takes place in Albion is arranged by the parents, there is still a good portion that are and it's not unheard of for parents to arrange a marriage for a newborn. In fact, depending on the arrangements made by the parents, some babies are betrothed to somebody the moment they're born. As long as your parents didn't sign a marriage contract with another family, however, you're correct that as head of the family, nobody can force you to marry."

"And if a contract was drawn up before my parents died?" Harry asked, as he was overcome with an overwhelming hope that no contract existed that would force him to marry anyone. He made a mental note at this point to make sure to ask his parents' portrait about that as soon as he got home.

"If one exists," Regulus said, "then you'd have no choice but to marry the person, provided of course that you meet the necessary requirements."

"Requirements?" Kolin asked, who'd been quietly following along up until now.

"Arranged marriages often have certain requirements," Erik said. "Dowries to be paid for example. But, there's also usually a gender requirement, especially if a contract is drawn up before the birth of one or both of the children who would be betrothed by the contract. My parents actually did draw up a marriage contract for me with the Diggory family, but I can't marry Noah or Cedric because we can't have children together. Now, Lord and Lady Diggory did have a daughter after Noah was disowned, but most marriage contracts, the Bones-Diggory contract being no exception, require that the age difference between the two parties to be wed be no more than ten years. So, because I'm nineteen and Lucinda Diggory is only two, I'm saved from marrying her by the fact that I'm seventeen years older."

Kolin looked like he was about to say something, but Harry beat him to the punch with a question of his own. "So, what happens if the contract can't be fulfilled?"

"It gets passed to the next generation," Regulus answered. "One of Erik's sons or daughters, should he have any, would in turn have to marry one of Cedric's sons or daughters. Lucinda's children aren't eligible to fulfill the contract because while she is a Diggory, her children would not be considered to be Diggorys, since they'd carry their father's surname. Noah's children, should he have any, are also not eligible since he's been disowned by Lord Diggory."

"Well, even if Amos did reverse that," Harry said, "I suppose Noah's children still wouldn't be eligible. Cormac tells me that Noah is engaged to Charlie Weasley, so I imagine any children they may have together would be adopted."

It was actually Cedric that had clued Harry in about Noah's and Charlie's pending nuptials, but Erik and Kolin did not know about the training, so, they might question why Harry would be spending time with Cedric. He also didn't want to risk it getting back to Amos that Cedric even knew about Noah's plans, as that might suggest to the elder Diggory that Cedric was keeping in touch with his disowned brother. All in all, Harry thus felt it was best to say it was Cormac who told him as Amos had no say in whether his nephew had contact with Noah. Add the fact that Cormac was the heir of one of Harry's allies and his housemate at Hogwarts, and he rather doubted anyone would question them conversing with one another.

Kolin cleared his throat at this and said, "You know, I don't mean any disrespect, but I've gotta say that one of the disadvantages I've found since moving here is just how far behind the times you people are."

Regulus grinned and nodded. "Yes, I know what you mean, Kolin. My son and I travelled extensively, so, I know that the differences between the continent and Albion can be quite wide. Of course, it all depends on where one is on the continent as there are some magical communities in Europe which would make Albion look progressive."

"What are you two talking about?" Erik asked as he looked at Regulus and Kolin. The young lord knew that there were many people who would have found their comments insulting, but Erik was not among them.

"There are several places on the continent which are far more progressive than Albion," Regulus explained. "It would be quite a culture shock for many Danish or Scandinavian wizards and witches, for example, if they moved to Albion, as we're pretty far behind them in many areas. One such area which I believe is what prompted Kolin's comment, is the fact that in many of the more progressive countries, it would be almost unheard of for a marriage contract to exist at all. But, if they did, same-sex couplings would be perfectly legal in terms of fulfilling the contract because the use of a spell which allows such couplings to have children is commonly used."

"How does that work?" Harry asked, suddenly curious if Regulus was about to say that with magic it was possible for wizards to become pregnant.

"It's based on the Muggle process of in-vitro fertilization," Regulus explained. "Which is a non-sexual means of reproduction. In the case of two women, eggs are harvested from both and then the eggs of one of the women are transfigured into sperm, which is used to fertilize the eggs of the other. The fertilized eggs are then implanted into one of the women, who gets pregnant. In men, it's the exact opposite, with the services of a surrogate being used. A surrogate being a woman who agrees to carry a child that's not her own for someone else."

Erik was silent for a few moments, before he said, "Well, I'll be praying to all the gods then that this spell is not adopted here in Albion because that would mean I'd have to fulfill the Diggory-Bones contract and marry Cedric. I do consider him to be a friend, but the male physique does nothing for me, so I have no desire whatsoever to have a husband. Especially since it would mean I'd be celibate for the rest of my life, since I vowed, on my magic, that once I married I would have sex only with my spouse or not at all. Being straight, I wouldn't have any interest in having sex with Cedric, so, yeah, I definitely have no desire to marry him."

Harry found himself quite confused by the sudden surge of anger he felt at the idea of Erik and Cedric getting married. He couldn't understand why their coupling would anger him, but before he could explore his feelings much, a pop announced the arrival of Tilly. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts and concentrate on the matter with Kolin, Harry asked, "Has it been a hour?"

Tilly nodded. "Indeed, Lord Potter, sir. As you requested, Ms. Amelia Bones and a team of trusted Aurors, all of them from lands belonging to you or your allies, have arrived downstairs."

"I'll go downstairs and talk with Madam Bones," Harry said. "Erik, if you'd care to join me?" The young lord nodded his head, as Harry said, "Regulus, if you could stay here and keep Kolin company I'd appreciate it."

"Of course, Harry," Regulus said with a smile.

-o-0-o-

Twenty minutes later, Erik, Harry, and Amelia were sitting in a secluded booth in the main room of the Leaky Cauldron. A series of privacy charms had been erected around the table by Erik and Amelia, and the Aurors made sure nobody got close enough to disturb the trio. Finding out the reason that she'd been summoned, Amelia was appalled at the behavior of Barnabus Cuffe. She wanted him to pay for his crime just as much as anyone, but there was a problem.

"I understand why you wish for Mr. Cuffe to pay for what he's done," Amelia said. "I share that sentiment, Lord Potter, but I'm afraid there's very little I can do to help you. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, as making sure criminals face justice is my job. However, my job is also very public. I'm afraid there's really no way that I could secure a conviction for Mr. Cuffe without a trial before the Wizengamot. And being a criminal proceeding, it would require the full Wizengamot to sit in judgment, which means that all one hundred members would have to be made privy to this. Further complicating matters is the Criminal Trial Act of 1670, which states that all trials will either be open to the public or have their records made available to the public. Obviously that would not be conducive to your desire to keep this situation quiet in order to avoid the scandal that would surely follow."

"So there's nothing I can do?" Harry asked.

"Well, you could probably have Cuffe arrested," Erik said, "and thrown into the dungeon at Seacliff. However, while he isn't a noble, the Cuffe family is still an old pureblood line and Barnabas is the family head. Which means you wouldn't be able to hold him for more than six months, a year at the most."

Amelia nodded. "That's true. While there's usually no limits placed on the length of stay for prisoners in the noble dungeons, as the term of imprisonment is left up to the ruling lord, there are special provisions made for heads of families. You can't imprison your fellow Lords, for example, and as Erik just mentioned, there's a limit to how long you could legally hold Cuffe." After a moment of silence, however, Amelia then added, "There may, however, be another option, one that bypasses the limits placed on the noble dungeons."

"What?" Harry asked.

"The Tribunal of the Thirteen," Amelia answered. "Centuries ago, before the formation of the Wizengamot, the Tribunal of the Thirteen was the main judicial body of Albion, where the Lords of the Thirteen Houses would sit in judgment for lesser crimes, which are defined as any crime that doesn't involve people subject to high justice or treason against the realm. Those cases would in turn be heard by His Majesty the King in the Royal Court. Now usually each individual lord would deal with crimes committed on their own lands on their own, but in instances where a person committed crimes on more than one lord's lands or against more than one lord or their family, the Tribunal was called."

Amelia paused here to take a sip of the tea she'd gotten before sitting down with Harry and her nephew, before continuing. "Now, publicly the Tribunal ceased to exist upon the formation of the Wizengamot, but it's still around with the same power and authority that it's always had. These days it's mostly used by the lords for matters of family business that they don't want becoming public, as the Tribunal is not subject to the Criminal Trial Act. In fact, all cases heard by the Tribunal are sealed and everybody, from the lords themselves to defendants, witnesses, and everyone else who will be a part of the trial in any way take a vow on their magic or their lives not to talk about anything they learn during the trial outside of the Tribunal's meeting chambers. Thus the chances of the public at large finding out about anything revealed during a meeting of the Tribunal is highly unlikely because someone would have to give up their magic or their life to reveal it."

"Why their magic or their life?" Harry asked.

"From time to time," Amelia replied, "it's been necessary for a squib to give testimony in a case being heard by the Tribunal. As they have no magic, they can't very well make an oath on that, so they instead swear on their lives."

Cocking his head to one side, Erik asked, "Why haven't I heard about this body before?"

Amelia smiled at her nephew. "Probably because the last time the Tribunal met was in 1972, which is before you were even born, Erik. The only reason I even know of its existence is because I'm the Head of the DMLE. Since it's possible for the Tribunal to sentence somebody to Azkaban and that prison falls under my department's jurisdiction, the head of the department is made aware of it."

"So do you know how I'd go about calling a meeting of the Tribunal?" Harry asked.

Amelia shook her head and said, "I'm afraid that I can't help you with that, Lord Potter. I know of its existence, but my knowledge of its inner workings is limited. It's a very secretive body, after all, and I'm not the head of a noble family. Obviously Erik can't help you as he didn't even know it existed until now," she patted her nephew on the arm at this as he rolled his eyes and gave his aunt a small grin. "I'd say that your best bet would be to ask one of the other lords, preferably one you trust, who was present for the 1972 meeting of the Tribunal and would hence have more knowledge about it than I do."

"Well other than Erik," Harry said, "I've also forged alliances with my godfather, Sirius Black, and Bruce McLaggen. Sirius was only 13 in 1972 though and he obviously wasn't the head of the Black family back then, so I don't imagine he'd be able to help."

"Bruce McLaggen didn't assume the lordship until 1976," Amelia said. "So, I couldn't say with certainty whether he knows about the Tribunal or not. He hasn't attended a meeting of it, although that doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't know anything."

"Well then I don't know who to ask," Harry said. "While allies are a good thing, I've already made three since claiming my birthright. I can't help but think that maybe I should hold off for a little while, simply because three in less than a month might seem a bit excessive to some people."

Amelia nodded. "I would have to agree, yes. Having some idea of the politics involved, I wouldn't suggest forging anymore alliances for a few months at least. Maybe even a year."

"Then I don't know who to ask," Harry said. "Only other thing I can think of is my parent's portrait, but Dad was only 12 when the Tribunal last met."

"Of course, that's it!" Erik exclaimed. "Harry, I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. Portraits of the past lords of a family are usually always willing to assist the current lord of their family in any way they can."

"I hadn't thought of that, either," Harry said. "Of course, the only family portrait I've spoken to since claiming my birthright is my parents. I'd planned on talking with some of the others but just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Might be interesting though and I'm sure Grandfather Julian would know about the Tribunal, as he was family head from 1947 until his death in 1980, so he would have been present for the 1972 meeting."

Amelia nodded and said, "Indeed. In that case, Lord Potter, I would suggest that you head to Seacliff and have a chat with your grandfather's portrait. Should you require my help for anything else, however, you can send your house-elf again."

"Thank you, Amelia," Harry said.

-o-0-o-

After his meeting with Erik and Amelia Bones, Harry called for Tilly and Dobby, instructing Dobby to go with Kolin to his home, pack a few things, and then bring him to Seacliff. Kolin tried to protest, but Harry refused to hear it, saying that at least until he could deal with things with Mr. Cuffe, Kolin would stay at Seacliff as his guest. Tilly, meanwhile, was instructed to make sure Harry's double was made scarce so that Harry could visit Seacliff's portrait gallery for a chat with his grandfather. As usual, Tilly was only too happy to serve her Master and within minutes, she popped back to say that Harry's double was resting comfortably in one of the spare bedrooms and wouldn't awaken until Harry left the castle.

Since Regulus hadn't been added to the list of people who were allowed to Apparate into the castle proper, Tilly took Harry back to Seacliff. Arriving at the castle, Harry went first to the Master's Study and pulled out the castle's guestbook, which was tied into the wards. All he had to do to key someone into the wards was write their name in the book or cross out a name in order to unkey them. The Potter family ring acted as the book's key, so only the Lord Potter could even open the book. It was a system invented by Merlin and was the same system used by all of the houses belonging to the noble families, in addition to the royal family. Merlin hadn't shared his secrets on how to create such a book, however, so wards that weren't cast by Merlin did not use that system. So, Forest Cottage, for example did not have a book tied to the wards.

Regulus wasn't the only name that Harry added to the book, as he also added in Asterion's name, in addition to a few other names, such as Erik Bones, Nick Ollivander, Dominick Burke, and, of course, his soon to be house guest, Kolin Mikaels. Once that was done, he closed the book and had Tilly lead him to the portrait gallery. Stepping into the massive room for the first time, Harry was momentarily taken aback by the sheer number of portraits in the room. He'd seen a large number of portraits before, as there were plenty in the corridors of Hogwarts or even in the Headmaster's Office, but the number there seemed dwarfed by the number here. Looking around the expansive room, Harry guessed that there were well over a hundred portraits on the walls, the witches and wizards they depicted clearly dating back many centuries.

Tilly pointed to the portrait of a man who looked a lot like James, only with a few more lines on his face and more gray in his hair. Beneath the oaken frame, Harry spotted a small golden plaque, on which were engraved the words Lord Julian Nathaniel Potter, 172nd Duke of Granston. Nearby there was another portrait which caught Harry's eye. It was twice the width of Julian's portrait, as it depicted two people. Black hair with small streaks of gray at the temples, their torsos joined together where their shared liver would be, Harry instantly knew who they were, thanks to his father. Allowing his eyes to drift downward to the plaque, his suspicion was confirmed, as it read Lord Nathaniel James Potter, 171st Duke of Granston, and his brother, Sebastian Julian Potter.

Sitting down on a sofa across from the two portraits, Harry nodded to Tilly and said, "Thank you, Tilly, that'll be all."

Having always been something of a light sleeper when he was alive, the sound of Harry's voice in the otherwise quiet room roused Sebastian from his nap, as Tilly nodded and left the room. Sebastian, meanwhile, locked eyes with Harry for a moment, studying him before nodding.

"You're clearly a Potter," Sebastian said.

"Yes, Sebastian, I'm Harrison James Potter," Harry said, as he held up his hand to show the family ring. "Your great-grandnephew and the 174th Duke of Granston."

"You're so young," Sebastian said with a sigh. "May I assume the Last of the Line clause is in effect?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, it is. My parents, James Sebastian Potter and Lily Marie Evans-Potter died in 1981, at the hands of the Dark Lord Voldemort, just before he tried to kill me."

"I feared as much," Sebastian said. "I thought they were crazy to trust in the Fidelius and whatever wards Albus placed around the cottage in Godric's Hollow. Albus is a powerful and brilliant wizard, but he's no Merlin. They would have been so much safer here at Seacliff or even the manors in Brynmoor or Mathry, but Albus convinced them that those would be the first places that Voldemort would look for them. Not that it would have mattered as Merlin's wards would have kept him out."

Harry was silent for a moment, before he said, "Sebastian, I need to speak with grandfather Julian."

Sebastian nodded as he moved towards the edge of his portrait, pulling Nathaniel with him and waking him in the process, as he reached over into Julian's portrait and shook his nephew's shoulder to rouse him. "Julian, wake up, your grandson and the current Lord Potter needs to speak with you."

"Grandson? Current Lord Potter?" Julian asked, before his face fell. "Then James is dead?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, unfortunately. He died on October 31, 1981 at the cottage in Godric's Hollow, along with my mother. Voldemort killed them both before turning his wand on me in my crib and activating Merlin's Last of the Line protections."

Julian closed his eyes. If he was a living person, Harry would have sworn he was blinking back tears, although he didn't know if a portrait could actually cry. If they could, however, then finding out that your son and daughter-in-law were dead would certainly be a good reason to do so. As Julian remained silent for a moment, obviously trying to compose himself, Nathaniel asked, "If you're the current Lord Potter then I assume it's 1993 now?"

"August 14, 1994, actually," Harry answered and noticing the confused looks on all three of his ancestor's faces, he added, "I was unaware of my heritage for most of my life. I only just found out about being nobility two weeks ago."

"Two weeks ago?" Sebastian asked. "You should have claimed your birthright over a year ago. And what do you mean you didn't know of your heritage?"

"Well, my godparents weren't available to raise me," Harry answered, as he explained why that was. "As for the Diggorys, I suspect they were Imperiused and Obliviated to forget about the role they'd agreed to take in my parents' will - which incidentally has never been read as far as I know. Until two weeks ago I was living with mum's sister Petunia and her family. I know that was against my parents' wishes, but I was placed in there care by Albus Dumbledore the same night that my parents died, so it's possible he didn't know what was in the will."

"What makes you think the Diggorys were Imperiused and Obliviated?" Sebastian asked.

"Robert Higgs and his wife Katherine were," Harry explained. "As was Tilly. That's why none of them tried to find me all these years. But apparently claiming my birthright broke the hold of the magic on Tilly and she helped Robert and Katherine find me."

"So just how did you finally learn of your birthright?" Nathaniel asked.

"Technically that's a secret under the Fidelius," Harry said, "although the spell didn't prevent me from telling mum and dad's portrait when I was in the family vault at Gringotts'."

"A weakness of the Fidelius Charm," Julian said. "It doesn't count portraits as people, so it won't prevent you from telling a secret protected by it to a portrait. Thus, it would be a very wise precaution not to discuss secrets around the portraits of people you don't trust." After a moment of silence, he then added, "I realize that we just met, but I swear on my honor as a Potter that you can trust me."

Sebastian and Nathaniel made similar declarations, after which Harry nodded. "I found out about my heritage and birthright exactly two weeks ago when I left the Dursleys with my mage trainers."

"Mage training?" Nathaniel asked, prompting Harry to nod. "I'm impressed. There hasn't been a mage in the family in a number of years." Turning towards Sebastian, he asked, "Grandmother on mother's side was a mage, wasn't she?"

Sebastian was silent for a moment, obviously thinking, before he nodded and said, "Yes, I believe she was. We were only five when she died though, so, it's hard to remember much of anything about her."

"You said trainers, so I take it there's more than one?" Julian asked.

"Yeah, there's four of them," Harry said. "All women and all of them are professors at Hogwarts - although I don't currently know who they are. They're testing us by using Glamour Charms and aliases, while dropping hints about who they really are. It's down to seven possible professors now."

"So who else are you training with? Anyone we might know or recognize the name of?" Nathaniel asked.

"It was originally three others," Harry answered. "Roger Davies, Lord and Lady Diggory's son Cedric, and Robert and Katherine's son, Terence. Two more students were added later, however, in the form of Terence's boyfriend Oliver Wood and his brother Gavin. Training is taking place at a cottage in the woods not far from Hogwarts on Lord McLaggen's lands. So, I've renewed the alliance with Bruce McLaggen. I also forged an alliance with Sirius once the King pardoned him and just today I allied with Lord Erik Bones, the reason for which is why I'm here to begin with."

Harry then proceeded to fill the three men in on the situation with Kolin and how he was trying to help him by getting Barnabas Cuffe on trial for his crimes, hopefully without a public scandal.

Julian nodded. "Yes, the Tribunal can be called in this instance. The fact that he works for you would be considered reason enough, but the fact that the crime was actually committed on Diagon Alley also means that it concerns Lord Burke, since that's part of his domain."

"How exactly does the Tribunal work?" Harry asked.

"The short answer is that the Thirteen Lords gather, hear the evidence, and cast their votes," Sebastian said. "Majority rules. Of course, it should come as no surprise that it's more involved than that - unfortunately."

"Sebastian never did like the Tribunal meetings," Nathaniel said with a smile. "He was bored out of his mind most of the time. Of course, I suppose the same held true for most occasions when I was carrying out my duties as Lord Potter and propriety didn't allow him to have his preferred distraction."

Julian shook his head and said, "Father, please, you know I love you and Uncle Sebastian, but my grandson doesn't need the sordid details of uncle's overzealous sex life."

"My memories of it are all I have left," Sebastian said, and then more to himself, he added, "Oh to be alive again or barring that having clothes that weren't painted on."

"Sebastian, it's been over fifty years," Nathaniel said with a shake of his head. "I think it's time you got over the fact that I nixed the idea of us posing nude for this portrait."

"You always were a killjoy, Nathaniel," Sebastian said with a sigh. "Honestly what would have been the harm in allowing me to have a means of having fun?"

"Oh for pity sake," Nathaniel commented. "Fun how? It's not like any of your numerous lovers had nude portraits of themselves done. Unless you were planning on using your hand. Regardless, I'd only remind you that as a portrait you wouldn't feel anything no matter how you went about having the fun you miss so much so I fail to see why it matters that our clothes are painted on."

Giving Harry a look that conveyed how sorry he was, Julian said, "I really am sorry about them, Harry. I love them dearly but sometimes they can get royally annoying."

Harry grinned and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, grandfather. Anyway, about the Tribunal - how exactly does it work?"

"Well, as Sebastian said, the lords gather and sit in judgment," Julian said. "What sets Tribunal meetings apart, however, is that they're completely sealed affairs. That is to say that once a proceeding begins, nobody involved in it is allowed to leave until the proceeding is over. There's dormitory, kitchen, and bathroom facilities attached to the Tribunal's meeting room and meetings can go on for days on occasion, depending on the complexities of the case being heard."

"Huh, so I should plan on possibly being away for a couple of days?" Harry asked and Julian nodded. "I don't know if Athena and my other trainers are going to like that. Could Robert sit on the panel in my place as he does for the Wizengamot?"

Julian shook his head. "No, he can't. The rules of the Tribunal are quite clear on that point. Only the Lords of the Thirteen Houses, or their heirs, are allowed to sit in judgment. Now, unlike the Wizengamot, there is no age requirement, so if a lord wants their heir to sit in their place, the only real requirement is that they be old enough to speak and understand what's going on around them."

"Hmm," Harry said. "Well, that means for sure that Arcturus Lestrange will be voting on his father's behalf, since his father is in Azkaban. Illegally or not, I don't see him getting out anytime soon. Although, if you ask me, he deserves to be punished for his role in what happened to Lord and Lady Longbottom. Speaking of which, I guess that means Neville will be sitting on the panel instead of his grandmother."

"Indeed," Julian said. "There can be no doubt that Rodolphus and Bellatrix deserved to be punished, although trying them before the Wizengamot was illegal. I'm somewhat surprised honestly that the king hasn't weighed in on that topic, especially after you got Sirius cleared. I would think that their son would have contacted the crown about their release by now."

"Well, it probably helps that from what I've heard they made no secret of their guilt," Harry said. "Even if their incarceration was illegal, would the king really release them when they admit their own guilt?"

"That's a hard question to answer," Nathaniel said, as he finally stopped arguing with Sebastian and turned towards Harry. "I never met King Edward, so I have no idea how he'd react to any situation."

Julian nodded and said, "Yes, that is a tough call to make. I actually have met the King, but on both occasions he was only an infant being shown off at court by his proud parents. With his entire family being murdered by the Death Eaters, one would assume he isn't going to show leniency to people who freely admit being Death Eaters, but assumptions are dangerous."

"So, how do I go about calling for the Tribunal to meet?" Harry asked.

"There's a stone in the fireplace mantle of the Master's Study here at Seacliff," Sebastian said. "It's easily identifiable since it's made of black marble, while the rest of the fireplace is made of oak. You simply press the family ring against it and say, 'I, Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston and Lord of Seacliff Castle, call a meeting of the Tribunal of the Thirteen to commence on this date.' This message will then be magically passed on to the other lords almost immediately."

"Courtesy, however, dictates that you not call for an immediate meeting," Julian said. "It would be considered highly rude to force the other lords or their heirs to drop everything and gather for a meeting with no advance notice. Generally, it's best to give at least a week's notice so that everyone has some time to put certain affairs in order in the event that the meeting runs more than a couple of hours. Now, since you're undergoing mage training, I think it would be wise for you to clear this with your trainers before calling for the meeting."

"True," Harry said. "Tilly!"

Tilly popped into the room within seconds and asked, "Lord Potter calls Tilly?"

"Please go ask Athena if she could come over here," Harry said. "There's no emergency, but I do need to speak with her and it's a conversation best held here at Seacliff."

Tilly nodded and popped out of the room, only to return a few minutes later, holding Athena's hand.

"What did you need Harry?" Athena asked.

"Well, first off, some introductions are in order," Harry said. "Athena Gracey, meet my grandfather, Julian Potter, my great-grandfather, Nathaniel Potter, and my great-granduncle, Sebastian Potter."

Athena curtsied to the portraits and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The portraits returned the sentiment, before Harry explained the reasoning for his asking Athena to come to Seacliff. With some help from his ancestors, the basics of the Tribunal were explained to Athena and after a moment, she nodded and said, "Well, the next two weeks are out I believe. You have the appointment to get your Apparition license on Monday and the reading of your parents' will is scheduled for Tuesday. The rest of the week you'll have more classes which you'll need to continue your training."

Harry nodded. "True and the week after that is the curse check at Hogwarts that the governors are all going to be present for, the Quidditch World Cup, Charlie and Noah's wedding, and the Founder's Ball."

"I think I can spare you for a few days the last week of August, Harry," Athena said after a moment. "Hopefully, however, your business with the Tribunal will be completed by the third of September."

"Why the third of September?" Julian asked.

"Because Harry's other trainers and I have scheduled a vital component of his training to occur on September 4th," Athena answered. "It's a ritual that requires some time to setup, so, we've been preparing for that. It would be preferable not to postpone it any longer than necessary as we've already done that once now. We're also beginning to run out of material that we can teach Harry and the others without the ritual being performed."

Mentally going over the dates in his head, Harry said, "If I schedule the Tribunal meeting for August 29th, I'd have six days before the ritual." Turning to Julian, he asked, "Do you think six days is enough?"

Julian was silent for a moment, before he said, "Barring any other business from the other lords, I'd say six days should be enough. It's a fairly open and shut case."

"Well then I guess I'm off to the study," Harry said as he stood up. "Feel free to join me if you wish."

Julian, Nathaniel, and Sebastian nodded as they left their frames and headed for the study, as Harry left the room with Athena following. Arriving in the Seacliff Master's Study a few moments later, Harry took a moment to look around. The room was paneled in a rich oak with matching floors. A large desk stood in one corner, along with four large bookcases full of books which he remembered Robert mentioning were actually the family journals kept by the past Potter lords and other family members. In front of the fireplace there was a comfortable looking red leather seating group, with an expensive looking chessboard setup on the coffee table.

Taking a deep breath, Harry walked over to the fireplace and placed the Potter ring on the black marble stone inset in the mantle and said, "I, Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston and Lord of Seacliff Castle, call for a meeting of the Tribunal of the Thirteen to commence on August 29, 1994."

As soon as Harry finished his sentence, the edges of the stone glowed brightly, as the message was sent to the other lords, most of whom would no doubt be wondering just why Harry had called for the Tribunal to meet. They'd find out soon enough.

-o-0-o-

Harry looked around the room in awe. He was currently standing in his castle's library which made the library at Hogwarts look cramped by comparison. The room was built into one of the castle's towers, so, it was a round room that if Harry had to guess was about eighty-feet wide. Most of the walls were covered by floor to ceiling bookcases which measured fifteen-feet-high, thus requiring the track near the ceiling which had rolling ladders connected to them. The room also wasn't constrained to a single floor, as there were in fact five floors which were accessible by a collection of wrought iron spiral staircases on either side of the massive white marble fireplace. Harry couldn't help but grin as he thought about Hermione's reaction to this room. He had no doubt that to his bookish friend this room would, hands down, be her personal version of Shangri-La.

He'd arrived at Seacliff on the morning of Tuesday, August 16th, 1994, after Athena had gone on ahead to put a sleeping charm on his double and move it out of sight. According to Tilly, it had been moved into one of the spare bedrooms in the wing of the house that had at one time housed Sebastian Potter's harem of lovers. That particular wing of the house was only accessible via a hidden door in the family wing of the castle and thus it was one of the safest places to put Harry's sleeping double because none of the people coming to the castle today could accidentally stumble upon anything they shouldn't. The reason for the visit was because they'd scheduled the long overdue reading of James' and Lily's wills and had thus invited everyone mentioned in the documents to come to Seacliff at noon.

Walking around the massive room, Harry ran his hand over the spines of some of the books and read their titles as he passed. There was a large collection of books on every topic he could think of, but one particular title caught his eye and that was Hogwarts: A History. He had never had any interest in reading the book that Hermione had brought up so many times over the years. However, the reason that it caught his eye now was because there was more than one copy of the book on the shelf he was currently looking at. Counting them, he soon realized that there were, in fact, twenty-two copies of the book sitting side by side and he couldn't help but be a little confused by the fact that some of the copies were much thicker than others.

"Robert?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry?" Robert asked, as he walked over to the young lord from where he'd been helping Michael Davies prepare the large oak conference table in the center of the room for the will reading. Ragnok had replied almost immediately to Harry's missive that Gringotts' didn't need to check out Michael Davies, as he would, in fact, have been on the shortlist that Gringotts' would have sent to Harry if he'd requested it. So, with that knowledge in mind, Harry had Robert contact Michael Davies to hire him as the official solicitor of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Michael was shocked, humbled, and honored by the request, as he had never worked for any of the noble families before. He looked forward to doing so however and had immediately accepted the position.

"Why are there twenty-two copies of Hogwarts: A History?"

"Because there's twenty-two editions," Robert answered.

"Twenty-two editions?" Harry asked. "My friend Hermione has mentioned the book several times, but she never said it was that long."

Shaking his head, Robert said, "I think you're thinking of volumes, Harry. Each copy you see on that shelf is completely self-contained. However, as you also probably noticed some of them are thicker than others. The reason is because the book has been updated and republished twenty-one times since the first version."

Carefully taking the first copy of the book from the shelf, Robert held it out for Harry to see. It had a brown-leather cover with golden gilt pages and under the title were the words 'by Helena Ravenclaw'.

"Helena Ravenclaw?" Harry asked. "Is that any relation to Rowena?"

Robert nodded. "Yes, Harry. Helena is Rowena's daughter and she still roams the halls of Hogwarts."

"What? How could she possibly be roaming the halls of Hogwarts? Surely Rowena's daughter is dead by now?"

Robert smiled. "Yes, Harry, Helena died centuries ago, however that doesn't mean that she isn't still around."

A look of realization hit Harry and he said, "Do you mean she's one of the ghosts at Hogwarts?"

Robert nodded and said, "Yes, Harry, Helena is one of the Hogwarts ghosts - in fact, she's one of the more well-known ghosts. Of course, the fact that she's Helena Ravenclaw goes unnoticed by most people as it hasn't been mentioned in Hogwarts: A History since the third edition and she isn't known to be all that talkative to people not in Ravenclaw House, but Helena is Ravenclaw's Grey Lady."

"Wow, I guess you learn something new every day," Harry said. "But why are there so many editions?"

"Helena wrote this first edition of the book in the year 907," Robert explained, "which was fifty years after the school was founded in the year 857. Since then, the Board of Governors has hired an author to update the book every fifty years. Now, the vast majority of copies of Hogwarts: A History are self-updating. That is, there's a spell cast on them so that when a new version is written, the book automatically updates itself to the most current version. This is why bookstores, such as Flourish and Blotts, never stock more than one or two copies of the book on their shelves at any one time. Being self-updating, once you've bought a copy, you never have to do so again unless you lose it or it gets badly damaged, so it's not a very big seller."

Harry nodded. 'That makes sense.' After a moment, however, he asked, "But, if the book is self-updating why do I have twenty-two versions of varying lengths?"

"Because the first fifteen copies of each print run of the book are exempt from the self-updating charms," Robert revealed. "Every time the book is updated a copy is given free of charge to each of the Lords of the Thirteen Houses, the Hogwarts library, and the royal library. Thus all of the lords, like yourself, have a copy of every edition, as does the king. Hogwarts, however, does not have a copy of every edition anymore because back in the eighteenth century, Headmistress Dilys Derwent was chosen by the board as the author who would take on the task of updating the book.

"So, she went about writing the eighteenth edition of Hogwarts: A History, which was published in 1757. It was the first and last time that the board opted to allow a sitting headmaster to update the book because as soon as her version came out, Headmistress Derwent removed all the earlier editions from the Hogwarts library. However, instead of moving them to the Restricted Section as is usually done when a book is removed from the shelves in the main library, the headmistress instead destroyed the previous editions that Hogwarts had been given. Since then, whenever a new edition was written, the previous one was locked up in the headmaster's office. Of course, part of that is also because of the governor's decision to make it appear to muggleborns and the muggle-raised that Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are the only wizarding shopping areas in the country."

"Is there any significant difference between the editions?" Harry asked.

"Oh there's definitely differences," Robert replied. "How much of a difference depends on the author who wrote a specific edition, as they tend to reflect the author's personal biases. Authors from Slytherin House, for example, have a tendency to portray Salazar Slytherin as a brilliant and talented wizard, easily the most powerful of the four founders, while Godric Gryffindor is generally portrayed by them as an extremely stupid and exceptionally weak wizard. In fact, one of the Slytherin authors even says that's why you have to be a minimum of level six on the power scale to attend Hogwarts - because if it was any higher, Godric wouldn't have been able to attend the school as a student."

Harry, being a proud Gryffindor, couldn't help but feel just a bit upset over this news, as he didn't like the thought of the founder of his house being maligned that way. "So, the book isn't really the true history of the school?"

"In many ways, no, it isn't," Robert answered. "Many of the authors of the later editions have simply duplicated the previous edition, making whatever changes are necessary to fit their own beliefs. Gryffindors, for example, portray Godric in a very complimentary light, while Salazar is branded as an evil and vile coward. Hufflepuffs, on the other hand, try to be fair to everyone. Once they've made the changes to the previous edition that they view as being necessary, they then will usually simply add a section covering the fifty-year span between editions and call the book finished."

"What about Ravenclaws? What do they do?" Harry asked, as he noticed that his seneschal hadn't mentioned the house of learning among his examples.

"The governors haven't selected a Ravenclaw to update the book since the ninth edition, written in 1307," Robert said. "This is mainly because the author was by far the most verbose of all the past authors, trying to cram as much information as they possibly could into the book. That particular edition of Hogwarts: A History in fact was the reason that the Featherlight Charm was invented, in addition to a charm which makes a book appear to be slimmer than it actually is. You see, Harry, while most editions run about 1,000 to as many as 3,000 pages, the ninth edition of Hogwarts: A History is just over 27,000 pages long and without the Featherlight Charm would weigh over a hundred pounds."

Harry could scarcely believe his ears. '27,000 pages long and weighing over a hundred pounds?! It should be illegal to write a book that long.' Aloud he asked, "What in Merlin's name did they do? Include a day to day account of what happened over the centuries since the founding?"

Robert grinned as he carefully placed the original edition of the book back on the shelf. "I haven't read it personally, but from what I've heard, that wouldn't be too far off, actually."

Harry shook his head, but said nothing, as Tilly popped into the room at that moment and said, "Lord Potter, the first of the carriages has arrived out front."

"Do you know who's in it?" Harry asked.

Tilly nodded. "Albus Dumbledore, Lord Diggory, Lord Crouch, Lord Malfoy and heirs of Lords Ollivander and Burke."

If he hadn't been told why beforehand, Harry might have wondered why Bartemius Crouch or Lucius Malfoy would show up at Seacliff for the reading of his parents' will, or even why Lords Ollivander and Burke would send their heirs in their stead. As it was, however, he knew that generally all thirteen family heads, or a representative of their choice, usually their heir or seneschal, attended the readings of the wills of the past heads of one of the other houses. Even if they weren't mentioned in the will, it was a tradition dating back a thousand years that they'd be allowed to sit in on the reading, because it was possible for a past Lord to make a decision or bequest in their will that could affect, either directly or indirectly, one of the other lords, even if the lord themselves wasn't specifically named. Therefore it was seen as a common courtesy to allow them or their chosen representative to sit in so that they would know and could be prepared in the event that any of the terms did affect them.

Not quite ready to face Dumbledore and wanting more people around when he had to, Harry nodded and said, "Show them to the drawing room and offer them refreshments. Once everyone else has arrived, you can show them into the library."

"Yes, Lord Potter," Tilly said with a nod of her head, before she disappeared.

Turning to Michael, Harry asked, "Are you ready, Michael?"

"Yes, Lord Potter," Michael said.

"Michael, when it's just us, you can call me Harry."

"Of course, Harry," Michael said.

"You've studied the instructions from Gringotts'?" Harry asked.

Michael nodded, "Yes, Harry, I have. I will refrain from reading the sections that the goblins suggest leaving out." Picking up a folder, he said, "This is a list of the bequests - if you'd care to peruse them before the reading so that you know what's coming?"

"Thank you," Harry said, as he sat down in the large and ornate chair at the head of the table that was reserved for the Lord Potter. It very much resembled a throne, as it was constructed of solid gold, instead of wood, with a back that extended up from the seat by about eight feet. It was not uncomfortable, however, due to a thick cushion of red brocade accented with gold and silver stitching, which was carried all the way up the back of the chair, with the exception of the top two feet which bore a large depiction of the Potter family coat of arms. This particular chair was not usually in the library and was normally kept down in the Seacliff vault, but it was brought upstairs for the reading of the will as it was believed necessary to set the Lord Potter apart from everyone else.

Harry looked over the bequests and when he was finished he nodded at Michael, at which point the solicitor said, "Okay, now, Harry, the reading of a magical will is something of an ancient ritual. After each bequest, I will fall silent and it will be up to you as Lord Potter to indicate whether or not you want the bequest to go through or be denied."

"Okay," Harry said, already having some idea that he had the power to negate bequests and having looked at them, he knew that he'd be negating more than one.

"If you want the bequest to go through, you need to say **_'Sic fiat,'_** " Michael explained. "That's 'so let it be' or 'so mote it be' in Latin."

 ** _"Sic fiat,"_** Harry tried, wanting to get the pronunciation just right.

Michael nodded. "Good, Harry. Now, to deny a bequest you say 'The instruction is denied', which is **_'Instructionem negatur.'"_**

 ** _"Instructionem negatur,"_** Harry repeated, again paying close attention to his pronunciation, being careful to say it just as Michael had.

Robert smiled. "I think he's got it, Michael."

"Yes, I believe he does," Michael said. "Now, Harry, did you have any other questions?"

"Actually, yes," Harry said. "I noticed that several of the heirs of the other lords and even Lord Erik Bones got bequests in my father's will. Why is that?"

"That's actually a holdover from the war, Harry," Robert said. "The war had destabilized the national economy, so many of the noble families, especially those who were allied, left bequests to their allies' heirs and other children, to make sure they were provided for, should the worst happen due to the war. Now, once the war ended and the economy stabilized, many of the lords most likely removed those provisions from their wills as they were technically no longer necessary."

"Sadly, your parents didn't survive the war," Michael added, "so they never took those provisions out. So, it's up to you, Harry, you can let them go through or you can deny them. If you do deny them, the lords in question, who will know what they were for, will not hold it against you."

"And the reason Lord Bones gets a bequest along with the others," Robert said, "is because at the time the will was written, he was still the Bones heir."

"And why does Noah get a larger bequest?" Harry asked.

"Because at the time the will was written," Robert answered, "the Diggorys were considered to be the Potters' closest ally, which is why Lord and Lady Diggory were entrusted with your care should Sirius and Alice not be able to take you in. Noah was the Diggory heir back then, as he wasn't disowned until 1991, so, that's why he gets a larger bequest then Cedric does."

"On that issue, Harry, what would you like me to do?" Michael asked. "It will likely not please Lord Diggory to hear Noah referred to as 'Noah Diggory', as when he was disowned he was forbidden to use the family surname. He calls himself 'Noah Kirke' now, so, I can read it as that, if you wish."

Harry thought for a moment, before he shook his head negatively and said, "No, read it as it's written. I don't agree with his decision to disown his son just because Noah fell in love with someone he didn't approve of. I also outrank Amos Diggory, so if he doesn't like it, he's just going to have to deal with it."

"As you wish, Harry," Michael said with a smile, which conveyed his approval of Harry's answer. Robert smiled and nodded as well.

-o-0-o-

Forty-five minutes later, Tilly popped back into the library to inform Harry that everyone mentioned in the will had arrived, as had all the lords or their representatives. She also informed him that King Edward had sent his seneschal to observe the proceedings, which didn't come as much of a surprise to Harry, as Robert had told him beforehand that it wasn't uncommon for the King to send a representative to will readings, especially when it was the will of someone as important as the former Duke of Granston.

Settling down once again in the throne at the head of the table as Robert took the seat to Harry's left and Michael took the seat on Harry's right, Harry said, "You may begin showing them into the library now, Tilly."

"Yes, Lord Potter," Tilly said, as she popped out of the room. A few minutes later, the double doors into the massive room opened and Tilly said, "This way, please."

One by one, the Lords of the Noble Houses or the representatives they had sent began filing into the room. The lords who had come in person were Amos Diggory, Lucius Malfoy, Bartemius Crouch, Sirius Black, Callum McKinnon, Bruce McLaggen, and Erik Bones. Arcturus Lestrange was present, of course, representing his father, and Nick Ollivander and Dominick Burke were representing their grandfathers. Harry also spotted Marcus Flint, presumably there to represent his father. Unlike normal, however, Marcus did not give Harry a mean look, but then Harry rather assumed that was because the elder Slytherin did not want to join his housemate in the dungeon. Lastly, Harry spotted Neville, but he was accompanied by an elderly woman Harry had never met that was not Augusta.

Robert must have noticed the questioning look on Harry's face, as he leaned over and whispered, "I'm sorry, Harry, it slipped my mind. Augusta Longbottom sent word that she was feeling under the weather today, so she sent Neville in her place. Though since he's not old enough to Apparate, that's his great-grandaunt, Callidora Black Longbottom, that's with him."

Harry nodded, but otherwise remained silent, as he went back to watching the people entering the room. Following Albus Dumbledore into the room there were a few people that Harry didn't recognize, but assumed were representatives of the various charities that were listed among the bequests. Upon Harry's request, Robert had also seen to it that Professors Filius Flitwick and Minerva McGonagall were present, even though they were not mentioned in the will. Harry, however, had his reasons for wanting them to be present. The last person to enter the room was a young man with brown hair that judging from his fancy clothes and the pin with the Pendragon crest on the lapel of his robe, Harry had little trouble in guessing was Albus' grandson and the King's seneschal, Brian Dumbledore.

Once everyone was seated around the table, Harry said, "Welcome everyone to Seacliff Castle. We are gathered here for the reading of my late parents' will, so without further delay, I will turn things over to my solicitor, Mr. Michael Davies."

"Thank you, Your Grace," Michael said, as he opened the folder in front of him and said, "This is the Last Will and Testament of the late Duke of Granston, His Grace James Sebastian Potter, and his wife, the late Duchess of Granston, Her Grace Lily Marie Evans Potter, both residents of Seacliff Castle, in the City of Highever, Duchy of Granston, Albion. Both Lord and Lady Potter were determined to be of sound mind, memory, and understanding at the time of their signing of this instrument, which is dated September 12, 1980 and renders all past wills and codicils so written by them to be invalid."

Pausing for a moment, Michael then said, "There were no provisions made in this document which would in any way adversely affect any of the other noble families, and as usual, there are some provisions which are sealed as family business and are only for the eyes of the current Lord Potter. So, as per the wishes of the deceased and Lord Potter himself, I will now move forward with reading the bequests the deceased left, starting with those of His Grace the Lord James Potter, which will be followed by those of Her Grace the Lady Lily Potter."

Michael turned a page in the folder in front of him and then read, "To my best friend, Sirius Orion Black, I leave the sum of 500,000 Galleons and four bottles of Old Ogden's Gold Label Firewhisky, which I trust he will greatly enjoy."

Before Harry could say anything, however, Sirius spoke up. "Harry, I know why James left me that money, but I truly don't need it. I'm sure you could find a better use for it."

"My father wanted you to have it, Sirius," Harry said.

"I know he did, Harry, but the reason is no longer valid," Sirius said. "He wanted me to have it because I was disowned when I ran away from home and came to live with your father and his parents. Since my access to the Black vaults was suspended, James wanted to make sure that I would have enough money to survive, but as Lord Black, I have full access to the vaults and no longer need James' money. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the thought, but I still believe you can find a better use for it."

Harry remained silent for a moment, before he said, "As you wish, Sirius. You will take the firewhisky with my compliments," Sirius nodded. "Robert, setup a fund for the founding of the James and Lily Potter Memorial Home for Wizarding Orphans and deposit in it the 500,000 Galleons that were bequeathed to Sirius."

"Yes, Your Grace, I shall see to it," Robert said.

 ** _"Sic fiat,"_** Harry said, and then motioned for Michael to continue, so he moved on, as he read, "To Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, to fund our mutual love of fireworks, I leave the sum of 500,000 Galleons."

Dumbledore was smiling and looked like he was about to say something when Harry said, **_"Instructionem negatur."_**

"What?" Dumbledore asked, as the smile fell from his lips. "Harry..."

"I believe I've already told you that you are to refer to me as Your Grace, Albus," Harry said.

"Your Grace, all I have ever done is try to watch over and protect you," Albus said. "And you thank me by denying me a bequest that your late father, may the Gods bless his soul, wanted me to have?"

"And just how, pray tell, have you been protecting me, Albus?" Harry asked. "By denying me any knowledge of my heritage?"

"I personally cast the wards around your relatives' house which have kept you safe all these years," Albus said and seeing that Harry looked like he was about to say something, Albus hastened to add, "And I really do wish that you would heed my advice and go back to your relatives' home, where you are safer."

"Safer?" Harry asked, as Albus nodded. Meanwhile, several of the other people around the table had raised their eyebrows or were sporting other indications of their confusion. "I fail to see how. Or are you going to once again try and claim that I would be safer protected by the wards that you cast? Safer than I am right here, in my own home, protected by the wards that I'm the master of? Wards which were cast by Merlin himself? Are you trying to imply that you have greater power and skill than Merlin, Albus?"

Before Albus could say a word, Brian Dumbledore, his voice laced with disdain, said, "Oh come on, old man, you know that it isn't even remotely possible that Lord Potter would be safer behind your wards than he is behind Merlin's. And the thought that you are more powerful than Merlin is laughable. If you actually think that, you're stupider than I thought. And as for Lord Potter denying you your bequest, according to the ancient laws and traditions of this land - laws you swore to uphold when you became Chief Warlock, I might add - he has every right to do so. So stop trying to guilt him into changing his mind and do us all a favor: shut up."

Albus looked like he was ready to pull out his wand and hex his grandson six ways to Sunday, but he apparently thought better of it, and instead took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

Using the silence to his advantage, Harry said, "Robert, add the money that would have gone to Albus to the fund for the orphanage." Robert nodded and Harry motioned for Michael to continue, which he did. "To St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, I leave the sum of 250,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

The St. Mungo's representative smiled and thanked Harry, who nodded.

"To The Fund for the Families of Fallen Aurors," Michael read, "I leave 250,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To my good friend, Peter Pettigrew, I leave the sum of 250,000 Galleons," Michael read next, prompting Harry to say, "Instructionem negatur," and once again directing that the money be placed in the fund for the orphanage.

"To my good friend, Remus John Lupin, I leave the sum of 125,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To my seneschal, Robert Michael Higgs, for his years of loyal of service, I leave the sum of 30,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To my seneschal's wife, Katherine Anne Higgs, for her years of loyal service tending the Seacliff greenhouses, I leave the sum of 30,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To my seneschal's son, Terence William Higgs, for being one of the cutest and most entertaining toddlers I've ever met," Terence turned red at this, as several people grinned, "I leave the sum of 15,000 Galleons, plus an additional 15,000 Galleons in trust to be used towards his education. Should anything remain in the trust following the completion of his education, he may use it as a down payment towards his first home."

Harry grinned at Terence as he said, **_"Sic fiat."_**

"To my close ally's heir, Noah Andrew Diggory, to ensure that he is provided for in these troubled times, I leave the sum of 25,000 Galleons."

Even as Harry was saying, **_"Sic fiat,"_** Amos Diggory was turning purple with rage, as he shouted, "I object! There is no such person, there never has been such a person - my heir is Cedric."

"Lie to yourself if you wish, Amos," Harry said. "However, you and I both know that Cedric is not your first-born son and we further know that at the time this will was written, he was also not your heir." Turning to Robert, he added, "Robert, see to it that Noah, who now goes by Noah Andrew Kirke, receives the bequest with my compliments and best wishes for his future."

Robert nodded and said, "Yes, Your Grace."

When it looked like Amos was about to argue further, Harry gave him a stern look and said, "As Duke of Granston and Lord of Seacliff, I order you, Taleford, not to say another word during these proceedings. Do I make myself clear? Nod once for yes."

Amos looked nearly apoplectic with anger, but he nodded once, nonetheless, as there really wasn't anything else he could do, seeing as how he was only the Marquis of Taleford and a guest in a higher noble's home. Of course, even as a higher lord, had they been in a public place, Harry wouldn't have been able to order Amos to be quiet, but within the walls of Seacliff Castle, he could, and if he was completely honest with himself, took great pleasure in doing so.

"You may continue, Michael," Harry said, as the solicitor nodded and moved on to the next bequest.

"To my close ally's second heir, Cedric Jeremiah Diggory, to ensure that he is provided for in these troubled times, I leave the sum of 10,000 Galleons."

 ** _"Sic fiat,"_** Harry said, and noticing that a vein in Amos' forehead looked about ready to burst, as he was probably still angry about Noah being mentioned and the fact that Cedric was getting less money than him, he called out, "Tilly!"

"Lord Potter calls for Tilly?" the little elf asked, as she appeared nearby.

"Yes, Tilly, please go to the potion stores and get Lord Diggory a Calming Draught," Harry said, as he turned to look at the man in question and added, "I'm afraid he seems rather upset and I fear for his health."

"Yes, Lord Potter," Tilly said as she popped away, only to return a moment later, appearing on the table in front of Amos and holding out a potion vial to him which was clearly marked 'Calming Draught.'

"Drink up, Amos - I wouldn't want you to have a heart attack in my library," Harry said with as much sincerity for the man as he could muster.

Taking the vial from Tilly, Amos uncorked it and downed the contents, before handing the empty vial back to the elf who quickly disappeared. Waiting a moment for the potion to take effect, Harry then motioned for Michael to continue.

"To my ally's heir, Cormac Duncan McLaggen, to ensure that he is provided for in these troubled times, I leave the sum of 10,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

Bruce nodded his head and said, "Thank you, Lord Potter, though, with respect, you do realize you didn't have to make good on that bequest?"

With a nod of his own, Harry said, "I'm aware of that, Bruce, however, I decided to do so anyway."

"Well, then, I thank you again, Lord Potter," Bruce said. "And I will make sure that Cormac sends you a letter of thanks."

Harry nodded, before he said, "Michael, the next bequest please."

"To my ally's heir, Neville Preston Longbottom, to ensure that he is provided for in these troubled times, I leave the sum of 10,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"Thank you, Your Grace," Neville said with a smile.

"You're welcome, Neville," Harry replied with a smile of his own.

"To my ally's heir, Gareth Nicholas Ollivander, to ensure that he is provided for in these troubled times, I leave the sum of 10,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

Harry and Nick exchanged smiles and nods, as Michael read, "To my ally's heir, Erik Anthony Bones, to ensure that he is provided for in these troubled times, I leave the sum of 10,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"And finally, to my son and heir, Harrison James Potter, whom I can only hope has succeeded me as Lord Potter after I died of a ripe old age, I leave the remaining 4,000,000 Galleons, plus an additional 1,250,000 Galleons in trust for his first-born son."

 ** _"Sic fiat,"_** Harry said, with a slight waver in his tone, as he wished that his father had in fact lived to a ripe old age.

"That concludes the bequests of His Grace the Lord James Potter," Michael said, as he turned another page in the folder in front of him. "I will now read the bequests of Her Grace the Lady Lily Potter."

Michael paused here to take a sip from the glass of water that had been provided for him, with an identical glass at each seat around the table, before he read, "To Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, for the creation and funding of a Tuition Assistance Fund for underprivileged muggleborn students, I leave the sum of 750,000 Galleons in trust and ask that the fund be overseen by Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. This fund should be used to pay up to 50% of the tuition costs each year, for five muggleborn students whose families cannot afford to pay the full tuition cost. Yearly audits of the finances of the families who are getting this assistance will be conducted to determine if they still qualify for the assistance."

 ** _"Instructionem negatur,"_** Harry said, as he held up his hand to forestall any further comments and added, "The fund will be created as per my mother's wishes, however, it will instead be overseen by Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall who will decide which five students each year will receive the assistance, while Gringotts' goblin Scarclaw, will manage the monetary side of the fund to ensure its continued growth, as well as conduct the yearly audits. I further stipulate that there will be no interference or input of any kind from Headmaster Albus Dumbledore."

Some of the purebloods in the room didn't necessary like the idea of a tuition assistance fund for muggleborns, however, many of those same people took great pleasure from Harry's amendment, as it showed he had as little faith in Dumbledore as they did. Or at least, that's how they chose to see it. Dumbledore, meanwhile, frowned at Harry and gave him a reproachful look over the tops of his half-moon spectacles.

After a moment's pause, Harry then said, "You may continue, Michael."

Michael nodded and then read, "To Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, for the creation and funding of the Scholarship for Charms Excellence, which shall be awarded to fourth year and older students seeking to become Charms Masters, I leave the sum of 500,000 Galleons, which shall be overseen by Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. I further propose a contest to determine who will get the scholarship each year. There will be two categories, one award for the Youngest and another for the Most Skillful, with the winner of each being awarded 1,000 Galleons. Furthermore, there should be two honorable mentions for each category, each being awarded 500 Galleons."

 ** _"Instructionem negatur,"_** Harry said. "The scholarship fund, along with the contest, shall be setup exactly as my mother wished, however, the contest for its' awarding will be overseen and run by Charms Professor Filius Flitwick, who will choose the winners each year, while Gringotts' goblin Scarclaw shall oversee the monetary side of the fund to ensure its' continued growth. And as in the Tuition Assistance Fund for Muggleborns, I further stipulate that there will be no interference or input of any kind from Headmaster Albus Dumbledore."

Brian was looking particularly pleased the more Harry spoke against his hated grandfather, while the look on the headmaster's face got sadder and sadder. While the headmaster had originally been seated with his back straight and head held high, his shoulders had now sagged and his posture had become more crooked, as he silently tried to guilt Harry into changing his mind. It was a futile attempt, of course, as Harry had no intention of doing do.

Moving on to the next bequest, Michael read, "To Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, to fund our shared love of fireworks, I leave the sum of 500,000 Galleons."

As they had before, some of the people in the room looked confused about the wording and mention of fireworks. There were a few people at the table who knew what it meant, but did their best to keep their faces impassive and free of any hint that they knew what it was about in order to avoid any questions they couldn't answer. Harry also knew what it was about, of course, as his parents' portrait had told him so, but he didn't trust Dumbledore to use the money for its intended purpose.

Needless to say, it also came as no surprise to anyone at this point when Harry said, **_"Instructionem negatur."_** At which point Harry paused to consider what to do with the funds that wouldn't be going to Dumbledore. Making up his mind, he then said, "I direct that the bequest be split equally between the Tuition Assistance Fund and Charms Scholarship Fund, which were previously setup."

"To my good friend, Remus John Lupin, I leave the sum of 125,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, I leave the sum of 75,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To the Highever Museum Magical Artifacts Recovery and Restoration Fund, I leave the sum of 50,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To the Perendale Fallen Witches Fund, I leave the sum of 50,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To the Ayesleigh branch of Potions Addicts Anonymous, I leave the sum of 50,000 Galleons."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To Neville Preston Longbottom, the son of my good friend Alice Longbottom, I leave the sum of 10,000 Galleons and a photo album from our Hogwarts years that she helped me to compile and create."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"To Asterion Orion Black, the son of my good friend Marlena McKinnon, I leave the sum of 10,000 Galleons and a photo album from our Hogwarts years that she helped me to compile and create."

**_"Sic fiat."_ **

"And finally, to my beloved son, Harrison James Potter, who I can only pray will grow up happy, healthy, and safe from the horrors of this world, I leave the sum of 2,250,000 Galleons, with an additional 2,250,000 Galleons in trust for any and all children he will hopefully have in the future."

 ** _"Sic fiat,"_** Harry said, as he once again did his best to keep his composure.

Closing the folder, Michael said, "That concludes the bequests of Her Grace the Lady Lily Potter."

"Thank you, Michael," Harry said. "I'd like to thank all of you for coming today. I never really had the chance to know my parents, but I think I've finally gotten some closure today. In the coming months, I look forward to not only starting another year at Hogwarts, but I also look forward to leading the Potter family to new heights of greatness and in doing whatever I can to assist my allies and friends in doing the same for their own families. Now, at this time I would invite you all to join me in the drawing room for tea and refreshments."

-o-0-o-

Harry led the way from the library to the drawing room, which was equally as impressive as the library in its' own ways. Not quite as large, perhaps, but still no less grand. The floors were made of a polished dark hardwood in a herringbone pattern, with the same dark hardwood paneling on the walls. A large stone fireplace dominated one wall and was flanked on either side by a huge stained glass window, both of which depicted the Potter family coat of arms. Above the fireplace was a large painting of the south lawn of the castle, which was dominated by one of the many formal gardens that surrounded the estate, although this one was set apart from the others in that it contained the largest and most impressive fountain on the grounds.

The guests began mingling as one of the kitchen elves stood on a stool near an elegant mahogany sideboard fixing tea in whatever way the guests requested. There were also platters of crumpets, scones, and various other small snacks laid out that a few of the guests helped themselves to.

Harry, meanwhile, walked over towards the fireplace and stared for a moment into the flames as he tried not to look as out of place as he felt. Having only been a lord for just over two weeks, he was still adjusting to the fact that this was his life now. Growing up with the Dursleys he'd never thought for even a fraction of a millisecond that he'd one day find himself standing in a room as grand as this. Or that he'd be able to honestly say he owned a castle. Even after attending Hogwarts for the last three years, it had still come as a shock to find out about his heritage as one of the highest nobles in the land.

"Lord Potter?" a voice asked behind him and Harry turned to find himself face to face with Brian Dumbledore. "We haven't been formally introduced - I'm Brian Dumbledore."

"King Edward's seneschal," Harry said with a smile as Brian nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," Brian replied with an easy grin. "Especially after the way you treated my grandfather during the reading and here I thought I was the only one who could see him for what he really is."

"And what's that?" Harry asked, curious how Brian would explain it, although he had some idea already.

"A meddling old man who can't keep his nose out of other people's business," Brian said. "Not to mention being a murderer."

"That's a very serious charge, Brian," Harry said.

Brian nodded and said, "Yes, but I know he did it. Deep down he knows it, too, even if he does refuse to acknowledge it, although I suppose that's how he copes with the guilt of killing his own daughter. And for what? So that he wouldn't have to share credit for the discovery of the uses of dragons' blood?"

"You have my condolences on the loss of your mother," Harry said. "I know only too well how much losing a parent hurts. As for why I did what I did in the reading, well, I have my own reasons." He fell silent for a moment and then said, "At any rate, please do pass on my sincerest thanks to His Majesty for pardoning my godfather."

"Of course, Lord Potter, of course," Brian said. "His Majesty was quite upset when he found out that the head of one the oldest noble families had been thrown in prison without even a semblance of a trial. So, he was only too happy to do what he could to reverse such a gross miscarriage of justice."

Meanwhile, not far from the fireplace, there were a few Victorian-era sofas and chairs, in one of which sat Callidora Black Longbottom. Her great-grandnephew Neville stood nearby.

"Aunt Calli?"

"Yes, Neville?" Callidora asked.

"I might be getting my events mixed up," Neville said, "but isn't it a tradition after a will reading of a family head for the attendees to visit the family mausoleum and pay their last respects to said head?"

Callidora nodded. "Yes, Neville, it is. I'm sure Lord Potter will get to it, all in good time. He's observed all the other traditions regarding the reading, so I don't see why he wouldn't observe this one as well."

Harry, meanwhile, not standing that far away and there being a momentary lull in his conversation with Brian, had little trouble hearing what Neville and Callidora were talking about. 'A tradition to visit the family mausoleum? Why am I just now hearing about this?'

Excusing himself from Brian as politely as possible, Harry sought out Robert and Michael and pulled them aside in a secluded corner of the large room. As an added precaution he surreptitiously pulled out his wand and cast a Silencing Charm, before he said what he'd overheard Neville and Callidora speaking of. For his part, Michael, who had never worked for one of the noble families before hadn't even been aware of the tradition. He'd studied up on what was needed for the will reading itself, but had never thought to look into what happened after the reading. Robert, meanwhile, was quite upset with himself for allowing such a detail to escape him. He had, after all, originally been Lord Julian Potter's seneschal for the last ten years of his life before becoming James' seneschal. Thus, he had been present for the reading of Lord Julian's will and should have remembered.

Harry wasn't mad at either of them, however, a fact which he hastened to point out, before he said, "Where is this family mausoleum?"

"Here at Seacliff," Robert answered. "It's located in one of the formal gardens about three miles east of the house. There's a stone building which has a small chapel in it, along with the stairs that lead underground to the actual mausoleum. The Potter family ring can act as a portkey to it," at which point Robert informed Harry how to activate the portkey. "Every single member of the Potter family since the days of King Arthur are interred there, although I honestly couldn't tell you if your parents are. The last clear memory I have of entering it was in 1980 when your grandparents were interred."

Harry was quiet for a moment, before he spotted Remus talking with Sirius on the other side of the room. He knew that Sirius was in Azkaban not long after his parents died and thus might not know, but he hoped that Remus might know, so he said, "Michael? Could you please go over and quietly ask Remus and Sirius to join us? Don't mention what it's about, just that I need to speak with them."

"Of course, Harry," Michael said, as he left the confines of the Silencing Charm, only to return a few moments later with Remus and Sirius.

"Is something wrong, Harry?" Remus asked, with a concerned look on his face.

The look was mirrored on Sirius' face as he said, "Yes, you look troubled - what's up, pup?"

Explaining what he'd overhead, Sirius nodded and said, "Yes that is the tradition. I'd assumed we'd be headed there after tea."

Remus shook his head. "You'd be paying respects in the wrong place, if you did."

"So, mum and dad are not in the mausoleum?" Harry asked and Remus shook his head. "Where are they?"

"In the graveyard at Godric's Hollow," Remus answered. "When You-Know-Who attacked you that night, the rebounded Killing Curse didn't just destroy his body. It also leveled the cottage you were staying in. As the only survivor of that night, who was only an infant, it was judged more important to get you to safety then it was to search the rubble for your parents' bodies. Then by the next morning, the Muggle officials in Godric's Hollow had cordoned off the ruins, believing the house to have been destroyed due to a gas leak. They cleaned up the mess, of course, and found your parents' bodies."

"So what happened then?" Harry asked.

"They tracked down the only living family member they could find," Remus answered. "That was, of course, your Aunt Petunia, who as next of kin authorized the burial in the cemetery at Godric's Hollow. I tried to stop it, but the Muggle authorities wouldn't listen to me, because I wasn't the next of kin."

Harry was silent for a moment, before he said, "This tradition with the mausoleum, is it actually necessary that they be in there? I mean could we just take everyone down there and let them pay their respects to an empty coffin?"

"Sarcophagus, actually," Robert said. "James and Lily would each have their own, with a statue of them erected at the head of it. As for allowing everyone to go down there to pay their respects, I suppose there's nothing stopping you from doing it, but if any of them ever find out that they paid their respects to a pair of empty sarcophagi they will not be pleased. In fact, they might well be so insulted that they'd refuse to deal with you or the Potter family for years. You'd be breaking and in their minds mocking one of the oldest traditions there is."

Sirius nodded. "I would have to agree with that assessment, Harry. Albion holds its traditions sacred, so to flout one of the oldest traditions we have would not be wise."

Harry paused to think for a moment. He supposed that he'd need to get his parents bodies moved to the family mausoleum, at some point. If every member of the family for over a thousand years was interred in the same place, it just didn't seem appropriate that they weren't. But, at the same time, knowing that he could talk with them thanks to their portrait, Harry didn't feel right about disturbing their remains without their getting their opinions on the matter first. Decision made, he said, "Tilly."

The elf appeared within seconds and said, "Yes, Lord Potter?"

Seeing as how Michael was Roger's father and had given his permission for his son to enter mage training, he already knew that the training was taking place. He hadn't known until he was hired as the Potter family's solicitor that Harry was training alongside Roger, but now he did. Athena felt safe in the knowledge that between the Fidelius and solicitor client privilege, which was further backed up by Michael swearing an Oath of Loyalty to Harry, which as a side effect meant that Roger had now done so as well, that he could be trusted with full knowledge of the training.

"Tilly, I need to you to go to Forest Cottage," Harry said, "and get the copy of my parents' portrait that was created so they could watch the Quidditch game we played on Roger's birthday. Bring it here and install it as quickly as you can in the portrait gallery."

Tilly nodded and said, "Yes Lord Potter."

As the elf disappeared, Harry looked at the others and said, "I think my parents probably should be moved to the mausoleum, but knowing I can speak to them, it somehow doesn't seem right to disturb their remains without their approval."

Remus nodded and said, "Yes, I can understand that, Harry." Robert, Michael, and Sirius expressed similar thoughts.

It really didn't surprise anyone that Tilly was back within minutes to inform Harry that the portrait of his parents was now hanging in the gallery with the other Lords Potter. Excusing himself for a few minutes on the pretext of some urgent family business, Harry made his way to the portrait gallery to talk to his parents. James was especially upset when he found out that his remains were not resting with his ancestors and Lily, knowing how important it was to her husband, was also not pleased. Thus, Harry resolved to have his parents bodies moved to the family mausoleum as soon as possible, but that did nothing about the predicament he found himself in now.

James and Lily knew about the ancient tradition regarding the people attending the will reading paying their respects following the end of it. Neither of them had mentioned it to Harry, however, because as James' anger clearly showed, until they had been informed otherwise, they had both thought they'd been interred in the mausoleum. James and Lily had both been reluctant to leave Seacliff behind and live in hiding in a tiny cottage in the predominantly Muggle village of Godric's Hollow. However, at the time they'd trusted Albus Dumbledore, in retrospect, perhaps a little too much, and thus had done as he'd suggested.

Sebastian reiterated that he'd always thought it was a stupid idea because Dark Lord or not, Voldemort was not powerful enough to circumvent the ancient wards of Merlin. The same wards that, as Lord Potter at the time, James was the master. Being the master of the wards granted several powers, not the least of which was full control over who had access to the areas the wards protected, but also the ability to forcefully eject anyone who they did not want on their lands. Thus, Voldemort would never have been able to get close enough to kill James, Lily, or try to kill Harry if they'd all just stayed at Seacliff.

At that revelation, Harry did question how it was that Voldemort and the Death Eaters had managed to kill the royal family, seeing as how the royal properties were also protected by Merlin's wards. It was Nathaniel who then explained that King Charles had always been a firm believer in the idea that in order to be an effective ruler, one had to know their people. And in order to know their people, he believed that they should have access to their king. He also had been a bit too trusting of man’s nature and believed that the power and authority of the crown would be enough to protect him.

Sebastian further hypothesized that King Charles had taken it for granted that his family had been on the throne of Albion for over a thousand years. Many Dark Lords had risen up in that time, but none of them had ever even attempted such a thing as the large scale eradication of the royal family, so, the thought that Voldemort would carry out such a plan had never entered into his mind. Thus on the fateful day that ended up being his last, King Charles was in the middle of holding court and as they usually were during that time, the wards around Castle Camelot were opened to allow all comers who might wish an audience with the King.

Harry exited the gallery to find Robert, Michael, Remus, and Sirius waiting for him. As Harry approached, Remus erected a Silencing Charm and Sirius added the Muffliato spell to make doubly sure that they wouldn't be overheard.

"Mum and Dad were not pleased to find out they're not in the mausoleum," Harry said. "Remus, Sirius, is there a spell that could be used to move them? As in move them today without going through the necessary legal channels with the Muggles for an exhumation?"

Michael, who was authorized to work in both the Magical and Muggle worlds, nodded and said, "A legal exhumation could take weeks or longer and frankly we don't have that kind of time. Not with a room full of people expecting to pay their respects today."

Sirius nodded. "Yes, I know a spell that'll work. We can move the bodies and there'll be no outward sign that the graves were disturbed, so the Muggles will never even need to know about it. I'll need help though."

"I'll go with you," Remus said. "I know James would want to be with his ancestors, so, if I can help make that a reality, I will."

Harry nodded. "Thanks. I'll go back to the drawing room with Robert and Michael and then once you get back, we can take care of this tradition."

Remus and Sirius nodded as they turned and headed for the Apparition Chamber, while Robert, Michael, and Harry headed back to the drawing room.

-o-0-o-

Upon returning to the drawing room, Robert and Michael walked a few paces away from Harry to give him some privacy while Dominick and Nick came over and Nick said, "Welcome back, Harry."

"Thanks, Nick," Harry said with a smile.

"I take it you handled that matter?" Dominick asked. "Nothing too serious, I hope."

Harry shook his head and smiled. "No, nothing I couldn't handle. Things do crop up though, especially in my case, I suppose. Robert has done his best, but there are certain things he couldn't do, so I'm afraid I've got a bit of a back log that I'm still trying to catch up on."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that. As his heir, I've had to help Grandfather administer to his lands and running a Dukedom can be a lot of work, especially when there's a Marquisate and an Earldom along with it that also needs attention."

"Yeah, that's true," Dominick said. "I've also helped my grandfather with the family lands and it doesn't get any easier when it's a Marquisate, Earldom, and Viscounty. And I don't even want to imagine the work involved when there's a back log of over a decade of the type of issues that require the lord's personal attention."

"I'm just hoping I can finish it all before school starts," Harry said. "Robert assures me that we should be able to get it done and then he'll only need me on the weekends, but I wonder sometimes."

"Are you looking forward to Hogwarts, Harry?" Nick asked.

"In some respects, yes," Harry said. "I'm looking forward to seeing some of my friends again, although I do wonder how this nobility thing will play out. I know all of my wizarding raised friends must have known about it, even if they didn't ever say anything to me, but this is going to catch the muggle raised among my friends by surprise, I imagine."

"Yeah it might," Dominick said. "Depending on their reactions, it might also be a good or possibly bad thing that you'll be getting your own room."

This was news to Harry and it showed on his face. "My own room?"

Dominick nodded. "Yeah, Harry, you're the Lord of your house. That means that you will sometimes need privacy to carry out Potter family business. As such, Hogwarts is required to give you your own room. It'll still be in Gryffindor tower and your bed in the fourth-year boy's dormitory will likely remain, allowing you to choose where to sleep. But you'll have the private room should you need or want it."

"Similar provisions are also made for heirs," Nick revealed. "When I was at Hogwarts, I also had a private room, although I also had a bed in the dormitory with my male Hufflepuff year mates, so I could choose where to sleep. It was nice to be able to get away, on occasion, however. And you may also consider this to be a plus - the teachers, including your Head of House and the Headmaster, do not have free access to your private room. They have to ask your permission to enter, just as everyone does, and you do have the right to say no."

Harry could see how that could be useful in the coming year. True, he personally would not be at Hogwarts, but he was sure that his double would find the room useful. Especially if the Headmaster tried to make life at Hogwarts difficult in order to try and get back at Harry for voiding the bequests his parents had left for the man. Considering how insistent he continued to be about him living at the Dursleys, Harry had no doubt as to the possibility that once at Hogwarts, the Headmaster would try and use his authority to put Harry in his place. Not that it would work though, since as one of school governors, Harry was Albus' boss and thus if the man was half as wise as he was thought to be, he wouldn't push Harry too much. If he did, Harry might be forced to go to the other governors and suggest they get rid of him.

With a grin, Dominick added, "Don't know how useful you might find it right now, Harry, but I suspect that as you get older, you'll find yourself especially grateful for the private room as it does a great job of facilitating the making of certain connections that most other students sneak off to the Astronomy Tower for."

Harry tried not to let the blush he felt trying to rise show on his face. He was still a virgin, since he was sure that his hand did not count in terms of that, so he did find the idea of bringing somebody to his room to hook-up a bit embarrassing. So, hoping to turn his embarrassment back on Dominick, he said, "Take your girlfriend in there much, did you?"

Dominick did blush, ever so slightly, as he shook his head and said, "No, we weren't together back then, but I still found uses for the room with other people."

Before Harry could say anything further, Sirius and Remus entered the room and nodded discreetly at Harry. "Excuse me, guys, I need to have a word with my godfather."

"Of course, Harry," Nick said, as Dominick nodded and the two of them walked away.

Going over to Sirius and Remus, Harry spoke in as soft a voice as he possibly could as he said, "It's done then?"

"Yes, Harry," Sirius confirmed. "It's done."

"Good," Harry said, before he made small talk with Sirius and Remus for a few minutes, before turning to the room at large and clearing his throat. He soon had the attention of everyone in the room as he said, "Now that we've enjoyed some tea and refreshments, as is tradition, I would now invite you to join me in the Potter family mausoleum to pay our final respects to my late parents."

There were several nods around the room, especially from some of the more fanatical purebloods, who, while they did not necessarily like the fact that Harry was a halfblood, were at least happy to see him showing respect for the long standing traditions of their world. There was, at least, one confused look in the room, however, and that was Albus Dumbledore, since he knew that James and Lily had not been interred in the mausoleum. He allowed himself a small grin, as he realized he'd now have the chance to get back at Harry for denying him the one million galleons in total that had been left for him, not to mention the scholarship funds, which had he been in control of would have lasted only a few years, before they sadly ceased to exist due to some honest mistakes and bad investments. Of course, in reality, those funds would have been siphoned off to Dumbledore's personal vault, just as the bequests for "fireworks", otherwise known as the code for the Order of the Phoenix, would have been.

At Harry's nod, Remus and Sirius each grabbed one of Harry's arms, as Harry said, "Now, if you will also please grab on to Remus, Sirius, or someone else whose touching them and by extension me, I will activate the portkey to the mausoleum."

Giving everyone a few moments to form a chain of contact, Harry then raised the hand that the Potter family ring was on and then grasped the ring between the thumb and forefinger of his other hand, as he said, **_"Adduce me sepulchris de meorum abavorum,"_** which meant, 'Lead me to the graves of my ancestors' in Latin. Within seconds of the words leaving Harry's lips, the Potter family ring glowed and everyone disappeared from Seacliff's drawing room.

-o-0-o-

Moments later, everyone reappeared just inside the doors of the small building that served as the above ground section of the Potter family mausoleum. It was a circular room, roughly fifteen-feet wide with polished black marble floors and white marble walls. There was an altar on one side of the room, with a five-foot tall golden candelabra on each side of it, the candles in which had magically lit as the group appeared in the room. Behind the altar, there was also a large stained glass window which followed the common motif at Seacliff of depicting the Potter coat of arms.

Harry led the way to the stairs, as the group proceeded down into the depths of the mausoleum in single file, as candles held in golden candelabras attached to the walls lit as they passed, illuminating the grey stone walls and floors. At the bottom of the stairs there was an antechamber of sorts, where a pair of large oak doors were set into the far wall. The doors had no visible knob or traditional lock, but there was a small circular indentation which Harry knew was for the Potter family ring. Removing the ring from his finger, Harry grabbed the lower band and pressed the side of the ring depicting the Potter crest into the indentation in the door. After a moment of silence, the sound of tumblers moving could be heard and within moments the two great doors split apart to reveal a truly cavernous room beyond.

As the group entered the room, more candles lit, revealing a truly staggering number of stone sarcophagi, at the heads of which was a life-size statue of the person, or in some cases the people, who rested inside of them. Some of the sarcophagi were double-width so that they could hold two people, namely those members of the Potter family who were, like Nathaniel and Sebastian Potter, conjoined twins. As the group passed through the generations of Potters, the dates slowly going up from the days of King Arthur, Harry counted a total of fifty double-width sarcophagi, suggesting that at least fifty of his ancestors over the last one thousand plus years had been in the same position as his father's grandfather and granduncle.

Finally reaching the 1980's, Harry led the group over to the pair of stone sarcophagi that now held in parents' remains. Like all the others in the room, they were elaborately carved and decorated with platinum, gold, and various jewels. A grave robber would truly be in heaven, seeing all the riches that were on display, but, then again if a robber did get into the mausoleum, then they actually would be in heaven in short order, since there were several ancient magical protections which would insure that anyone who entered to plunder the mausoleum's riches would not be leaving alive. Allowing his eyes to drift upwards from the sarcophagi to the statues, Harry was momentarily taken aback by the perfection of the likenesses to his parents. If he didn't know better he'd say that the statues actually were his parents, who like the several people in his second year, had simply been petrified.

All was silent for a few moments as those gathered began to quietly mutter prayers and other respectful words to the deceased. The somber and respectful silence was broken, however, when Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat and said, "I'm afraid that Lord Potter is deceiving all of you."

Harry spun around on his heel to face Albus, as Lord Crouch asked, "What do you mean, Dumbledore?"

"I happen to know for a fact that James and Lily Potter are not interred here," Albus answered. "They were laid to rest in the cemetery in Godric's Hollow where they died."

"Is this true, Lord Potter?" asked Callidora Longbottom.

Shaking his head, Harry said, "It is absolutely not true." Then casting a hard and angry look at Albus, Harry added, "I realize that you may be mad about me exercising my legal right to void the bequests left to you, but I do not take kindly to your insinuation that I'm deceiving people. My parents are interred here, Albus. Do I have to have their sarcophagi opened to prove it?"

Albus was just about to say 'Yes,' when Lucius Malfoy shook his head and said, "That won't be necessary, Lord Potter. There is a spell which can be cast which will tell us if the sarcophagi are occupied and if so by whom without opening them or disturbing the remains inside." After a moment of silence, he added, "I know the spell and would be willing to cast it, with your permission, Lord Potter."

While Harry silently questioned Malfoy's motives in offering, he realized that it might be possible to call the results of the spell into question if he or one of his allies cast it. So, with a nod, Harry said, "You have my permission to proceed, Lucius."

Nodding, Lucius twisted the head of his snake-headed cane and removed his wand from within, pointing it at the sarcophagi and muttering a few words under his breath that Harry couldn't hear. Within a few moments, swirls of white light appeared around the sarcophagi, before the heads of the statues moved ever so slightly, as the eyes blinked open. Then much to Harry's surprise, the statue of his father spoke, in his father's voice, and said, "Here lies the remains of His Grace James Sebastian Potter, The Duke of Granston, The Marquis of Brynmoor, The Earl of Mathry, Lord of Seacliff Castle, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Born March 25, 1960, Died October 31, 1981, age 21."

The statue of Lily Potter, also perfectly imitating Lily's voice, now said, "Here lies the remains of Her Grace Lily Marie Potter, nee Evans, The Duchess of Granston, Lady of Seacliff Castle, and Head-Consort of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Born January 30, 1960, Died October 31, 1981, age 21."

Once both statues had spoken, they reverted back to their previous state as the swirls of light disappeared and Lucius put away his wand. "The spell does not lie. The sarcophagi are occupied by the late Lord and Lady Potter."

"Impossible!" Albus shouted. "I've visited their graves in Godric's Hollow personally."

Harry sighed. "Albus is correct in his assertion that my late parents were laid to rest in Godric's Hollow."

"So you admit that you're deceiving everyone?" Albus asked in a triumphant tone.

"I'm admitting nothing, Albus," Harry said. "I merely said that my parents were laid to rest in Godric's Hollow. However, as soon as I became aware of the existence of the family mausoleum, I had them moved here, where they rightfully should have been all long. And, Albus, I would point out that had you bothered to share what you knew with me, I would have had them moved sooner. But, that isn't your style is it? No, you prefer to keep secrets from people, even when it's information that you know they should have."

After a pause he added, "I can't help but wonder though, Albus, just how many secrets were you keeping from my parents when you convinced them to leave the safety of Seacliff's wards and place themselves in hiding under the Fidelius Charm in a small cottage in a Muggle village behind wards that you cast? And you wonder why I refuse to return to my Muggle relatives' home, as you've repeatedly suggested? My parents trusted in your wards to protect them, Albus, and as they are lying here dead, way too young, it obviously did not work out well for them. So why in Merlin's name would I make the same mistake?"

Albus remained silent at that, as several people nodded their heads in agreement with what Harry had just said. There were a few people who looked torn between supporting Harry and supporting the Headmaster, but they remained silent as Harry said, "Now I suggest we go back to paying our last respects to my parents in the quiet, dignified, and respectful way that they deserve."

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you have it, Chapter Eight of The Journey Begins. I had originally planned on including the Quidditch World Cup in this chapter, but there'd be at least three, if not four more scenes that I'd have to cover before I could begin coverage of the World Cup, which would likely consist of another three or four scenes. So, since this chapter is already the longest to date, I figured maybe I should just end the chapter here and save those scenes for the next chapter. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as this one did to come out and there's a chance it won't since I already have portions of the next chapter written. I do apologize for making you wait this long, but my life has been quite busy lately and I haven't had as much time as I'd like to write.
> 
> By ending the chapter here the tie-in I'd planned for the poll I'm currently running is not present, but will be present in the next chapter. I do hope it's absence in this chapter will not prevent you from voting. The poll can be found on my Yahoo Group and my Fanfiction dot Net profile. It asks the question of which of six potential male suitors do you think should be the lucky one who gets to be the love interest and future Prince Consort of His Majesty King Edward Pendragon. So make your voice heard by voting in the poll, though understand that His Majesty does reserve the right to not date the vote leader, as is his royal prerogative.
> 
> The Latin translation for the Potter ring portkey is compliments of Google Translate. Since Latin is still in Alpha on that site, it might not be a perfect translation, but I'm hoping it gets the idea across at least. If anyone out there speaks Latin and thinks there's a better way to say it, feel free to contact me and let me know so that I can amend the chapter.
> 
> So, any thoughts, questions, concerns or suggestions? Let me know, I do love hearing from all of you.
> 
> Next Chapter: The Quidditch World Cup, Charlie and Noah's wedding, the Founder's Ball, and more.


	9. Chapter Nine, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Nine

Part One

-o-0-o-

Upon returning to the castle, the majority of those who'd gathered for the will reading bid Harry goodbye, some of them being allowed to use the Apparition Chamber to go back home, while others had to go outside to the waiting carriages which would take them back to the main gates, twenty-seven and a half miles from the castle. Some might wonder why Harry didn't simply let everyone use the Apparition Chamber, as since they were already in the house, it would seem to be a courtesy to allow them to use it rather than making them use the carriages. The reason he didn't was because use of the Apparition Chamber was strictly limited to those people whose names were written in the castle's guestbook.

Those whose names weren't in the book and were present at the reading were only temporarily keyed into the wards by virtue of being invited guests. However, such invitations were limited in that they only allowed a person to enter the area protected by the wards a single time and then once they left, they would not be able to enter again unless invited back. The ability to invite people on a one-time basis served to ensure that the guestbook didn't have dozens upon dozens of struck through names written in it because their owners had only needed access to the castle for a few hours and then never again.

Lucius Malfoy, however, remained behind the others. Noticing this, Harry raised an eyebrow and asked, "Was there something you wanted, Lucius?"

"Yes, Your Grace," Lucius said, his voice as smooth as silk. "I was wondering if perhaps while I was here you might consider allowing me a visit with my son?"

Harry was silent for a minute, as he considered the request. _'Hmm, perhaps this is why he helped me in the mausoleum earlier - wanted to get on my good side so I'd say yes.'_ After considering the request from all angles, Harry nodded and said, "I don't see why not, Lucius." Harry paused here and called out, "Tilly?"

When the elf appeared, Harry said, "Tilly, fetch me the keys for the dungeons. I'm going to take Lord Malfoy to visit his son."

Tilly nodded her head and disappeared, returning a moment later with a large iron key ring with several keys of varying sizes and made of several different metals hanging from it. Most of the keys were made of iron and were simple and non-descript. Others, however, were made of more precious metals, such as silver and gold, with one key even being made of platinum. These were more ornate keys and as one might expect, they unlocked the cells that were reserved for prisoners of noble birth. As a Viscount, Draco himself was in a cell which was unlocked by a silver key, albeit one of the less elaborate ones, as he was only a Viscount by courtesy.

Leading Lucius towards the entrance to the dungeon, Harry remained silent. He had never been particularly fond of Lucius Malfoy, after all, and found himself at a loss as to what to say to the man. Harry had to admit that Lucius had been nothing but kind and respectful in their dealings since he'd claimed his birthright, but Harry suspected that had more to do with Lucius' ingrained beliefs regarding the proper treatment of the nobility, especially those that outranked him, than an actual change of heart.

Upon reaching the door that led to the dungeons, Harry inserted one of the more non-descript iron keys into the lock and pulled open the door, leading Lucius into a large circular room as the door closed and locked behind them. This first room was a guard room and was staffed at all times with ten guards, one standing on each side of the four doors in the room, plus two more sitting at a table in the center of the room. The ones currently on duty were all males, taller than average, with athletic and formidable physiques, and dressed in uniforms similar to those worn by the Vatican Swiss Guard during ceremonial events. Of course, what set them apart is that instead of red, gold, and blue cloth, these uniforms were made of red and gold leather. It was standard cow leather, although unseen to the eye was an underlining of dragonhide. Completing the ensembles were silver breastplates with the Potter family coat of arms emblazoned upon them in richly colored enamels. Each guard also had a sheathed sword attached to their belt, although they were all wizards and thus also had wands, which were kept in holsters hidden up the sleeves of their wand arms unless they were needed.

Seeing their Lord enter the room, all the guards immediately stood at attention, their postures becoming straight and rigid and Harry nodded at them as he passed. Of the four doors in the room, one led to the main living area of the castle, and was the one through which Harry and Lucius had just entered, while another one led to the guard dormitories. The third led to the office of the Captain of the Guard, while the fourth door was the one which allowed access to the actual cells. The door to the Captain's office was the only open door and shortly after Harry and Lucius entered, the Captain, a middle-aged man who Harry had learned was named Rolf, noticed Harry's arrival and hastened to stand and greet him.

"My Lord Potter, what brings you here today?" Rolf asked in a respectful tone as he bowed to Harry. If he saw Lucius, he made no comment, but Lucius didn't seem offended by that, seeing as how it was quite normal in Albion for guards to only acknowledge their lords, unless otherwise prompted.

"Good day, Rolf. I'm taking Lord Malfoy to see his son," Harry answered. "Would you accompany us?"

"Of course, my lord," Rolf said as he fell in line next to Harry and together they moved to the fourth door in the room. Like all the doors at Seacliff, this door was warded against all forms of Unlocking Spells. Unlike other doors, however, this particular door required two keys to be inserted and turned at the same time in order to open it. One of the necessary keys was on a ring hanging from Rolf's belt, while the other was on the ring that Harry held in his hand. As one the lord and his guard captain inserted the necessary keys into the locks and turned them, at which point the sound of several moving tumblers could be heard. A shimmering light could also be seen as the wards protecting the door from various other types of magic, such as the Blasting Curse, temporarily deactivated.

Moments later the door swung open of its own accord, allowing Rolf, Harry, and Lucius to pass beyond it, at which point it swung closed, automatically locking as the wards reengaged. Ahead of them were stairs leading both up and down, as Seacliff's dungeons were not all below ground. Down the stairs, going as far down as fifty feet below ground, were the non-noble dungeons, all with varying degrees of unpleasantness, depending on the reason for a prisoner's incarceration. Also located down the stairs at a depth of thirty-five feet was the Seacliff Torture Chamber, which was equipped with various instruments of torture that were best left undescribed. It was without a doubt a room that Harry sincerely hoped he'd never have a reason to visit, let alone to actually use, although, in the back of his mind, he knew that Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch would adore it.

The lowest level of the noble dungeons was also located down the stairs, beginning at a depth of five feet below ground and it was here that Draco was currently imprisoned, since as a courtesy Viscount he wasn't ranked very high on the pecking order. He did have a private cell, however, which was equipped with glazed windows, albeit barred and ten feet above the floor of the cell. The room was about eight foot square, with a comfortable single bed with cotton sheets and a down comforter, a table with two chairs, and a wardrobe. There was a toilet and shower, although they were not in their own room and were instead hidden behind a screen in one corner. A small stone fireplace, obviously not connected to the Floo Network, was also present to provide warmth.

As a noble, Draco was also fed better than a prisoner usually would be, getting three meals and a snack each day. He was also given access to a house-elf who could get certain approved items for his own entertainment, which were mostly limited to a deck of cards, a wizard's chess set that was charmed to be used by only one person as the opposite side moved by itself, and select books from Seacliff's extensive library. Like all prisoners, noble or not, however, Draco had been deprived of his wand and was wearing a collar around his neck to suppress his magic, which effectively rendered it impossible for him to make use of wandless or accidental magic.

Arriving at the door to Draco's cell, Rolf opened a small window in the door and said, "Please move back from the door - you have visitors."

Knowing that it couldn't possibly be Dobby come to give him another etiquette lesson, since the house-elf just popped in like all other elves, Draco sat up on his bed and set the book he'd been reading aside as the door swung open to reveal Harry and behind him, his father. The two lords stepped into the room, at which point Rolf closed and locked the door behind them. Through the small window in the door, he said, "Just let me know when you're ready to leave, Lord Potter."

"Thank you, Rolf," Harry said, before turning to Draco and saying, "Well, Draco, your father was at the castle for the reading of my parents' wills today and I figured I'd be accommodating and grant his request for a visit."

"Thank you, Lord Potter," Draco said, with none of the venom that had been present in his voice back at the Opening Ball. After spending just over a week in Seacliff's dungeons, during which he'd been having daily etiquette lessons with Dobby, he'd learned to treat Harry with more respect. After all he didn't want to be in the dungeons any longer than necessary and he'd admitted now that he'd been wrong to act the way he had. And wasn't that a bitter pill for him to have to swallow?

Of course, having Dobby around had also helped in that up until the first time the elf had appeared, Draco had been under the impression that Dobby was dead. Lucius had explained the elf's disappearance towards the end of Harry's and Draco's second year by saying that Dobby had died trying to help Harry Potter. Combined with Harry's refusal to take his hand at the beginning of first year, this had just given Draco more reason to hate Harry. The reason for this was because Dobby had been the elf who was assigned to take care of Draco as he grew up. Dobby was the one who had changed the majority of Draco's nappies, although Draco thought of that particular detail as little as possible.

However, Dobby had also become something of a friend to Draco as he grew up, as he'd led a somewhat sheltered life due to being the only child and heir. As his pale skin attested, he spent very little time outside in the sun and had spent the majority of his life indoors reading and studying. On those rare occasions when he had been allowed to play, it was usually with Dobby since Lucius was usually too busy administering to the family lands and Narcissa with various social commitments. Now that didn't mean that Draco never spent time with his parents as he grow up, as he most certainly did, but he had spent more time with Dobby than anyone else. This had changed when he began Hogwarts, of course, as Dobby hadn't been allowed to go with Draco to school and thus arriving at school Draco had surrounded himself with other people.

Contrary to popular belief, Draco was not actually friends with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Vincent's father was actually the Malfoy family's seneschal, where as Greg's father was the family solicitor. Thus, both of them had sworn Oaths of Loyalty to Lucius, which is why they followed Draco around and obeyed his commands. It was also why they acted like they were stupid, because Draco had wanted to be the brains of the group and thus had ordered the two boys to act like they were his hired muscle whose combined brain power would be less than that of a slug. Of course the order to act like they were stupid did not extend to their schoolwork and it would probably shock a great many of the other students if they saw Crabbe's and Goyle's grades, seeing as how they were both actually in the top ten students in their year. A fact which usually went unknown simply because Hogwarts only published the results of the top five students in each year for the whole school to see.

Now while there were sometimes exceptions, the truth was that as a general rule you didn't make friends in Slytherin House. You made connections and acquaintances and while many of these relationships might give off the outward appearance of friendship, if one really bothered to look deeper you'd see that looks were deceiving. Thus Dobby had been Draco's first, and pretty much his only friend. So, when he'd thought the elf had died trying to help Harry, he dealt with his grief by becoming even more nasty towards The-Boy-Who-Lived. Knowing now that Dobby was not actually dead, however, had thawed Draco's seemingly frozen heart. He was still a Slytherin and willing to do what was necessary to achieve his ends, but now that he was able to set aside the hatred he'd felt for Harry, he realized that antagonizing one of the most powerful lords in the country was probably not the best way to achieve any of his goals, since none of them included being locked in a dungeon and having his magic suppressed. In fact, in the future, he was determined to do everything he possibly could to avoid it.

"How are you, Draco?" Lucius asked.

"I'm fine, Father," Draco said. "Imprisonment and not having my magic is becoming loathsome, however."

Harry looked at Draco with a hard look at that. "Well, you have nobody to blame but yourself for that."

Draco got off the bed at this point and bowed to Harry, which was shocking enough, but he was even more thoroughly shocked by the words the blond now uttered. "You are right, of course, Lord Potter. My words and actions were an insult to not only you and your friends, but to me and my house, as well, and I truly regret them."

It took a few moments for Harry to regain the ability to speak. When he did, he said, "I'm not entirely sure that I believe that, as in the past you haven't given me any reason to trust you. However, if you truly do mean it, then I'm glad you realized it."

Draco nodded his head and straightened back up, at which point Harry said, "If you'd like a few moments alone with your son I can wait outside, Lucius."

"That won't be necessary, Your Grace," Lucius said. "I mainly wanted to see Draco for myself. However, there was a matter which I'd like to discuss with you."

"And what's that?" Harry asked.

"Well, Your Grace, as I'm sure you know the Quidditch World Cup is next week," Lucius said and Harry nodded. "Draco's mother and I were wondering if it would be possible for him to attend?"

Harry remained silent as he considered the question. When he'd put Draco in the dungeon, he'd decided that the blond would remain in the dungeon until August 31st, released just in time to go to Hogwarts. He hadn't planned on letting him out early, but after that seemingly heartfelt apology, Harry felt like he should do something at least. "I will not shorten Draco's stay," he began and Draco's face, which had looked hopeful, fell at those words. "However, in light of the fact that it seems that he's sorry for his behavior at the Opening Ball, I will allow him a temporary reprieve."

Draco perked up at this, as Harry turned to him and said, "I will allow you a one day release, Draco. You will leave on the morning of the Cup, provided you and your father agree that you will return the following day to serve out the rest of your sentence."

Lucius nodded. "That's acceptable, Lord Potter, I thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Harry cautioned. "Lucius, correct me if I'm wrong, but you have four seats in the Top Box and will only be using three of them?"

"Yes, Your Grace," Lucius confirmed. "It's just my wife, Draco, and myself."

"Good," Harry said. "I want Rolf to accompany you then." Then turning back to Draco, he added, "You will be released from the dungeon and the magic restraining collar, Draco, for the day. However, my guard captain, Rolf, will accompany you and will be sticking to your side like glue. He will have a portkey to bring him back here to Seacliff and will be under orders to take you with him, whether the Cup is finished or not, if he hears one insulting comment out of your mouth. I've made arrangements with some of the other lords so that the Weasley family and Hermione can use the seats in the Top Box that they weren't going to be using. So, no comments about their lack of money. Don't call Ron 'Weasel' or Hermione 'Mudblood'. No mentions of blood traitors or anything else. Even one utterance of anything like that and to quote Madam Hooch in our first year, you'll be back here before you can say Quidditch. Clear?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, Your Grace. I swear to be on my best behavior."

"We'll see," Harry said.

-o-0-o-

Three days later, on Friday, August 19, 1994, the six students at Forest Cottage had just gotten out of their morning class and gone back upstairs to their common room to relax while they awaited the arrival of Barin to inform them that lunch was ready. As had become their routine, Terence and Oliver made a beeline for the wingback chair near the fireplace that they had essentially claimed as theirs. Within minutes they were both sitting in the chair, their limbs so entangled that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. The fact that they were dressed in the same colors today only made it that much harder to distinguish. And as if every other part of their body touching was not enough, it wasn't long at all until they were locked in a passionate make out session that everyone else in the room did their best to ignore.

Harry stretched out on the couch, as the nutrient potions often left him feeling a bit tired as his body caught up on all the growing it should have done years ago. When he'd started taking the potions he'd only been four feet, six inches tall, which considering that the average height of a fourteen year old boy is five foot, three inches, definitely placed the brunet on the short side. Thanks to the nutrient potions, however, he'd now gained a total of eight more inches to bring him up to a height of five feet, two inches. Being only an inch shorter than the average for his age was definitely something that Harry enjoyed and he couldn't wait to see the looks on Ron's and Hermione's faces when they saw him. This was especially true since Rose had said that he'd probably gain anywhere from one to three more inches before he stopped taking the potions and that didn't count any natural growth spurts that he would still undergo as a growing boy.

As Rose explained it, if it hadn't been for the nutrient potions fixing all of the deficiencies that had been present, he likely would have topped out at about five foot, six inches tall. This, consequently, would have made him one of the shortest Potter males in the history of family, since with very few exceptions, they'd all been at least six feet tall and some even taller. According to James, the tallest Potter in history was the person Harry had been named after \- Sebastian's and Nathaniel's grandfather, Harrison James Potter, 170th Duke of Granston, who had reached a height of seven feet, four inches. Now, it had to be said that Harry didn't really hope to be that tall, as that seemed a little excessive to him, but he wouldn't mind being about the same height as his father had been when he died, which was six feet, three inches.

Anyway, Roger and Cedric opted not to play chess again, mainly because Roger was tired of getting his arse kicked. He'd always thought he was a pretty good chess player, but he'd never played Cedric before, despite them being friends at Hogwarts. Of course, being in different houses did make playing more challenging. With nothing else to do they made their way over to the seating area to sit down and chat with the others, but quickly found that there were no seats available. Gavin had claimed the chair opposite the one that Terence and Oliver were in and while Athena had added a second sofa to the seating group when the number of people staying in the dormitories increased, there still wasn't any place to sit with Harry stretched out on one sofa and Asterion, Regulus, Sirius, and Remus seated on the other.

With no other options and not wanting to sit on the floor, Cedric took hold of Harry's shoulder, pulled him up into a sitting position and sat down where the young lord's head had been moments earlier. Before Harry could protest, however, Cedric placed a throw pillow in his lap and then allowed Harry to lie back down. Harry smiled and let out a contented sigh as Cedric began to gently run a hand through his hair. This wasn't something he'd ever done before they entered training, but Cedric felt very close to Harry for some reason. He didn't know why, but he felt very protective of Harry and not only did he feel better when Harry was around, but he'd found that he enjoyed touching Harry. He hadn't mentioned any of this, of course, as he was afraid it would make him sound like a pervert. Of course, Cedric wasn't the only one who felt the strange feelings, as Harry felt them as well, but he kept his mouth shut partially because he didn't understand it, but also thought that maybe he was just imagining things.

Gesturing towards Harry's feet, Roger asked, "Harry, may I sit down?"

"I suppose," Harry said as he moved his legs upward, placing his feet in the air so that Roger could sit down. Once he was seated, Harry put his legs down, which resulted in his feet resting in Roger's lap. Since Harry had taken off his shoes before stretching out on the sofa, Roger didn't mind this too much. After a moment, Harry grinned and said, "Hey, Rog, why don't you make yourself useful and rub." This statement was accompanied by Harry wriggling his feet in the older boy's lap, so the Ravenclaw had no difficulty in figuring out just what Harry wanted rubbed. Roger might normally have said no, but thanks to the Oath of Loyalty he'd sworn to Harry when the Gryffindor hired his father as his solicitor, Roger soon found himself rubbing Harry's sock-clad feet.

Remus and Sirius grinned, as the latter asked, "Enjoying yourself there, pup?"

"Very much so," Harry said, as he turned his head slightly to look towards his godfather with a grin.

All was silent for a few moments, before Roger said, "Regulus, could you answer a question for me?"

"Depends on the question, but I can try," Regulus responded.

"Harry has been doing a lot of stuff lately that required his double to be put to sleep," Roger said. "Won't that cause problems though when the double goes back to Hogwarts? I mean if it doesn't remember everything that Harry's been doing?"

"You'd think so," Regulus said, as Terence and Oliver stopped their make out session to listen, as they'd also been curious about this. "Athena told me what she'd told you about the doubles. That they have limited access to your memories and would, for example, know that you'd opted to take more NEWTs this year." Roger nodded. "What she didn't tell you is that whenever your doubles are placed into an enchanted sleep so that you can step into their place, they have full access to your memory of the events that take place while they're sleeping, so long as it doesn't pertain to your training or any other secret information."

Asterion piped in at this to add, "Also, when they fall asleep normally and you're sleeping at the same time, you gain limited access to their memories. You wouldn't get the full spectrum, such as all their school work or ambient conversations they overheard, but you will get memories of all social interactions that directly involve them so that you can't be caught completely unaware of a conversation they had with someone should it come up while you're stepping in for them."

"Well that explains some of the dreams I've been having," Cedric commented. "I'd thought that they were rather weird because they seemed to be memories but I was sure they were not events that I'd been present for. So they're actually memories of what's going on with my double?"

Regulus nodded. "Yes, Cedric, that's what those dreams are. I would caution you all, though, that it's not a perfect transfer, as you won't get full, unfettered access to their memories until you rejoin with them. So, while you will get all of the salient points of all social interactions that directly involved them, you may not remember every detail as well as you might if it had actually been you having the conversation. So, should something come up, you'll have to intentionally be a bit vague and let the other party fill in the gaps with the more minor details."

"Another thing to consider," Asterion added, "is that emotions don't transfer in either direction. So, your double won't have access to your emotions and you will not have access to theirs. As a result, you may find yourself in the position of talking about a specific event that involved your double and not know exactly how they felt about it. In those instances, you'll have to hope that the emotion your double was feeling during the conversation will be made clear by the wording of the more salient points of conversation that you remember. Although that's not always the case, so, again it's best to be as vague as possible."

"We've been told that the doubles have free will," Gavin stated. "If we don't get access to their emotions, does that mean that they could engage in a romantic relationship, and we didn't know it because we don't have access to the emotions they were feeling?"

Regulus nodded. "That's not entirely outside of the realm of possibility no. Your doubles do have free will and that does include the ability to engage in romantic relationships. So, it is possible that you'll rejoin with your doubles in a few years and realize that they've been romantically involved with someone. Since emotions don't transfer, you'll have to pay close attention to the salient points of their social interactions when you get them for clues that might suggest a romantic connection."

"I'd wondered if there'd be any unforeseen side effects with the doubles," Harry commented, a frown on his face as he did. "I guess this is one of them."

"Indeed it is," Asterion said. "And it can sometimes cause problems. Dad told me that two of the others he trained with actually fell in love with each other while training. Problem is, their doubles had also engaged in romantic relationships, but not with each other. So, when they rejoined, they were faced with breaking two peoples' hearts."

Regulus nodded his head again and said, "You see while the doubles can engage in romantic relationships, any romantic relationship that you personally engage in will feel more real to you. Chances are the feelings that your double felt for their romantic partner will pale in comparison to the feelings you feel for any romantic partner you had while you were training. Thus the double's romantic partner will probably get their heart broken as you will most likely opt to stay with the partner that you personally were involved with as the feelings and connection will be much stronger."

"This isn't really a concern for Liam and me," Oliver said, "as I'm sure our doubles are dating each other the same as we are. But is there any way to stop the other doubles from dating people?"

Regulus shook his head. "Short of placing them under the Imperius Curse and telling them not to, no, there isn't. For good or bad, the creator of the spell decided that it was important for the doubles to have free will and thus didn't put in any fail safes to completely stop them from doing certain things. With the same memories and experiences they will likely act in a similar fashion to the real person, but there's really no way to guarantee it."

Silence fell over the room at that, as its occupants thought about what ramifications these revelations might have on the future. As Oliver had said, he and Terence weren't overly worried as they were madly in love with each and didn't see their doubles not being the same way. For the rest of the trainees, however, they couldn't help but wonder about it, as they didn't see any of themselves living like celibate monks, so they imagined their doubles wouldn't either.

After a few more minutes of silence, Harry's thoughts turned to another of the upcoming events: the Founder's Ball on Sunday the 28th of August, which would be held at Kinloch Hold, since as the lord whose lands Hogwarts was on, Bruce served as Chairman of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. As a result, he'd also been assigned to host the Founder's Ball every year. Thinking about this, got Harry to wondering if he would at some point in the future be expected to host any of the balls.

"Cedric told me the various balls for the rest of the year," Harry spoke up. "And I know that Bruce is hosting the Founder's Ball. But whose hosting the rest of this year's balls and which ones are in January through July?"

"After the Founder's Ball," Cedric said, "you have the Ascension Ball next month, which celebrates King Arthur's ascension to the throne. That might not normally seem like an extremely important event or one might think that we should be celebrating the ascension of the current monarch instead of one that lived over a thousand years ago. But, it's celebrated because it's seen as the beginning of Albion as it is today."

Roger nodded. "Under King Arthur's father, Uther, the use of magic was deemed illegal and people who were found out to be witches or wizards were executed. He also had several magical species nearly hunted to extinction, with the few that survived escaping into other kingdoms. When he died though, one of the first things that Arthur did as King was to throw out all of those laws and welcome the practice of magic. So, in honor of that, we continue to celebrate his ascension to this day."

"Since it's seen as a very important event on the court calendar," Regulus said, "the Ascension Ball is held at Lakeview Hall, which is the ancestral home of the Longbottom family. So, the Dowager Duchess will most likely act as host in place of her son, with help from her grandson Neville and the rest of the family."

"Are there many other Longbottoms besides Callidora?" Harry asked.

Sirius shook his head and said, "Not many, no. Callidora had two children with her late husband Harfang - Algie and Enid Longbottom. Neither of them ever married or had children of their own, however."

"Algie and Enid are the cousins of Augusta's late husband Hadrian Longbottom," Remus added. "I know Frank and Alice fully intended to have more children after Neville, but those plans never happened because of the Death Eaters."

"In October you have the Masquerade Ball," Asterion said. "Held on Halloween, it's traditionally hosted by the Blacks at Arlington Grange. So, as the new Lord Black, uncle will be expected to host that one now."

Sirius nodded. "Yes, I know. I'm not sure I'm particularly looking forward to hosting it, however, seeing as how it's the anniversary of James' and Lily's deaths."

"Don't let that bother you, Sirius," Lily said from her place in the portrait above the fireplace. She was alone at the moment, as James was in the frame that was now at Seacliff talking with his father and Lily decided to give them some privacy. "James and I understand that it's tradition for the Black family to host it and we're not going to get mad at you for hosting a party on the anniversary of our deaths."

Sirius nodded, but otherwise remained quiet, which prompted Regulus to say, "November is the King's Ball, which celebrates King Edward's birthday. It is not, however, as the name suggests hosted by the King. It's actually held at Maplecroft Manor in the Earldom of Mablethorpe, which is part of the Lestrange lands, so I imagine Arcturus will be hosting it in place of his parents."

"I'm not entirely sure I want to go to Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange's house," Harry said, with a clear note of distaste in his tone. "Of course, I suppose it would be in poor taste not to show up to the ball celebrating the King's birthday, especially after he pardoned Sirius."

"True," Asterion said. "On the bright side though it's doubtful that Rodolphus and Bellatrix will be there. Still have to deal with their son, of course, and he's not the most pleasant of people, but I wouldn't say he's as bad as his parents."

"December is the Winter Solstice Ball," Cedric said, "which as the name suggests celebrates the Winter Solstice, which is also the day it's held on. That's traditionally hosted by Lord Burke at Sutton Grange."

"The balls in January, February and March," Regulus said, "are the New Year's Day Ball, the Valentine's Day Ball, and the Spring Equinox Ball. I think the events they celebrate are rather self-explanatory. In order, they're hosted by Lord Crouch at Killard Abbey, Lord Flint at Flint Castle, and Lord Bones at Thornhill Abbey."

"Come April and May," Asterion said, "you have the Awakening Ball and the May Ball, hosted, respectively, by Lord Diggory at Willowglen Manor and Lord Malfoy at Malfoy Manor. The Awakening Ball celebrates the rebirth of everything following winter, while the May Ball is in honor of May Day, an ancient pagan holiday which celebrates fertility."

"In June you have the Summer Solstice Ball," Sirius said. "Held on the day of the solstice and hosted by Lord Ollivander at Windermere Castle. Also in June, is the Imperial Ball, traditionally held on June 8th, which celebrates the day that King Phillip Pendragon gained the imperial title as Emperor of Albion and Iwernia."

"Imperial Ball?" Cedric asked. "I don't think I've ever even heard of that one."

"I'm not surprised, Cedric," Regulus said with a smile. "By law and tradition, that ball was held at Castle Camelot and hosted by the King. However, with King Edward not appearing in public all these years, the Imperial Ball hasn't been held since King Charles died in 1972 - which was obviously five years before you were born."

"Well, every other lord has been accounted for now," Harry said, "except for me, so does that mean that I'll be expected to host the July ball?"

It was Lily who answered. "Yes, Harry, as far back as 800 AD the Potter family has hosted the ball in July, which also happens to be the most prestigious and important of all the balls. It's officially known as the Honor Ball and is named because that's traditionally when the annual honors from the King would be announced. Over the years, though it's also became a ball to honor Merlin, which is why it's popularly known as the Emrys Ball."

"I see," Harry said. "And is there any specific reason that the Potters host the most prestigious and important ball?"

"Yes, Harry, there is a reason," Regulus said with a nod. "The three families whose highest title is Duke were considered to be King Arthur's greatest allies during the Unification Wars, which is why he named them Dukes. The head of the Potter family back then was Percival Potter and during one of the final battles of the wars, Percival, at great risk to his own life, personally saved King Arthur's life. So, in recognition of that act, King Arthur named Percival and his heirs, in perpetuity until the end of time, as the Lord High Chancellor to the Court of Pendragon."

"Lord High Chancellor?" Harry asked, with confusion gracing his face. "What exactly does that mean? Does it have something to do with the Privy Council?"

Shaking her head, Lily said, "No, Harry. Your position as a Privy Councilor is completely separate. The Lord High Chancellor has a number of jobs, one of which is that he's in charge of the honors system for the King, which is why the ball during which the honors are announced is hosted by the Potters. However, that isn't the positions' only duty. As Lord High Chancellor, you're also in charge of the judicial system, in addition to being in charge of the kingdom's finances."

"In charge of the judicial system and the kingdom's finances?" Harry asked, as he abruptly sat up. The look on his face was a mix of shock, fear, and bewilderment. "What does that even mean? Edward mentioned a Chancellor of the Exchequer in his letter telling me of Sirius' pardon, wouldn't he be in charge of the kingdom's finances?"

Regulus answered, "Chancellor of the Exchequer is only used when a commoner holds the position and that only happens when the Lord Potter is unable to perform the duties himself. For example, when your father died, you weren't even two years old yet. So, obviously, you couldn't possibly have done the job, so, a commoner would have been named to the position to do the job until you came of age and claimed your birthright."

"Now you do have to be installed in the position by the King," Lily said. "However, that's really nothing more than a minor technicality because the King can't refuse to install you. King Arthur made sure of that when he tied the position to Percival and his heirs in perpetuity until the end of time, a provision which he in turn made unbreakable and unchangeable by all future monarchs. So all you have to do is tell the King you want the job and he'd have no choice but to give it to you."

"And why would I want it?" Harry asked.

"Well, Harry, there are advantages," Regulus answered. "You know how you're technically Dumbledore's boss at Hogwarts, what with being one of the school governors?" Harry nodded, prompting Regulus to continue with, "Well, as Lord High Chancellor you're also his boss in the Wizengamot. Normally, the only ways for a person to cease being the Chief Warlock would be for them to retire, die, or be voted out of the position due to a vote of no confidence being called for. As Lord High Chancellor, however, you're in charge of the judicial system and if you so desired would have the authority to dismiss Dumbledore from the position of Chief Warlock."

Harry was silent for awhile as he thought about that. He didn't like the idea of dismissing anyone from their jobs, but then again he couldn't help but think that maybe Dumbledore had too many jobs. How could one be expected to lead one of the oldest Wizarding schools in the world, plus lead the Wizengamot, which acted as the legislative and judicial body for two countries, and then on top of it, also act as the head of the International Confederation of Wizards? It seemed like too much for any one man to do, especially when the person in question was already over a hundred years old. _'Something to consider at least.'_

"Harry if you're going to have power over the kingdom's finances," Cedric said, "I think perhaps you should consider signing up for the Magical Finance elective at Hogwarts."

Nodding, Harry said, "Yeah, I suppose that would be a good idea. Truth be told, I've been thinking about the electives ever since you and Roger scheduled yours. I found myself very curious about the Spell Creation class that you mentioned, Cedric. I don't even recall seeing that listed as an option when I signed up for my electives in second year."

"Well, Harry, that's because Spell Creation is for NEWT-level students," Cedric said. "You need an Outstanding on your OWLs for Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Magical Languages in order to get into the class."

"Huh," Harry said. "Shouldn't they still list it though? I mean, how can a second year plan ahead and make sure they're taking the right classes if they don't even know that the class exists?"

"True," Roger said. "It should be listed as a possibility, making it clear its only for sixth and seventh years, so that you can make sure you take any required electives. It would suck to get to fifth year and be picking your NEWT classes only to realize that you don't qualify for one of the NEWT electives because you never took the necessary OWL classes."

"Out of curiosity, what are the other NEWT electives?" Harry asked.

"Other than Spell Creation," Terence answered, "there's also Magical Research and Archiving, Medical Magic, and Specialized Charms."

"Magical Research and Archiving is taught by Madam Pince," Roger said. "It focuses on giving you the skills you'll need if you want to be a magical researcher, research assistant or librarian. The class meets in the Hogwarts library and part of the class is helping Madam Pince to catalog and shelve the books in the right places. So, the class basically serves as the assistant librarians while learning the skills necessary for working in a library or doing research. It requires you to have at least an Exceeds Expectations in History of Magic, Magical Languages, and Magical Literature."

"Medical Magic is as you might expect geared to those who want to become Healers," Remus said. "Although you're by no means required to become a healer if you take the class. It's taught in a classroom off the infirmary by Madam Pomfrey and requires at least an Exceeds Expectations in Charms, Potions, and Herbology."

"Specialized Charms teaches more advanced and specialized charms then what's taught in the standard class," Cedric said. "It's pretty much a must for anyone wanting to pursue a Charms Mastery as many Masters won't even consider taking you as an apprentice after Hogwarts if you didn't take the class. It's taught by Professor McIntosh in a classroom in the Charms corridor and requires at least an Acceptable in Charms. Though space is limited so people with higher scores stand a better chance of getting in."

"So that's how you go about gaining a mastery?" Harry asked. "Apprentice to someone that's already a master in a subject?"

Lily nodded. "Yes, Harry. Unlike in the Muggle world, there's no such thing as wizarding universities. So, if you want to pursue further education after Hogwarts to become a master of a particular subject, you need to find a master of that subject and become an apprentice. That usually lasts anywhere from two to four years, depending both on the master and the subject. For example, becoming a Charms Master usually takes four years, but I was a Charms prodigy, so it only took a year. At only eighteen years old when I became a Charms Master, I was one of the youngest in history."

Having noticed the slight creasing of Harry's forehead at the mention of the word prodigy, Remus said, "There are some subjects, Harry, that some people are just naturally gifted with and in turn they learn them much easier than others. For your mother that was Charms and Potions, though she never sought a Potions mastery, as Charms was her true love." Lily nodded at this. "For your father, he showed the most natural talent with Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He didn't seek a mastery in either subject, however, as after Hogwarts he was busy with Auror training."

"Which was always interesting, really," Sirius said with a grin. "A member of the Auror Training and Certification board training to be an Auror. The trainers were always a bit more lenient with him than they might have been to others simply because along with his fellow board members, James would have the power to revoke their certification, which would prevent them from being able to do their jobs."

"Wait, what?" Harry asked. "Auror Training and Certification board?"

"Yes, Harry," Regulus said. "It's actually the Board of Supervisors for Auror Training and Certification, and yes, as Lord Potter you are a member of it, along with Frank Longbottom and Garrick Ollivander. Erik Bones is actually the chairman of that particular board."

"That particular board? You say that like there's more than one," Harry said.

"Oh there's several of them," Sirius said. "The Board of the Wizarding Testing Authority, the St. Mungo's Hospital Managerial Board, The Law Practitioners Licensing Commission, the Albion Trade Commission, the Potions Licensing Board, and the Albion Board of Health."

With each new board named Harry's eyes grew larger and larger, until Lily finally smiled and said, "Don't worry, son, you're not on all of those, just the first two."

"And the fourth one," James said, as he came back into the portrait.

Harry shook his head for a moment before he laid back down so that his head was back on the pillow in Cedric's lap and his feet were again in Roger's. With a piteous moan, he said, "Too many jobs, so stressed, both of you start rubbing."

If Harry's eyes had been open he would have noticed the grins on everyone's faces as Cedric and Roger resumed their tasks.

-o-0-o-

The following Monday, Harry appeared in a deserted alley with a pop. Another pop a second later signaled the arrival of Terence, as the trainers had decided that they didn't want Harry going to his destination alone, but weren't available to go themselves. Sirius was busy taking care of some of the duties as Lord Black which needed to be handled, while Regulus and Asterion had gone back to their home in the Northern Atlantic for a few days. Remus was still recovering from the full moon on Sunday night and thus was also not available. As the two teens left the alley and began walking the two blocks to Hermione's parents' house, Terence did his best not to look around in wonder. He was a pureblood, after all, and thus he didn't get out into the suburbs of Muggle London very often. This was actually the first time he'd ever done so, actually, so he was seeing many things for the first time that he'd only heard about through Muggle Studies.

Arriving at Hermione's front door, Harry reached out and rang the bell. It was answered a moment later by a middle-aged man who Harry vaguely remembered as being Hermione's father, Dr. Daniel Granger. "Yes?" he asked.

"Dr. Granger, right?" Harry asked politely and the man nodded. "I'm Harry Potter - a friend of Hermione's from school."

"Oh, of course, she's mentioned you," Daniel said as he stood aside. "Please come in."

"Thanks," Harry said, as he and Terence entered the house.

Closing the door, Daniel said, "Hermione is in the living room with my wife. Just follow me."

Daniel led them down a front hallway which in some ways reminded Harry of the layout of the Dursley home, except the stairs were in a different place and didn't have a cupboard under them. At the end of the hallway they went through a door which lead into a dining room, with a kitchen visible to the right. Daniel led them to the left, however, and into a large room off the dining room which served as the living room. "Hermione, your friend Harry and a guest are here."

Hermione looked up with a smile as Harry and Terence entered the room. "Harry! What a pleasant surprise."

"Hey Hermione," Harry said, as he hugged her. When they broke apart, Harry smiled and said, "First things first, I don't know if you remember him, Hermione, but this is Terence Higgs. He was Slytherin's seeker in our first year."

Hermione cocked her head and looked at Terence before nodding. "Yeah, I do remember him vaguely, although I am curious why he's with you."

"Well, I'll explain that, if we could sit down?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Hermione said, motioning towards the empty sofa, as her father sat down in the oak swivel chair of a desk, while she sat down on the loveseat next to a middle-aged woman. Motioning towards her, she said, "Harry, this is my Mum, Dr. Emily Granger."

Harry smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you," as he and Terence sat down. "Now, Hermione, quite a bit has happened this summer that I imagine you don't know about since its illegal for the Prophet to be delivered to a Muggle neighborhood."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I never understood that law. It's stupid."

"Well, not really," Terence said. "Would be a rather clear breach of the Statute of Secrecy if a Muggle saw it. How in Merlin's name would you explain all the moving pictures to someone who didn't know about magic? It would be one thing if your parents saw it, because they know you're a witch, but what if someone else who doesn't know sees it? Someone who it would be illegal for you to tell?"

Hermione glared at Terence and said, "I wouldn't just leave it lying around for anyone to see."

Holding up his hands in a placating gesture, Terence said, "I'm not saying you would. But can you honestly say that every single muggleborn at Hogwarts is going to be as conscientious and careful about it as you would be? All it would take is one mistake and the Ministry Obliviators would be working overtime trying to limit the damage. And even if the damage is contained, there'd still be the hefty fine."

Hermione's glare softened at that and was replaced with a curious look as she asked, "Hefty fine?"

Harry nodded. "The Statute of Secrecy is enforced by the International Confederation of Wizards, Hermione. If any of the member magical governments break it, they're given a hefty fine as punishment, and possibly sanctions and other things no government wants to deal with, depending on the severity of the breach. Obviously the government wants to avoid that if they can."

"I didn't know that," Hermione admitted after a few moments of silence. Then looking at Harry with a curious look, she asked, "How did you know that though, Harry?"

"Well, that's one of those things that's happened this summer," Harry said. "Turns out that Wizarding Britain has its own titled nobility. The Thirteen Most Ancient and Noble Houses - Longbottom, Ollivander, McLaggen, Diggory, Crouch, Burke, Black, Bones, Malfoy, Flint, Lestrange, McKinnon," Harry paused here before adding, "and Potter."

"You're a nobleman?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, the Potter family is one of three original noble families, along with the Longbottoms and Ollivanders. It's also codified as law that should a minor heir be the last of their line, that they will be emancipated and declared to be legally an adult upon reaching their thirteenth birthday so that they can take up the duties and responsibilities that go along with being the head of their family."

"But you're fourteen, Harry," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," Harry said. "Growing up with the Dursleys, I didn't even know I was a wizard until I received my Hogwarts letter and then once I got to Hogwarts, nobody ever bothered to tell me that my family was nobility. There were plenty of people who knew, including Albus, but he chose not to say anything." Pausing for a moment, he then said, "Anyway, after getting tired of me not responding to their letters, the Gringotts' goblins sent a human representative to Privet Drive the day after my birthday to ask why I hadn't claimed my birthright yet, since it was a year overdue. You can imagine that I was quite shocked to learn that I'm actually His Grace the Lord Harrison James Potter, The Duke of Granston, The Marquis of Brynmoor, The Earl of Mathry and Lord of Seacliff Castle."

Hermione's eyes, and those of her parents, got larger and larger with each title that Harry said. Daniel and Emily had certainly never expected to find themselves in the position of having a Duke sitting in their living room, while Hermione was torn between being happy for her friend and upset that he'd been denied the knowledge of his heritage. Even though she knew it was likely irrational, she also couldn't help but wonder if Harry would still want to be friends with her, seeing as how he was now a highborn noble and she was a commoner.

Finding her voice after a few moments of silence, Hermione asked, "You have a castle?"

"Yeah, that was quite a shock, believe me," Harry said. "That's why Terence is with me, by the way. His father, Robert Higgs, is my seneschal and his step-mother tends the greenhouses at Seacliff." Noticing the conflicted look on Hermione's face at this point, Harry added, "You do know this changes nothing between us, right Hermione? Finding out that I'm nobility doesn't change the fact that you're one of my best friends."

Hermione looked grateful as she said, "Thanks, Harry." After a moment, however, she asked, "Wait, you called yourself Harrison. Is that your full name? Do I have to call you that now that you're a lord?"

"You actually have to call him Your Grace in public," Terence said before Harry could answer, prompting Harry to hit him gently on his shoulder, before he launched into a brief and edited version of what happened at the bank with Ragnok and Scarclaw. Explaining that he hadn't even known that his name was Harrison until he'd had to sign the documents to claim his birthright. At this point, he held out his hand and showed Hermione the family ring, adding that Terence was right about when they were in public, but he hastened to add that in private, she had permission to continue calling him Harry.

Hermione was silent for a few moments, as she digested the information. When she finally spoke, she said, "I can only imagine how Ron is going to react to this Harry - especially to Terence, being a Slytherin and all." Looking at Terence, she added, "No offense meant, but Ron hates all Slytherins."

Terence nodded. "I know, Harry told me. I'm not really worried though because I'm more than capable of defending myself from a fourth year's immature jibes. And even if I wasn't, Oliver would kick Ron's butt if he hurts me."

Hermione cocked her head at that. "Oliver?"

Harry grinned and said, "Yeah, Hermione. Oliver as in Wood. He's been dating Terence for the last three years."

"I didn't know Oliver was gay," Hermione said, her tone clearly shocked. She did not, however, seem upset about it and Harry was happy to see that, although he didn't fully understand why that would be.

Shaking his head, Harry said, "Neither did I until a few weeks ago. Apparently he doesn't advertise it, but will confirm it if you ask him point blank. He and Terence have been keeping their relationship a secret, though, to avoid the fallout with their houses due to the Gryffindor/Slytherin feud." Pausing to take a breath, Harry then added, "Besides that, growing up in the Wizarding world, I imagine Ron would already be at least vaguely aware of this. Since Terence's parents work for me in positions which could result in them learning family secrets, both of his parents and Terence himself have sworn an Oath of Loyalty to me."

"An Oath of Loyalty?" Emily Granger asked. "What's that?"

"It's a magical oath," Harry said. "It's only sworn to the heads of noble families, it doesn't work with anyone else, but basically it prevents those who swear it from revealing any secrets they find out about. It also requires that the person swearing the oath does whatever the person they swear it to tells them to do." Harry grinned at this and since he'd already explained about finding his parents' portrait in the Potter family vault, added, "And as Dad so eloquently put it, I could tell Terence to run down Diagon Alley in broad daylight completely starkers and he'd have no choice but to do it."

Terence blushed crimson and said, "Harry, you promised you'd never do that."

Harry grinned and patted Terence on the shoulder. "I know, I know, and don't worry, I'm not going to. It's just a good example."

Terence groaned and shook his head, muttering under his breath, "I don't think it's a good example."

For their parts, the Drs. Granger grinned at the byplay between Harry and Terence, but said nothing. Hermione, on the other hand, shook her head and said, "Harry, that would just be cruel."

"I have no intention of actually doing it," Harry defended himself. "Besides, it wasn't my idea. I'm just repeating something that Dad said. Of course, Mum wasn't all that thrilled with him either."

"I can see why," Hermione said.

"As I said, I don't intend to actually do it," Harry repeated. Turning serious, he then added, "Hermione, there is something very important that I want to share with you. As you will no doubt be seeing a change in my attitude towards the Headmaster this year and I know you'll want to know why." Taking a deep breath, he said, "I hesitate to even say this, but in order to tell you why, I'll need you to swear an Oath of Silence. I would point out, however, that's it's not quite the same thing as the Oath of Loyalty - it prevents you from revealing secret information, but does not require you to do what I tell you to do."

Hermione looked a little hurt as she said, "Harry, don't you trust me? I thought we were friends."

"We are, Hermione," Harry said. "It's just that I have to be very careful who I entrust this information to and I can't risk it getting out to the wrong person. Dumbledore is a master Legilimens, which means that he can read people's minds if he can get them to look him in the eye. So, even if you didn't tell him, he could find out. If you swear the oath, however, even without learning Occlumency, which is the counter to Legilimency, he won't be able to get any secret information involving me out of you as the oath will block those thoughts from his view."

"Occlumency is a very difficult subject to master," Terence added. "And it would be impossible to learn it between now and the start of school, no matter how hard you studied. You might be able to learn the basics and get some rudimentary shields in place, but nowhere near powerful enough to block Dumbledore if he was determined enough."

"What does the oath actually entail?" Hermione asked.

"Basically, you swear on your magic to keep my secrets," Harry said. "The oath will prevent you from thinking about revealing my secrets, but if you're especially strong-willed, you can override the oath. But if you did that, you'd lose your magic. I don't ask this lightly, Hermione, I know what kind of sacrifice that would be, but I don't want Dumbledore finding anything out that I don't want him knowing. He's already aware of the fact that I'm not pleased with him and he knows we're friends. So, I'm sure he figures I would confide in you and thus would hope that I'm not smart enough to ask for an oath."

"What about my parents?" Hermione asked. "They don't have magic."

Harry remained silent for a moment, as he glanced at Terence and then said, "It might be best if they left the house for a little while. It's up to them, of course. While they don't have magic, they can swear the oath, but it would be on their lives instead, hence my reasoning for saying it might be best if they leave for awhile. Not knowing might be better as it doesn't carry with it the risk of death."

Terence nodded and added, "If you swear the oath and break it, you'd lose your magic, Hermione, but at least you'd still be alive. If your parents swear the oath and break it, they'd be dead, so not knowing would probably be much safer."

The three Grangers were quiet for a few moments, before Daniel and Emily both stood up and Daniel said, "Em and I were planning on going grocery shopping anyway."

Emily smiled at her daughter and patted her on the shoulder. "Yes, I'm short a few things I need for dinner tonight. So, Hermione, honey, we'll be back in about an hour."

Hermione looked grateful that her parents were volunteering to leave the house, as she nodded and smiled at them brightly. Once they heard the front door close and the Daniel's car backing down the driveway, Hermione took a deep breath and asked, "Okay, what am I supposed to say?"

Explaining it, Hermione nodded, before kneeling in front of Harry, she kissed the Potter ring, and said, "I, Hermione Jean Granger, do solemnly swear to keep any and all secrets that I learn from you or any member of your family in the strictest of confidences and to only reveal them with your express permission. On my magic, so mote it be."

Once Hermione was seated back where she had been, Harry told her some of the things he'd learned recently. Including the fact that Dumbledore had left him with the Dursleys on the night his parents died and the fact that he continued to insist that was where Harry would be safer. Harry told her that he couldn't prove that Dumbledore had any idea that it was expressly forbidden in his parents' wills that he be left with the Dursleys, but told her about the Imperius Curses and Obliviations that had been performed on the people who knew the terms of the will, stressing again that he couldn't prove it was Dumbledore who'd done it, but strongly suspected it. He then told her of the letter Dumbledore had signed redirecting all of his mail to Seacliff. He also made it clear that he'd told Dumbledore that the Dursleys were both physically and mentally abusive to him and that Dumbledore still insisted that he return there every summer, stating he'd be safer behind the wards that Dumbledore himself had erected, even though the same had not been true for Harry's parents.

Giving Hermione a few moments to digest that, Harry then added the more recent event in the family mausoleum in which Dumbledore had publicly accused him of trying to deceive everyone present. Harry admitted that it was probably because Dumbledore was trying to get back at him for invalidating the bequests that his parents had left him, but Harry told Hermione that, given everything they now knew, James and Lily had asked Harry to invalidate the bequests. That wasn't exactly true, as James and Lily had ultimately left the decision up to Harry, but it was close enough to the truth that Harry didn't feel bad in telling his friend that.

After a few moments of silence, Hermione opened her mouth and then closed it. When she finally found her voice, she said, "Wow. I can't believe he could be that manipulative or cruel. It certainly seems like he's been actively trying to keep you in the dark about your heritage. And the fact that he left you with the Dursleys, never checked on you, and continued to insist you go back there, knowing they mistreat you, is reprehensible. Especially when you had a place you could have gone that would have been infinitely safer."

"Yeah," Harry said. "And tomorrow I may well be giving him another reason to be mad at me."

"What's tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

"Gringotts' is sending a team of curse-breakers to Hogwarts," Harry said. "They're going to check the school from top to bottom for any curses or jinxes that should not be present. That was done religiously every few years in the past, but hasn't been done once since Dumbledore became headmaster. The reason he might be mad at me about it, is because I'm the one who suggested it to the Hogwarts Board of Governors."

"The governors?" Hermione asked. "What made you go to the governors?"

Harry grinned. "It's part of being Lord Potter, Hermione. I now find myself in the very interesting position of being a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, while I'm still a student there. I also convinced the governors to sack Professor Binns, move Snape out of a teaching position - he'll instead by brewing the potions for the Hospital Wing - and got them to hire Professor Horace Slughorn in Snape's place. He was the potions professor while my parents and Snape were in school and he's agreed to come out of retirement."

"Professor Snape," Hermione corrected automatically.

Harry grinned and said, "Not anymore he isn't."

"Yes, Snape isn't teaching classes now," Terence said. "So he isn't a Professor anymore. His official title is Master Brewer, but they're held at the same level as Filch - he can't take points or give detentions. Other teachers can assign people to serve detention with him, but he can't give them himself. I imagine Professor Slughorn will also take over his duties as Head of Slytherin House since it's written in the school bylaws that only the professors can serve as a head of house."

"And would you believe, Hermione," Harry said, as he continued grinning, "that the idea to move Snape out of his teaching position was actually Terence's?"

Hermione's eyes widened a bit at that. "But you're a Slytherin..."

Terence nodded. "True, I am. But that doesn't prevent me from seeing the truth. Snape was being very unfair in his treatment of the other houses and while it did benefit me and my house in the end, I still suggested it." After a moment of silence, he added, "If you ever tell anyone this, I will vehemently deny it, but the Sorting Hat thought I would make a good Hufflepuff, since I like to be fair in all my dealings with others. Ultimately it decided though that my ambition and cunning outweighed that and put me in Slytherin."

"Speaking of professors and classes," Harry said. "Hermione, I'm going to really need your help this year. Due to my position in the Wizarding world, I've dropped Divination, and added Wizarding Law, Magical Finance, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Magical Languages to my schedule. Problem is, I'm a year behind on all of them. Terence has been helping me study, but I think I'm going to need all the help I can get. I considered dropping Care of Magical Creatures, too, but Hagrid would be devastated and I couldn't bring myself to do that to him."

Hermione looked shocked for a moment, before her mind instantly began working. Nodding she said, "Of course, I'd be happy to help you, Harry. I'll devise a schedule for you to follow and we'll have you caught up in no time." Turning to Terence, she asked, "Were you any good in those subjects?"

Terence nodded. "Well, I'll be in the seventh year NEWT class for all of them this year, so I like to think that means I'm good at them."

Hermione brightened at that as she figured that with Terence's help, it should be less difficult to catch Harry up. Of course, she was also hoping that she might also learn some things taught to the higher years in the process.

Harry smiled and said, "Thanks, Hermione. It should be a little easier this year too because I won't have Quidditch practice to go to." At Hermione's raised eyebrow, Harry said, "This is actually a secret that'll be announced at the start of term feast, but I know it because I'm a governor. The competition for the House Quidditch Cup has been cancelled this year because Hogwarts is playing host to the Triwizard Tournament."

Harry and Terence then explained to Hermione exactly what the tournament was. She seemed excited at the prospect of meeting and talking with the delegates sent from the other two schools. She was perhaps a little perturbed at not being able to enter herself, but she believed that it was a very wise precaution to limit entrants to those over the age of seventeen if it was truly as dangerous as Harry and Terence explained it to be.

"Ron is going to hate not having Quidditch to look forward to though," Hermione said after a moment. "Living with him over the next few months is going to be hard - I'm so glad that I don't have to sleep in the same room as him." She gave Harry a pitying look at this.

Harry grinned and said, "Yes, well, thankfully as Lord Potter, if he gets too annoying, I have access to a private room this year," and he proceeded to explain about what he'd learned from Nick Ollivander and Dominick Burke. "Besides, I've made arrangements with Garrick Ollivander and Neville. There'll be enough seats between our three sections that all of the Weasleys and you will be able to attend the Quidditch World Cup this coming Thursday. You'll be with me and the other nobles in the Top Box, which are the best seats in the house."

"The World Cup?" Hermione asked. "Whose playing?"

"It's the Irish National Team versus the Bulgarian National Team," Terence answered. "The Durmstrang Institute is actually in Bulgaria and thanks to Oliver, I happen to know that the Bulgarian terms' star player is seeker Viktor Krum, whose on the team even though he's still a student at Durmstrang. I don't know if he's going to be a delegate for the Triwizard or not, but it's possible."

"Might be a good culture lesson if nothing else," Harry said, knowing that Hermione had never been a huge Quidditch fan. "There'll be witches and wizards coming in from all over the world to see this game."

Hermione was silent for a moment, before she smiled and nodded. "I'd love to go Harry, thank you."

With everything he'd come for out of the way, Harry spent a few more minutes catching up with Hermione, and she spent a bit of time getting to know Terence, as well. Losing track of time, it wasn't long before Daniel and Emily were back with the groceries and Emily asked Harry and Terence if they'd like to stay for dinner. Knowing they were expected back at Forest Cottage for dinner, Harry politely declined, but thanked her for the invitation.

-o-0-o-

The next morning at ten sharp, Harry appeared outside the gates of Hogwarts with a pop, as several more pops sounded announced the arrival of the other governors. Harry greeted a few of them and they made idle conversation for a few moments, before finally at 10:05 AM ten more pops announced the arrival of the team of curse-breakers that Gringotts' had assembled to check the school. Judging from their reactions to him, the leader of the group was a tall wizard with shoulder-length red hair and a fang earring. Harry first thought upon seeing him was that he looked like he could be a Weasley.

This was confirmed moments later when he introduced himself as Bill Weasley. _'The eldest Weasley brother,'_ Harry thought. _'He's certainly very cool looking, especially with that earring. Probably wouldn't look out of place at a Muggle rock concert.'_

Harry shook hands with Bill, saying, "It's nice to meet you, Bill. Ron and your mum have mentioned you."

"All good, I hope," Bill said with a smile.

"Yes, they were both complimentary," Harry said. "Anyway, we should probably be getting up to the school."

Bill and the other governors nodded as Bruce stepped up to the closed gates and waved the hand he wore the McLaggen ring on in front of them. Seconds later the gates were swinging open as the group made their way up to the castle. Arriving at the front door of the castle, they found Albus Dumbledore awaiting them.

"Governors, what brings you here?" Albus asked. "And who are these people with you?"

"They're curse-breakers, Dumbledore," Lucius said. "Gringotts' has lent them to us to check the school."

"Check the school?" Albus asked. "Why whatever for? There's no reason for curse-breakers to check the school."

"I quite disagree," Garrick Ollivander said. "In years past, a team of curse-breakers was brought in to check the school every few years. It was a tradition dating all the way back to the founding. And yet, according to the school records, the last time the school was checked was during Headmaster Dippet's tenure in 1943. So, I find myself thinking the school is long overdue for a thorough checking."

Augusta nodded. "Yes, it's quite upsetting Dumbledore. You should have scheduled several checks over the last fifty years, but for some reason that for the life of me I cannot understand, you haven't."

"Governors," Albus said, his tone placating, "if you would just follow me to my office, we can discuss..."

While it was true that Lucius hadn't voted in favor of the curse check, with the decision made, he chose to abide by it, and since he disliked Dumbledore with a passion, he had no trouble with cutting him off. "There's nothing to discuss, Dumbledore. The board has made its decision."

"Aye, it has," Sirius said. "And I would only remind you, Dumbledore, that we own the school."

"Yes, Albus, we own the school," Harry said. "And you work here at our pleasure. So, I suggest you stand aside and let us get on with our reason for being here."

Erik nodded at Harry and added, "Yes, Dumbledore, if you don't we may be forced to decide that it's time to replace you as Head of this school. So what's it going to be? Are you going to stand aside and let us do what we came here for or are you going to keep trying to prevent us from entering our castle?"

"That won't be necessary, Governors," Albus said with a sad tone. The look on his face was very sad and Harry didn't miss the fact that it was directed mostly at him. "By all means, continue with your purpose here."

Dumbledore stood aside and the governors entered the school, followed by the curse-breakers, with Dumbledore himself bringing up the rear. Once they were in the school, Bill said, "We'll begin with a general scan of the castle, as we have special detection spells which will detect any curses or jinxes which may be present anywhere in the building or the grounds. We'll have to go to the actual locations of these spells in order to break them, but we can detect them from afar."

Bruce had a contemplative look on his face for a moment, before he said, "And what if there are mage-level curses or jinxes present? Will you be able to deal with them as well?"

"Yes, we will, Lord McLaggen," Bill said, as he motioned to three members of his team, a burly, middle-aged black wizard, a petite, elderly Asian witch, and a young, Hispanic wizard, who all promptly made staffs appear in the opposite hands from their wands. "We didn't become Gringotts' best team of curse-breakers for no reason. There are many mage-level curses and jinxes in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the other places around the world that we've been sent to, so, Gringotts' has made sure to employ mages among its' curse-breakers, so we can deal with anything that we encounter."

If anyone had been looking in Dumbledore's direction, they would have seen his face paling when the three curse-breakers summoned their staffs. There was, after all, a reason that Dumbledore had tried to prevent the curse check and that was because he knew that there were curses and jinxes, some of them mage-level, that he preferred remain in place, but that he was sure the governors would want removed as soon as possible. Perhaps sensing that his friend and master was feeling distressed, Fawkes chose that moment to appear in a brilliant flash of fire. Albus held out his arm and Fawkes landed, gently nuzzling the side of Albus' face for a moment, before the Headmaster conjured a perch for his familiar. Moving from Albus' arm and settling down on the perch, Fawkes begin to trill a soft song, which calmed everyone in the room.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore said, "Fawkes' song won't interfere with your check will it, Mr. Weasley?"

Shaking his head, Bill said, "No, Headmaster, it won't."

 _'Bloody damn it all to the hells,'_ Albus thought, as he simply nodded, a happy and completely fake smile firmly in place on his face.

"Please stand back about ten feet so we have room to work," Bill said to the group, who moved back the required distance. Nodding, he smiled and said, "Thank you." Turning to his co-workers, he asked, "Ready?"

They all nodded, at which point they moved so that they were standing in a circle, with the three mages among their number in the center, standing back to back, with their staffs planted firmly on the ground in front of them. Then, in unison, all ten of them were chanting, **_"Manifestabit omnia maledictiones,"_** over and over, as a pale blue mist began to surround them, as it rose from the floor, above their heads, and all the way up to the ceiling. It was then that the curse-breakers changed their chant and were instead saying, **_"Ostende nobis maledicta, quæ existere hic,"_** repeatedly, as ten shafts of bright light in fiery red, earthy brown, watery blue, and misty grey shot from the tips of their wands and staffs, in every direction.

Thanks to his training, Harry was able to correctly guess that the differing shafts of light denoted which element the caster's magic resonated with. _'Quite an impressive show,'_ he thought to himself and couldn't help the small grin on his face at the idea that he might one day be able to cast magic at this level. He also noticed that they appeared to be chanting in different languages, but only recognized the Latin. There were others in the room, however, such as Erik Bones, who had taken Magical Languages at Hogwarts, who were able to pick out Arabic, Old English, Welsh, Ancient Egyptian, and even Sumerian among the curse-breakers' chants.

Dumbledore also recognized the other languages and felt angrier and angrier with each new language he heard, since he'd hoped that some of the more obscure languages that he'd cast some of the curses in would prevent them from being detected. Sumerian and Ancient Egyptian, for example, were not taught in the Magical Languages curriculum at Hogwarts and thus he'd hoped that using them would prevent them from being detected. _'The bloody curse-breakers even checked in Gobledegook and Mermish!'_ Dumbledore raged in his head. Now since they worked for the goblins at Gringotts', Dumbledore honestly wasn't all that surprised that the curse-breakers knew the goblins' language. He had, however, been under the obviously erroneous impression that he was one of the very few humans living anywhere in the world who could actually speak and understand Mermish, since most people didn't have the patience necessary to learn a language that sounded like nails on a chalkboard when it was used above water.

 _"Just be glad you didn't cast any of the curses in Mermish,"_ a voice said in Dumbledore's head. _"Very few people speak it - Merlin knows I never had the patience to learn it, and I know just about every other language there is. Had their checks turned up any Mermish curses though, you can bet it wouldn't have taken long for them to be looking at you, Albus."_

 _"True,"_ Albus said in his head. _"I just wish Potter hadn't interfered by getting the governors to bring these curse-breakers in. Some of the curses they're removing are vital to our future plans."_

 _"I've been listening to the conversation,"_ the voice said. _"You have no proof it was Mr. Potter who suggested it."_

 _"Who else could it have been?"_ Albus asked the voice. _"The governors haven't thought about the curse checking in over fifty years and then suddenly Potter joins their number and they're forcing the issue? You know I don't believe in coincidences."_

 _"Well, that's true, I suppose,"_ the voice said. _"I would point out that it could have been Black, but no matter. Who it was is of no concern to me, so, don't worry your pretty little head about it, Albus. I'll deal with Mr. Potter and his mutt of a godfather soon enough."_

This calmed Dumbledore down better than Fawkes' singing ever could, but he still found himself asking, _"How?"_

 _"Never mind that, for now, Albus,"_ the voice said. _"Let's just say that I've got some plans of my own for the little lordling and his mutt."_ After a moment, the voice added, amusement clear in his tone, _"And it is getting to be that time again, so if you play your cards right, maybe I'll tell you tonight after we take care of business \- it can be pillow talk."_

Dumbledore did his best to mask the shiver of pleasure that ran through him at those words, as not only would he be getting laid, but his lover also had a plan to deal with Harry and Sirius. All was right with the world in that moment as far as he was concerned.

After about fifteen minutes, the group of curse-breakers stopped chanting and the shafts of magic and mist began to die down. Once it had disappeared completely, they broke their circle and turned to face the governors. Stepping forward, Bill said, "I can scarcely believe the number of curses and jinxes that we detected. Even with it being over fifty years since the last curse check, it's hard to believe that there would be this many present or that they would even be cast at all."

"What do you mean?" Amos Diggory asked, a concerned look on his face, seeing as how his son and heir was a student at Hogwarts, so, obviously the thought that there might be curses and jinxes that might negatively affect Cedric would worry him.

Bill looked grim as he said, "We detected 2,327 instances of known curses and jinxes. Now, some of those are the same curse or jinx cast in multiple locations around the building and grounds. But, what is perhaps more worrisome is that of that number 52 of them are spells that we've never even seen before. Our work makes it necessary that we be familiar with a wide array of spells, so we've all done extensive studying of the various grimoires and spellbooks that the goblins have collected over the centuries. Needless to say that with locations in every area of the world with magical communities, the goblins have a very extensive library of spells at their disposal."

"Will you be able to break these unknown spells?" Callum asked.

Bill nodded and said, "I don't foresee any problems there. It wouldn't be the first time that we've had to break unfamiliar curses and jinxes. We're all trained to be able to break down spells to their most basic components, so we're confident that we'll be able to break them, but it will take time. I'm afraid there's no way we're going to be able to finish clearing out the school of everything that shouldn't be present in a day."

At this point, the elderly Asian mage stepped forward and whispered something in Bill's ear. The redhead listened and then nodded, as he said, "My associate tells me that in her experience some of the curses we detected, while having their own separate uses, are also commonly used to mask other curses from detection. So, there could be even more curses and jinxes present then what we at first detected and we won't know exactly where those are until we begin to break the curses that are masking them. So, clearing the entire school is going to be a challenge - in fact, it may well take several days, if not weeks to finish."

That really was the last thing that any of the governors wanted to hear, especially what with Hogwarts playing host to the Triwizard Tournament. If any of the delegations from the other schools were to detect the numerous curses and jinxes present in the school and its grounds, depending on what they were for, it was possible that they might try to accuse Hogwarts of trying to rig the competition in their favor, which after all the work it had taken to get the competition setup in the first place, would cause an international incident of epic proportions. Speaking up, Bartemius Crouch said, "This hasn't been publicly announced yet, but Hogwarts is playing host to the Triwizard Tournament this year. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving on October 30th - is there any way that you can clear the school by then?"

Bill was silent for a moment, as he turned away and conferred with his associates, before turning back and saying, "Honestly, Lord Crouch, because of the spells that are masking other spells and because of the various curses we've never detected before, I can't give a precise timeline. Just breaking the curses that we haven't encountered before could take several days for each of them, as we study them and try to work out how they can be safely broken without injuring anyone in the process. What we can do, however, is focus our efforts on the public areas of the school and grounds where the delegations from the other schools are most likely to be and save the other areas for later."

Bartemius nodded and said, "I can work with that."

Several of the other governors agreed that was probably the best course of action under the circumstances. After a moment of silence, Harry stepped forward, his face curious, as he asked, "Bill, I'm wondering, when you detected all those spells, were you able to detect what they do? I find I'm very curious about just what kind of curses and jinxes are actually present."

"Yes, we were able to identify the purpose of several of them," Bill said. "Some of them are pretty harmless. Just the standard curses and jinxes often used in pranks that might embarrass a person, but won't cause any real harm. However, I'm afraid there's also numerous spells which are far from harmless and are in fact quite sinister in their purpose. My colleagues and I also agree that many of those spells are far beyond the level of what could be cast by a student, so, the fact that they exist at all means that one of the adults at the school cast them, which is almost unbelievable considering what some of them do."

"What do some of them do?" Garrick asked.

"Well, there's charms on all four of the houses," Bill answered. "Which appear to be designed to insulate the houses and actively prevent the members of the various houses from working together. There's also a high concentration of spells on Gryffindor and Slytherin which would actually strengthen, and perhaps even create, feelings of distrust and hatred between the members of those two houses. Beyond that there's also spells which are designed to shorten the attention spans of the students, so that they're more likely to stop listening to their teachers during lessons, spells which would make all but the most studious of students less likely to study or do their homework, and even spells which would make it more likely for students to fall asleep in class. The highest concentration of that particular spell appears to be around the History of Magic classroom, but is also present in other areas."

Bill paused here and could see that many of the governors' faces had gotten paler with each new example that he'd just given. Sadly, he wasn't finished yet, as he cleared his throat and added, "And as if those weren't bad enough, there's also curses on the greenhouses which would inspire the occupants of them to not act with the appropriate level of caution around some of the more dangerous plants, while also making those same plants more dangerous than they normally are. There's even spells cast on the grounds which would encourage students to wander into the Forbidden Forest or take a swim in the Black Lake. Those spells would also encourage the students to try and antagonize the occupants of the forest and the lake, which I'm sure I needn't tell you is not wise for any students, but especially the younger ones, to be doing."

Harry had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he thought, _'Could that be why Draco so blatantly ignored Hagrid's warnings about hippogriffs last year? I always thought it was because he was a stuck-up, arrogant prick, but maybe that's not entirely true after all. Makes me even more happy that Hermione and I managed to save Buckbeak.'_

"I think I can safely speak for my fellow governors," Augusta said, "when I say that you should concentrate on removing all the curses that would encourage the students to act recklessly as your first priority."

Several of the governors, especially those who had children attending the school, nodded in agreement with Augusta.

"Of course, Your Grace," Bill said with a bow. "My associates and I will get started immediately." The Asian mage whispered something in Bill's ear again at this point, prompting him to say, "As this might take several days to complete, would it be possible for accommodations to be arranged for us so that we can stay close to the school?"

Nodding his head, Bruce said, "Of course, Mr. Weasley. Would Kinloch be close enough? Or would you prefer Hogsmeade?"

"Actually, if possible, I'm thinking rooms inside the school itself would be best," Bill said, as several of his associates nodded their heads in agreement. "It'll help us to study and break the unknown curses if we have access to them around the clock."

"Is that safe?" Erik asked. "Won't the negative curses and jinxes affect you?"

Shaking his head, Bill said, "No, they won't. We're all capable of shielding our rooms well enough that none of the negative effects of the curses present will affect us. Our last job in the Valley of the Kings actually required us to spend two weeks in one of the tombs. And believe me when I say that if we weren't confident in our shielding spells, we would never sleep inside an Egyptian tomb for a single night, let alone two weeks' worth of nights."

"Well, if you're sure," Bruce said, before turning to Dumbledore and saying, "Dumbledore, see to it that the house-elves prepare appropriate quarters for our guests immediately."

Albus nodded and said in a somewhat dead voice, which was devoid of emotion to hide the anger he was feeling inside, "Yes, Lord McLaggen, as you wish."

At this point, many of the governors appeared to be getting ready to leave, but a thought suddenly occurred to Harry which prompted him to turn and ask, "Bill, I know you and the others cast detection spells in several different languages but I only recognized Latin."

"Yes, that's true, Harry," Bill said. "We did cast in several different languages, as some curses and jinxes are created so that they can only be detected by detection spells that are in the same language as what they were cast with. So, using only Latin might not reveal everything."

Harry nodded. "Well, part of the reason that I suggested to the governors that we even do this curse check," Harry noticed Dumbledore's head whipping around to look at him at that, "is because of the persistent rumor that the Defense Against the Dark Arts position is cursed so that nobody can hold it for more than a year. I also know that Voldemort," he ignored the flinches at his saying of the name, "asked Dumbledore some years back after Merrythought retired to hire him as the new Defense teacher. This was, of course, before the First War and his subsequent rise to Dark Lord. Dumbledore refused, however. So, I find myself wondering if Voldemort might have cursed the position and if he did, I'd think he might have done so in Parseltongue in an attempt to make sure his curse stayed active and undetected."

Bill looked at Harry for a moment, before saying, "That's a possibility, Harry, but sadly none of my team speaks Parseltongue."

"I do, however," Harry said in Parseltongue, before switching to English and saying, "If you think you and your team can mimic it, perhaps you could tell me what needs to be said and I can translate it for you so you can check?"

The Asian mage whispered in Bill's ear again, and he nodded. "That would work," as he approached Harry and whispered into his ear what they'd need the translation of. Harry listened and then spoke the necessary words in Parseltongue, repeating it a few times until all the curse-breakers felt confident that they could mimic it well enough to check for any curses that were cast in the language of snakes.

"Stand back, everyone," Bill said, as he and his team once again formed a circle as before and began chanting again, this time in Parseltongue, producing the same effects as before. When it was over, Bill said, "Thank you, Harry, that turned up an additional 149 curses and jinxes, some of which are actually older than fifty years, so they were probably present during the last curse check in 1943 but weren't detected. Thankfully, we were able to recognize the effects of the curses without speaking Parseltongue, and it seems the rumor is true - the Defense position is cursed. We may need some more translations to actually break them, however."

Nodding, Harry said, "I'd be more than happy to help should you need any further translations." Thinking for a moment, Harry called out, "Tilly!"

The elf appeared and said, "Lord Potter calls?"

"Yes, Tilly, this is Bill Weasley," Harry said, motioning towards the redhead. "He's a curse-breaker and is here with his team to break some curses here at Hogwarts." Tilly nodded her head in understanding, prompting Harry to add, "Thing is some of them might need Parseltongue translations to break. None of them can speak it, but I can. So, if he calls for you, could you please respond so that you can get me?"

Tilly nodded. "Yes, Lord Potter."

"Thanks, Harry that'll work splendidly," Bill said with a smile.

-o-0-o-

On Thursday morning, Harry awoke much earlier than normal, as he found he simply couldn't sleep any longer. He was too excited about the World Cup. So, getting out of bed and heading into the bathroom, Harry started his morning routine. Twenty minutes later, he was walking into the common room at the same moment that Cedric was walking out of his own room.

The older teen grinned at Harry and asked, "You couldn't sleep either?"

Shaking his head, Harry said, "Nope. Too excited about the Cup today."

Cedric nodded. "Yeah, same here." After a moment, he grinned and said, "Should we go downstairs and see if we can scrounge up some breakfast since we're up?"

Returning the grin, Harry nodded and said, "Sounds like a plan," as he headed for the stairs.

As the two boys reached the bottom of the stairs and the ground floor sitting room, they found Emma sitting on the sofa watching television. "Goodnight Ben, goodnight Erin. Goodnight mama," a female voice on the television said, before a male voice said, "Goodnight Elizabeth, goodnight everybody."

Noticing the boys standing by the stairs, Emma raised her wand and waved it at the television, turning it off, as she stood and said, "You two are certainly up early."

"Too excited about the Cup to sleep," Cedric and Harry said in almost perfect unison, making them look at each other and grin.

Emma grinned at the boys as well and said, "Yes, we figured that might happen. So, we had Barin start on breakfast earlier than normal."

As if by magic, it was with these words from Emma that both boys could suddenly smell the aromas of bacon, eggs, toast, and some of the other delicious baked goods that Barin tended to make for breakfast in the mornings. Emma smiled and gestured towards the kitchen. Harry and Cedric needed no further prompting as they headed into the kitchen. Not long afterward, Terence and Oliver came down the stairs. Terence had one hand on the railing, but the other was wrapped tightly around Oliver's waist and neither of them was actually looking where they were going since they were too busy making out.

Shaking her head, Emma cleared her throat, causing the two young lovers to separate. "I understand that you're in love, boys, but do try to restrain yourselves when coming down the stairs. I sincerely doubt that Rose will have much sympathy for either of you if you fall down the stairs and hurt yourselves because you were too busy kissing to watch where you were going."

Terence and Oliver looked properly chastised as Gavin came down the stairs behind them and said, "Yeah, come on, guys, you've got plenty of time to play tonsil hockey during the day. I don't think it'll kill you to stop long enough to get down the stairs safely."

Turning towards his brother with a grin, Oliver said, "You're just jealous, Gav, that I've got the hot boyfriend and you don't."

"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that, Will," Gavin said. "I'm straight, remember?"

Parroting his younger brother's words back at him, Oliver said, "Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that, Gav. You're too good at attracting men to be straight, besides, you're my clone, so there's no way you're as straight as you seem to think."

Coming down the last few steps, Gavin grabbed Terence and dipped him backwards, kissing him on the lips as he did so. When he righted them, he shook his head and grimaced. "Yeah, sorry, but that did nothing for me. So either Liam isn't as hot as you think, Will," here Gavin slowed down his speech as if he was talking to a young child who would have a hard time comprehending otherwise and added, "or I'm actually straight and thus not attracted to men."

"If you three are quite finished," Emma said with a stern look, although there was mirth clearly visible in her hawk-like eyes, "Barin should have breakfast on the table, so you'd better get in there before Harry and Cedric eat all of it."

Terence, Oliver, and Gavin soon headed through the archway into the kitchen, leaving Emma alone in the sitting room once again. It didn't last long, however, as feet could soon be heard on the stairs. Looking up, she saw Sirius, Remus, Asterion, Roger, and Regulus coming down in single file. As they reached the bottom, she gestured towards the archway and said, "Breakfast is on the table."

The newcomers nodded and headed into the kitchen as Emma just sat there for a moment, a grin coming to her face as she asked, "Why do I suddenly feel like I'm directing traffic?"

With everyone that would be coming from upstairs accounted for, however, it wasn't long before she stood up and made her own way into the kitchen, hoping that all the men in the house would at least have seen fit to save her some fruit and a bagel or something. Of course, then again, the way Barin cooked, she hoped that wouldn't be a problem. If it was, she knew she'd have to schedule a few strenuous outdoor training sessions before the weather got too cold. Barin had a tendency to make way more food than was actually necessary, after all, so if it was all eaten up in ten minutes time, stomach aches would be the least of Emma's worries.

-o-0-o-

Not long after breakfast, Athena took Cedric side-along to Willowglen Manor to switch the real Cedric and his double, while Eudora took Roger to the Davies house to do the same. Emma and Rose, meanwhile, were assigned to take care of Harry's, Gavin's, and Oliver's doubles. Meanwhile, Harry Apparated to The Burrow, accompanied by Robert, Katherine, Terence, Oliver, and Gavin, where he found the whole family, plus Noah and Hermione, outside in the yard getting ready for the Cup.

"Good morning all," Harry said, as he approached them.

"Hey Harry," Ron said with a smile.

Ginny elbowed him and said, "He's Lord Potter or Your Grace now, Ron."

Harry shook his head and said, "That's okay, Ginny. You all have my permission to call me Harry, at least in private. The Your Grace and Lord Potter stuff only applies in public."

"That's going to take some getting used to, mate," Ron said.

Harry grinned. "Tell me about it, Ron. I'm not totally used to being called that myself yet."

It was then that Ron noticed Harry's height and said, "Blimey, Harry, you're taller."

Hermione nodded and said, "Yes, I had noticed that when you visited my house, Harry, but I didn't comment."

Smiling, Harry said, "Yeah, after I claimed my birthright I went to see a healer and it turns out that my growth was stunted due to numerous vitamin deficiencies. So, she put me on a regimen of nutrient potions that I have to drink every day until the end of the month." Technically Harry would be taking them until September 3rd, but it was easier to let the Weasleys think that he'd be taking his final potion on August 31st, as it would explain why his double wasn't taking them at Hogwarts. "They're the foulest things I've ever tasted in my life, but I can't exactly argue with the results."

Ginny then noticed the others that Harry had brought with him, as they'd hung back several feet away while Harry greeted the Weasleys. "Who are they, Harry?"

Motioning everyone forward, Harry said, "Well, I'm sure most of you recognize Oliver Wood," there were several nods, as Harry continued, "Well, the boy who looks freakishly similar is his sixteen-year-old brother Gavin."

"Gavin?" Ron asked. "Why have I never seen him at Hogwarts?"

"I'm a hedgewizard," Gavin lied, as it been decided that he'd continue to pass himself off as such until his mage training was finished. "So, I couldn't go to Hogwarts."

Hermione, whether it was because she hadn't yet read the right book or because the power scale wasn't usually covered until NEWT level, looked confused and asked, "A hedgewizard? What's that?"

"There's a scale of magical power, Hermione," Harry explained. "It ranks a person's magical power from one through thirty. Muggles, for example, are at level one, having no magical power."

"A hedgewizard is level five on the scale," Gavin explained. "I've got enough magical power to use a wand and learn very basic spells, but any spells beyond first and second year would be beyond my ability to cast. I can learn the theory, but I wouldn't be able to do any of the practical work. That's why you have to be a minimum of level six on the scale to attend Hogwarts, as it's the lowest level that can actually learn and use the entire seven-year curriculum."

"Anyway, back to the introductions," Harry said. "This is Robert Higgs, my seneschal, and his wife, Katherine, who tends my greenhouses at Seacliff. And finally we have their son Terence." Harry grinned when he saw that Terence and Oliver had their arms wrapped around the other's waists and added, "And if you're wondering why Terence and Oliver seem to be joined at the hip, it's because they're a couple and can't seem to keep their hands off of each other." In his head, Harry added, 'Or any other part for that matter.'

"I knew it!" Fred exclaimed as he held out his hand to George. "Pay up."

George grumbled, as he took out a money pouch and gave his brother three sickles. Molly, thankfully, was too busy fussing over a pair of picnic baskets that she'd prepared and thus didn't notice the exchange, which was a good thing for the twins.

"Betting that I'm gay, were you?" Oliver asked.

Fred shook his head and said, "No, no, that's obvious to anyone with eyes."

"We were betting that you were dating a Slytherin," George said.

Ron's head shot up at that and said, "A Slytherin? I knew the name Terence Higgs sounded familiar." Turning towards Harry, he said, "Harry, how can you trust a Slytherin as your seneschal? They're evil."

"No, they're not, Ron," Harry said. "And I would point out that Terence isn't my seneschal. His father Robert is and he was a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. Besides that, Robert, Katherine, and Terence have all sworn an Oath of Loyalty to me." Ron's eyes perked up at that and he got a grin on his face, as growing up in the wizarding world, he was familiar with what the various oaths entailed. This prompted Harry to add, "And no, Ron, I am not going to force Terence to do a myriad of embarrassing things for your amusement."

"But he's a Slytherin!" Ron exclaimed, as if that meant such an act would be justified.

"That's not a good reason to embarrass him, Ron," Bill said. "And I honestly have to wonder just how much of your hatred towards Slytherins is natural and how much was caused by the curses at Hogwarts."

"Curses at Hogwarts?" Molly asked, as she finally looked up from the picnic baskets. "What curses?"

Bill then explained what he and his team had found at Hogwarts and that they were working as hard as they could to remove the various curses and jinxes that had no business being active in a school. Molly and Hermione were particularly upset, especially about the curses that would make students less likely to pay attention or fall asleep in class.

"I'm afraid that's not even the worst of it," Bill said. "Harry translated some Parseltongue for us so that my team and I could check for curses that were cast in Parseltongue. We're assuming that You-Know-Who cast them when he was a student or at least before he became a Dark Lord. In addition to a curse which makes it impossible for anyone to hold the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for more than one year at a time, there's also several curses which seem to be directed at muggleborns."

"What kind of curses?" Hermione asked, as that was obviously a particular point of concern for her.

Harry answered, "I've been in contact with Bill since the initial check to provide more Parseltongue translations and he's told me what some of them are for. One is a form of Dampening Curse, which would lessen the power of any spells cast by a muggleborn, making them less effective. Another is a spell which makes it harder for muggleborns to comprehend what they're learning in classes, which combined with the other, newer curses that weren't cast in Parseltongue, would make muggleborns have to work ten times harder to learn anything."

"That's horrible!" Hermione exclaimed, obviously angry.

Bill nodded and said, "Yes, I agree. My team and I hope to have all the curses that limit learning in any form broken before the start of term. Although our first priority has so far been all the curses which pose the possibility of physical harm to the students."

"Why would anyone limit muggleborns' abilities?" Hermione asked. It was clear from her tone that she was so angry that Harry imagined she might not be thinking clearly.

"Hermione, this is Voldemort we're talking about," Harry said, once again ignoring the flinches. "Remember, he opened the Chamber of Secrets when he was a student, wanting to use the basilisk to purge the school of all muggleborns. After Myrtle died, however, and he framed Hagrid for opening the Chamber, he couldn't risk opening it again while he was still a student. So, I'd imagine that he cast those curses in an attempt to get rid of the muggleborns a different way."

"Yes, if he couldn't kill them," Bill said, "he'd just make them perform so badly at their studies that they'd hopefully get their wands snapped and be expelled. Obviously I don't agree with that logic, but, I can see You-Know-Who subscribing to it."

"We should get going, Lord Potter," Robert said, as he looked at his watch. "The portkey that Lady McLaggen gave you will be activating in two minutes."

Harry nodded, as he pulled out the portkey and said, "Alright, everyone gather round and grab hold of either the portkey or someone else whose touching it. It'll be activating in less than two minutes and we don't want to leave anyone behind."

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's Part One of Chapter Nine. I haven't previously split a chapter in half like this, but I figured by doing  
> so, all of my loyal readers get an update and everything I said will be in Chapter Nine in the 'Next Chapter' teaser at the end of Chapter Eight will be in Chapter Nine - it's just that some of it will be relegated to Part Two of Chapter Nine. If I'd continued and covered everything I said I'd cover, I think this chapter would easily have been over 30,000 words. That's probably way too long for a single chapter, so, I figured splitting it here, before reaching 19,000 was better. Consider this to be my Valentine's Day gift to all of you lovely people reading and reviewing the story.


	10. Chapter Nine, Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Nine  
Part Two

-o-0-o-

As the portkey activated, Harry felt the now familiar sensation of a hook behind his navel and a moment later he found himself on a large open moor. While Harry managed to stay standing, there were a few people, including Ron, Hermione, and Ginny who fell to the ground. Bill helped Ginny up, while Charlie helped Ron, and Noah helped Hermione. Harry, meanwhile, took the opportunity to have a look around as he knew that the World Cup Stadium was actually in Brynmoor, so he was obviously curious about it, since it was part of his lands.

After about a minute, the group moved over towards a wizard in Ministry robes who collected the portkey from Harry and bowed deeply, as he said, "Ah, Your Grace, Lord Potter, welcome, welcome. We've reserved a prime spot for you to pitch your tent and if there's anything you should need, please don't hesitate to ask. These are, of course, your lands, so we will be most pleased to help you in whatever way we can. Please enjoy the Cup!" He handed Harry a map as he spoke, showing the location of the spot that had been reserved for the Potter family, which Harry handed to Robert, telling him to take the lead.

Nodding, Robert studied the map for a moment, before leading the group in the necessary direction. As they walked, several tents became visible and they were definitely not the type of tents one would normally see in the Muggle world. Some of them had brick chimneys on one side or a weathervane on the roof. And as they progressed the tents got increasingly elaborate. Noticing the names written on signs staked into the ground near the tents, Harry began to see why - the tents they were passing now all belonged to the noble families that had arrived so far. One of the more ostentatious ones was a large two-floor tent, made of what appeared to be green and silver silk, complete with towers and chimneys, and had a walled garden surrounding it. There were several beds of beautiful, fragrant flowers in the garden, along with an ornate bench, a large fountain and six live peacocks. For some reason, Harry wasn't surprised in the slightest when he saw that the name 'Malfoy' was displayed on the sign nearby.

Arriving at the spot reserved for the Potters, Harry could immediately see that it was indeed a prime location. There was, perhaps only one location on the moor as far as Harry could see that would be better. He knew though that it was reserved for the Pendragon family, even though nobody seriously expected the King to put in a public appearance, seeing as how he was now twenty-four-years-old and hadn't done so since he was two. On the off chance that he did, however, it was only right to ensure that there was a prime space for his tent to be placed.

"All right, everyone, stand back please," Robert said, as he removed a shrunken package from a pocket of his robes, which he placed on the ground in the exact center of the section reserved for the Potter family. After enlarging the package, Robert joined the others at a safe distance before he pointed his wand in the direction of the package and said, "Statuo!"

Instantly the package popped open and a truly huge tent began pitching itself. Befitting Harry's stature as a Duke, the Potter tent was perhaps one of the most ostentatious tents Harry had thus far seen. When it had finished setting itself up, Harry immediately recognized the form.

Hermione's eyes were as large as dinner plates, as she said, "That's not a tent - it's a castle."

Harry grinned. "Yes, Hermione. Actually, by the looks of it, this is a one-fourth scale version of Seacliff, complete with the fountains and formal gardens that surround the estate."

"One-fourth scale?" Ron asked, clearly amazed. "Merlin's beard, Harry, this is huge and you say it's only one-fourth the size of the real thing?"

Nodding, Harry said, "Yeah, trust me, I was shocked the first time I saw Seacliff myself. It was like my first time seeing Hogwarts all over again and then multiplied by a hundred once I realized that I owned it." After a moment, he added, "Of course, as it turns out, I'm part owner of Hogwarts too."

"You own Hogwarts?" Ginny asked, a surprised look on her face.

"I'm one of the Governors of Hogwarts, Ginny," Harry answered. "All of the Thirteen Lords have ownership of the castle because our ancestors are the ones who provided the funding to the founders to start the school. That's why the Board of Governors has as much power at the school as it does - because they own the building. Lord McLaggen owns the land, however, since the school is part of his Marquisate of Levenmore."

"Just how much power does the board have?" Ron asked.

"We can order changes to the curriculum, for one," Harry answered. "We can also raise or lower the tuition fees, hire, fire, suspend, and reinstate staff members, including the Headmaster or Headmistress, and even close the school down for whatever reason we deem appropriate. Should that happen it’s only with the governors' consent that the school can be reopened."

"And have you done anything with this power, Your Grace? Other than the curse check, that is?" Noah asked, before holding his hand out to Harry and saying, "We haven’t officially been introduced. I'm Noah Kirke."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Noah, though please call me Harry, and that goes for the rest of you as well," Harry said as he took the older man's hand and shook it. He was definitely Cedric's brother, as there was a pretty clear family resemblance.

"The pleasure is mine, Harry," Noah said with a smile. "I'd also like to thank you for the inheritance. Charlie and I were going to hold off on a honeymoon because we couldn't afford it."

Charlie grinned and said, "Yes, thank you very much, Lord Potter. Thanks to your generosity, we're going to New Zealand for a week."

"Yes, we're looking forward to it," Noah said with a happy grin as he wrapped an arm around Charlie and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

Harry smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad the money is going to be put to a good use. As for doing anything with my power as a governor, I can't act alone, of course. At least six of the other governors have to agree with me. But, we have made a few staff changes."

Once Harry had laid out the changes, Ron grinned and said, "Good going, mate. Not having to go to the greasy git's class anymore is great." He was silent for a moment though, before adding, "Why'd you have to get rid of Binns' though? How am I supposed to catch up on my sleep if the teacher actually pays attention to the students?"

"Ronald!" Molly exclaimed, unable to believe that her son would be so lazy as to sleep through a class and actually be upset about not being able to do it anymore.

"I suggest you sleep at night, Mr. Weasley," a voice from behind the group said. Turning around, Harry spied Sirius, Remus, Asterion, Kolin, and Regulus. The latter of whom was the one who'd spoke.

"Who are you?" Ron asked.

"Ron, allow me to introduce Professor Regulus Black," Harry said. "He's the new History of Magic professor."

Ron remained quiet, although Hermione immediately came forward and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Black - I'm Hermione Granger."

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Granger," Regulus said. "I hear you're a very gifted student." Hermione was beaming at this comment. "I look forward to teaching you. Anyway, I believe all of you know Remus and my annoying brother Sirius."

There were nods all around at this, although Hermione looked a bit confused about the mention of Regulus being Sirius' brother, not to mention Sirius coming to the Cup at all. But then again, she didn't get the Prophet at home over the summer, so it stood to reason that she was rather out of the loop about recent events.

Placing his left hand on Asterion's shoulder, Regulus said, "This is my son, Asterion Black," at which point he placed his right hand on Kolin's shoulder and said, "And this is Kolin Mikaels, a friend of the family."

"Also my employee and house guest," Harry said with a smile. "Everything okay, Kolin?"

Kolin nodded enthusiastically and said, "Everything's great, Your Grace."

"House guest? Employee?" Ginny asked.

"Kolin is a typesetter at the Daily Prophet," Harry explained. "Since I own it, lock, stock, and barrel, he works for me. As for being my house guest, a couple of pipes burst in his flat. Completely flooded the place. So, he's staying at Seacliff as my guest until the damage to his flat can be fixed."

"I'm very grateful for your hospitality, Your Grace," Kolin said.

"You're welcome, Kolin," Harry said, as he patted him on the shoulder opposite the one that Regulus' hand was still resting upon.

'Huh,' Harry thought, as he wondered if maybe there might be something brewing between Regulus and Kolin, seeing as how Regulus had removed his hand from Asterion's shoulder very shortly after introducing him. For some reason, however, he'd opted to keep his hand on Kolin's shoulder after the introductions were made. 'Kolin did say he liked older men and Regulus is certainly older. Question is does Regulus like men? And, if he does, would he actually date someone who’s only two years older than his son? I guess time will tell.'

-o-0-o-

Walking into the tent, Harry could hear the intakes of breath from some of the people who had never seen Seacliff Castle, because while the exterior of the tent looked like a 1/4 scale of the castle, the interior was full scale with the same decor, right down to the smallest detail. If he didn't know better, Harry would almost have thought that there was portal magic involved and that entering the tent actually transported one to the real Seacliff. He knew that wasn't the case, however, as portal magic was mage-level and it had been Nathaniel and Sebastian Potter who had created and charmed this tent some eighty years ago. Since they were not mages and had said that they believed the most recent mage in the family to have been their grandmother who died when they were five, they obviously hadn't used any mage-level magic on the tent.

"This place is amazing!" Charlie exclaimed as he looked around.

Harry smiled. "Isn't it though? I'm a bit shocked myself honestly. From the outside, this tent looks like a smaller version of Seacliff, but from the inside? This looks like its full scale." Grinning, he added, "I so love magic."

Several of his guests nodded their heads in complete agreement with that. After a moment of silence, Harry turned and said, "Okay, before we do anything else, I think we should discuss the seating arrangements when we arrive in the Top Box. As you know, I've made arrangements with Neville and Lord Ollivander to make sure there's seats for all of you." There were nods all around the room at this, before Harry continued. "Gavin, Oliver, Terence, Robert, Katherine, Hermione, and Ron, you will be with me in the Potter seats."

"Cool," Ron said with a smile.

"The Potter seats are in the top two rows of the Top Box," Robert explained. "Four in each row on the far left and will be marked with red ribbons bearing the Potter crest and motto: Familia, Amorem, Honorem."

"Noah, Charlie, Fred, George, and Bill, you will be in the Ollivander seats," Harry said, prompting those named to nod in understanding, as Robert said, "The Ollivander seats are in the two rows right before the Potter seats, so the third and fourth rows from the top. There's four seats in each row and they will be marked with azure ribbons bearing the Ollivander crest and motto: Rex quippe et patria."

"Lord Ollivander, his seneschal, and his grandson will be in the box, as well, of course," Harry said. "So, please let them choose which seats they want and then you can take the extras."

"Sounds good, Harry," Charlie said, as the others nodded in agreement. All of them, especially the Weasleys, were glad to be attending the Cup at all, as they'd figured they wouldn't be able to.

"Now, Percy, Ginny, Molly, Arthur, you'll be in the Longbottom seats," Harry said. "Along with Neville, his grandmother, and his grandfather's cousins, Algie and Enid Longbottom. So, just fill in the extra seats they don't choose for themselves."

Percy nodded and said, "Of course, Harry. The seats are theirs, it's only right they get first choice."

Molly beamed at her son, as Robert said, "The Longbottom seats are in the top two rows on the far right of the Top Box and will be marked with dark blue ribbons bearing the Longbottom crest and motto: Fortuna favet fortis."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there another Longbottom?" Arthur asked.

"You're quite correct, Arthur," Sirius said. "However, Callidora Longbottom, nee Black, will be seated in the Black seats with myself, Remus, Regulus, Asterion, and Kolin."

"We're further down on the right," Asterion commented. "Six seats in the second row from the bottom, marked with black ribbons bearing our crest and motto: Toujours Pur." Under his breath, only loud enough for Regulus to hear, he added, "Which is a load of tosh."

At that moment, Tilly appeared next to Harry and said, "Lord Potter, your elves from estate here in Brynmoor have prepared brunch for you and your guests. It is in waiting in the morning room."

"Thank you, Tilly," Harry said, as the elf nodded and disappeared. "Right this way, everyone," Harry added and winced ever so slightly when he caught sight of the scowl on Hermione's face. 'Oh Merlin, I'm in for it now,' he thought.

Leading everyone to the morning room, it didn't surprise anyone when Ron was the first in line to get at the food that had been set out. Several of the others followed suit, while Hermione, looking determined and angry, cornered Harry and exclaimed, "Harry! You have house-elves!"

"Yes, Hermione, I have house-elves," Harry confirmed. "Including Tilly, there's six of them at Seacliff and three or four at my other properties around the world. All told, I have just over fifty of them, I believe."

"Fifty! And just why haven't you freed them yet?" Hermione asked, as Robert approached.

"Excuse me, Miss Granger," Robert said, "but why would Lord Potter free his house-elves when they haven't done anything to deserve it?"

Looking at Robert as if he'd just grown a second and third head, Hermione said, "You make freeing them sound like it's some sort of vile punishment. They're slaves!"

"Slavery is illegal in this country and has been for centuries," Robert said.

"Human slavery maybe," Hermione said. "But house-elves are still enslaved and nobody seems to care one iota about it. Of course, that's not really surprising is it? Most witches and wizards do seem to think that they're far superior to all non-humans."

"Hermione," Harry said, "has it ever occurred to you that perhaps the reason that many witches and wizards don't take your idea of freeing the house-elves seriously is because they know something you don't?"

Before Hermione could say anything, Robert said, "Miss Granger, do you even know how house-elves came into existence?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hermione asked, clearly annoyed by what seemed to be a change of subject.

"Quite a bit actually," Robert answered in a patient tone. "You see Miss Granger, house-elves are descended from actual elves. That is the tall, lithe, pointy-eared humanoids you may have read about in Muggle fantasy novels. They were extremely gifted with magic and at one time they were the dominant species of the Earth, until humans turned up. After awhile, the elves used magic to open a portal to Avalon and withdrew from the Earth forever. However, this couldn't be done more than once and then only for a very short time, so there were a few hundred elves that inadvertently got left behind."

Pausing for a moment, Robert continued, "Elven magic had strong ties to nature, but as humans continued cutting down their sacred forests, not only for building materials but to clear space for their fields and cities, their magic began to weaken. The problem is that the elves themselves had a symbiotic relationship with that magic and they couldn't live without it. So, when the magic began weakening, so did they, devolving into what we now know as house-elves. They would have died off completely if not for Merlin, who figured out a binding spell that could be used to bind them to humans, thus allowing them to feed off of their magic. Extremely grateful for being saved from complete extinction, they chose to act as servants, wanting to do everything they possibly could for the humans who had saved them."

Having heard this tale, Harry said, "Dobby is a very rare case, Hermione. The vast majority of house-elves cannot live without being bonded to a human. If they don't find a new family to bond with, they'd get progressively sicker and weaker until they die. I'm the Duke of Granston, Hermione, if I were to dismiss my elves, there isn't a family in the country who would take them for fear of getting on my bad side, so they would all languish in pain for months before they died. Do you still think I should free all of my elves? Knowing that I'd basically be sentencing them to extremely painful suffering and death?"

Hermione deflated a bit and shook her head. "Why hasn't anyone done anything to help them? Find a cure so that they can be free?"

"Plenty of people have tried, including Merlin himself, Miss Granger," Robert said. "If the greatest and most accomplished wizard of all time was unable to find a way to help them, I doubt anyone ever will."

Deep in thought, Hermione didn't notice when Harry excused himself to get some food for himself. Even though he'd already eaten breakfast at Forest Cottage before going to The Burrow to pick up Hermione, Noah, and the Weasleys, Harry grabbed a plate and helped himself to generous helpings of toast, bacon, and fresh fruit. He also grabbed a couple of croissants, and some of the assorted meats and cheeses that had been put out. He usually would not eat this much after eating breakfast less than two hours ago, but the nutrient potions had ratcheted up his appetite. Turning away from the food, Harry quickly scanned the room. There were four round tables, each able to seat six people, setup in the center of the room. A row of tall windows lined the eastern wall, while the sideboard where the buffet had been placed was along the northern wall. A couple of couches and chairs setup around a coffee table in front of a fireplace that graced the opposite wall.

While there were two empty seats at the table where Ron was sitting with Gavin, Oliver, and Terence, Harry decided that he didn't want to sit there just now. Ron and Oliver were having a very animated discussion about Quidditch while eating and this early in the morning, Harry was in the mood for something a bit more sedate. Spying Noah and Charlie seated alone on a couch near the fireplace, each balancing a plate of food on their laps, Harry smiled and decided that he'd like to get to know them a bit better. Decision made, he began heading in that direction. On his way, however, two of the house-elves from Harry's Brynmoor estate came out with trays of various drinks. Almost immediately, Molly said, "No, Ginny, you may not have champagne - you're too young to be drinking alcohol." Turning in Ron's direction, she added, "And that goes for you too, Ronald - and everyone else underage."

There were a few groans from around the room, as Harry came over and said, "Molly, I think the Brynmoor Buzz should be safe for those underage."

"Brynmoor Buzz?" Molly asked. "What's that?"

Harry smiled. "My grandfather Julian created it in 1963, when the World Cup was last held here. It became a big hit with the nobles and the others that had a chance to sample some. It's two parts pumpkin juice added to one part champagne, served chilled in a flute. The pumpkin juice dilutes the champagne and thus should be safe for everyone to drink." Molly still looked unsure, so Harry added, "If it'll make you feel better, I can instruct my elves to limit the underage people to a maximum of two glasses."

"And will that include you, Harry?" Molly asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Harry smiled. He had a feeling that Molly was having issues accepting the fact that he was now legally an adult. He was only fourteen, though, so he could understand why she might have issue with it. The fact that she was not from a noble family and thus likely did not have much contact or experience with the laws governing the nobility was not likely to help matters. "I would only remind you, Molly, that in the eyes of the law I am legally an adult. However, if it will ease your mind, I will limit myself to two glasses for now. I make no promises for later, however, as I may wish to partake again. Especially if Ireland wins the Cup."

Molly nodded and said, "I can live with that."

Passing on the orders to the house-elves, who bobbed their heads in understanding, Harry then made his way over to where Charlie and Noah were seated and sat down. With a grin, he said, "Looks like your Mum is having a hard time with me being considered an adult now."

Charlie laughed and said, "I'm not surprised, Harry. I'll be twenty-one in December, not to mention being a married man come Saturday. She still has her moments though where she treats me like I'm five."

"I think treating their children like kids no matter how old they are is part of a parents' job description," Noah said with a smile, though it faded a bit as he added, "Those that choose to keep their children anyway."

"Noah, I just want to say," Harry began, "that I completely disagree with your father's actions. Disowning you for being gay is not right."

Noah smiled. "I'm not gay, Harry." At Harry's confused look, Noah added, "I'm actually bisexual, so, I like both genders. As for my father disowning me, well, if Charlie was a girl he'd have no problem with it and I never would have been disowned in the first place." Shooting a grin at Charlie, he added, "I have to say I'm quite happy he isn't a girl though."

"Still disowning your child," Harry said with a shake of his head. "It's never right, no matter what the circumstances."

"You're preaching to the choir, Harry," Noah said as he nodded his head in agreement, while Charlie reached over, grabbed Noah's hand, and squeezed it. After giving Charlie a grateful look, Noah turned back to Harry and said, "I can't imagine my father was all that pleased at the will reading when you granted that bequest your father left me."

"No, he wasn't," Harry said. "I imagine the fact that I specifically told my solicitor to read it as it was written didn't help matters. He'd asked beforehand if he should omit the heir part and call you Noah Kirke instead, but I told him not to."

Noah shook his head, as he said, "Oh wow. I wish I had been there to see the look on my father's face at that."

"Yeah, he wasn't happy about it," Harry said. "Had to order him to be quiet and then when my solicitor read the next bequest, giving Cedric only 10,000 Galleons, well, I had to ask one of my house-elves to get him a Calming Draught. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack or something."

"I can imagine," Noah said. "Although, embarrassing him like that in front of the other lords, Harry, might not have been the best move. He's a very proud man and I know for a fact that he can hold onto a grudge like a starving dog would hold unto a slab of prime rib. You've very likely made an enemy by doing that."

"So be it," Harry said. "I don't agree with what he did and I wanted to make sure he knew that."

"Well, I think you definitely succeeded in doing that, Harry," Charlie said. "Just be careful with Amos Diggory, though, Harry. Even if I wasn't dating Noah, I've heard plenty over the years about him - The Burrow is in Taleford, after all. He's usually a kind and fair man, but if you cross or anger him, he can also be a very dangerous enemy."

Noah nodded. "Yeah, after I was disowned and left the country to go work in Romania, he was trying to arrange things at the Ministry to revoke my citizenship and put me on a black list so that I wouldn't be allowed to return to Albion. Fortunately for me doing that requires a majority vote of the Wizengamot and a majority of them did not view my being bisexual and in love with a man to be an offense worthy of barring me from entering the country."

"That's horrible," Harry said with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, it is," Noah agreed. "Actually, I suppose I should thank you, Harry, at least indirectly."

Harry looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Harry, that type of proceeding requires that the members be present to cast their votes in person," Charlie explained. "Lord Diggory tried to arrange it so that only those people who he knew would vote with him were present at the meeting, which can take place so long as a third of the possible votes are accounted for and it's very easy to insure that when you have thirteen noble houses who all have four votes, which gives them a clear majority if they all side together."

"Thankfully for me, though, your seneschal is very good at his job, Harry," Noah said. "He heard about the meeting in time to gather enough votes to counter the votes that my father had gathered, with the Potter votes being the deciding factor, so the final vote was 33 to 37. Of course, my father tried to argue that in a vote of that nature only the owner of the seats in question should be allowed to vote. He didn't succeed in his bid to bar your seneschal from voting, but if he had, the vote would have been tied 33 to 33, at which point the Minister is empowered to cast a vote to break the tie. Which would have been bad for me because I've heard through the grapevine that my father had made arrangements with Fudge to insure he would have voted the way my father wanted him to."

"No thanks are necessary, Noah," Harry said. "I'm glad that Robert voted the way he did, as I would have voted the same way. And from talking with my father's portrait, I can safely say that he would have as well." Looking at Charlie, he said, "Charlie, your family has been very kind to me over the years, enough so that I think of them like my family. So, if either of you ever need anything, I'll do my best to help. On that you have my word."

Charlie and Noah were quiet for a moment, before they both smiled and Charlie said, "Thanks, Harry. I appreciate it."

-o-0-o-

Later that afternoon, everyone made their way into the World Cup Stadium. Harry found himself thankful that the lords and their guests had a separate entrance from the rest of the people in attendance, because as he looked over at the throngs of people standing in line at the other entrances to the stadium, he could see that it would be very easy to get lost in the masses. Of course, that wasn't all that surprising for an international event being held in a stadium with over a hundred thousand seats. Arriving in the Top Box, Harry and his guests began moving to the allocated seats as Harry had explained to them earlier. Those among them sitting in the Ollivander and Longbottom sections made sure to allow the respective families first choice of the seats they wanted and then sat in the spares.

All was going relatively well and quiet. Harry nodded at Rolf as he saw him enter the box with the Malfoy family as they headed towards the seats reserved for them, happy to see that Draco appeared to be behaving. Harry didn't know it at the time but Rolf had cast a spell on Draco that would insure he could never be outside of Rolf's sight - mainly because he couldn't walk more than five feet away from Rolf in any direction.

Harry paled, however, when he spied the Minister's group entering the box. It had nothing to do with Fudge, the Bulgarian minister, or their aides, and everything to do with the people following them. This was because following them into the box were two young men that were immediately recognizable to Harry. He'd only met one of them, of course, and that was Jonas Cuffe, who apparently had an identical twin brother. Following Jonas and his brother were two more men and a young woman, who Harry assumed were the other Cuffe children. Bringing up the rear, of course, was none other than Barnabas Cuffe.

Barnabas hadn't noticed him yet, so casting a discreet look over at where Kolin was sitting in the Black seats, Harry could see that Kolin had stiffened upon noticing his boss entering the box. Regulus noticed as well and quickly stood, moving to exchange seats with Kolin so that he wasn't sitting on the aisle, right across the stairs from the seats in the Ministry section where the Cuffe family were making themselves comfortable. Harry had heard that the Minister had plans to raffle off the extra seats, but hadn't heard that it had been the Cuffe family who'd won. 'Poor Kolin,' Harry thought, as it would seem that Kolin couldn't even have a nice day out to enjoy the World Cup without seeing his boss. 'At least he'll be brought to justice soon. I'll see to that at the Tribunal.'

Watching carefully, it seemed as though Barnabas was busy talking with the Minister and thus hadn't noticed Kolin sitting in the Black seats. 'Thank Merlin for small favors,' Harry thought, as he spied Lord Diggory entering the box with Cedric and Roger. Amos smiled at several of his fellow lords, greeting them jovially, until finally his eyes landed on the Ollivander seats and he spotted Noah seated behind Lord Ollivander's seneschal.

"Your Grace, with all due respect, what is he doing here?" Amos asked.

Garrick had no problem figuring out just who Amos was referring to. "He's my guest Taleford."

"You invited him?" Amos asked.

"No, actually, my grandson did," Garrick explained. "Gareth knew that we wouldn't be using all of our seats and with my approval, made arrangements with Lord Potter for the extra seats to be filled. I have no problems with allowing Mr. Kirke to watch the Cup from my box, Taleford."

Harry thought Amos looked well and truly steamed at this comment, but he was obviously holding back his anger as much as possible, because he didn't want to be seen yelling at a higher lord in public. Casting a look over at Cedric, Harry could see the pained expression on his face, as if afraid of what his father might do. Turning away from Lord Ollivander, Amos said, "Come Cedric, we're leaving."

Cedric's eyes widened, as he asked, "What?"

"You heard me, we're leaving," Amos reiterated to Cedric. His gaze then fell on Roger and he added, "Your friend can stay and watch the game from our seats, but we are going back to our tent." Handing Roger the pair of Omnioculars he was holding, Amos said, "Record the game for us, will you?"

Roger nodded silently, not wanting to argue with a lord. Cedric, however, was just about to argue when Ludo Bagman arrived in the Top Box and began greeting everyone, starting with Ministers Fudge and Oblansk. Once he'd greeted everyone, he asked, "Is everyone ready?"

Ignoring Ludo, Cedric tried again to convince his father, "Please, Father, let's just stay and watch the game. It won't kill us to sit in the same box as Noah and I know you want to see this game just as much as I do."

Any response Amos might have had was drowned out when suddenly a drum roll sounded loudly throughout the stadium, followed by an equally loud trumpet fanfare that caused the mouths of several people in the Top Box and quite a few throughout the expansive stadium to drop open in shock. Of course, there were also quite a few people who looked confused, because they were either Muggleborns, Muggle-raised, or foreign.

"What is that?" Hermione asked.

Leaning forwards in his seat, his head between Hermione's and Harry's, Terence said in a clearly awed whisper, "That's the royal fanfare."

"The royal fanfare?" Hermione asked, obviously confused. "The Queen knows about the World Cup?"

"I'll explain later, Hermione," Harry said. "Suffice it to say I've learned a few things since claiming my birthright, but that fanfare means that His Majesty the King is coming, not the Queen."

Hermione looked like she was about to say something, but the sound of a staff hitting the ground silenced her as a loud, obviously Sonorused, voice said, "Presenting His Imperial and Royal Majesty, The King-Emperor of Albion and Iwernia, Edward Pendragon!"

Everyone stood at attention as His Majesty the King entered the Top Box, including Hermione, even though she didn't understand this King business. 'There hasn't been a King on the throne since 1952 when King George VI died,' Hermione thought. 'And who is this King Edward? The last to hold that title abdicated in 1936. Harry better explain what's going on.'

While some were too young to recognize him and others hadn't seen King Edward since he was a toddler being shown off at court by his proud parents, there could be no mistake that this young man was royalty. For those who remembered his father, they could easily see the resemblance that marked him as the last of the Pendragon royal line. For those who didn't, the golden and jeweled crown resting on his head, not to mention his clothes, were a dead giveaway.

For his first public appearance in twenty-two years, twenty-four-year-old Edward had chosen to wear the traditional state regalia of the Pendragon family, consisting of a high-collared red silk shirt with billowing sleeves, which was covered by a platinum breastplate accented in gold. On his shoulders, were a large pair of fancy golden epaulettes, with a sash of red silk attached to the left shoulder and sweeping downward across the breastplate to under the right arm. A knee-length cape of black silk trimmed in gold and embroidered with the Pendragon coat of arms hung from his back. Red velvet breeches, with a stripe of black down the side of each leg were fastened with a pair of black basilisk leather belts, a black silk sash hanging over the left leg from the top belt buckle. Attached to the lower belt was a basilisk leather scabbard, placing the golden hilt of the famed Excalibur between his right hand and hip. A pair of basilisk leather gloves with gold trimmed platinum plate, and black basilisk leather boots completed the ensemble.

Stepping forward, Cornelius Fudge bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you honor us with your presence. We weren't expecting you."

Edward nodded ever so slightly, before he said, "It's not every day We host the World Cup. We thought the least We could do was come and show Our support for Iwernia in person."

"Of course, Your Majesty, of course," Cornelius said, nodding franticly, all the while hoping that this wasn't a signal that the King was ready to take control of the government away from him. Cornelius knew, of course, the day might come when Edward decided to start exercising the crown's authority personally, which would be his right, but ever since he'd become Minister, Cornelius had been hoping that day would never come since he'd been greatly enjoying ruling in the King's place.

"Your Majesty," Ludo said, as he bowed. "I was just about to start the game, but if you'd care to do the honors?"

"Thank you, Mr. Bagman, We believe We will," Edward said, as he pulled his wand from a holder concealed in his right glove, pointed it at his throat and mumbled, "Sonorus," before he said, "Our Lords and Ladies, Minister Fudge, Minister Oblansk, Assembled Members of the Wizengamot, Honored Guests, Ladies and Gentleman, as King-Emperor of Albion and Iwernia it is Our great pleasure to welcome you to the final game of the one-hundred and thirty-first Quidditch World Cup!"

-o-0-o-

After welcoming everyone to the Cup, Edward turned things back over to Ludo, and climbed the stairs to the Pendragon section of the box, which was between the Potter and Longbottom sections. Moments before the King's arrival, there had only been eight seats on either side of an aisle, but now, a raised platform with a large and ornate throne had appeared and it was here that Edward took a seat. Settling in to enjoy the game he removed his gloves and handed them off to Brian, who handed him a pair of golden Omnioculars in exchange. For the first few minutes after the start of the game, Edward knew that several eyes in the box were on him instead of the game, but he'd expected that. He knew people were likely to be curious about him, since this was his first appearance in public in over twenty years.

In time, however, the occupants of the box turned their attention to the game. Amos Diggory, who had been all set to leave when he found out that Lord Ollivander had allowed Noah into the Top Box as one of his guests, sat down and watched the game, doing his best to ignore his former son. A part of him still wanted to leave and take Cedric with him, but he wasn't about to do that now that the King was sitting in the box, as it would have been the height of rudeness to stand up while the King was seated, not to mention leaving without the monarch's permission.

As the game came to a close with Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum catching the Snitch, it took a few moments for the crowds to realize that it was actually Ireland that had won the game. Since catching the Snitch is worth a hundred and fifty points, it's usually the team that catches it that wins the game, but since the score was Bulgaria 10 and Ireland 170 before Viktor caught it, it was obviously Ireland who won.

"Vell, ve fought bravely," said Dmitri Oblansk, much to the shock of Cornelius Fudge, who exclaimed, "You can speak English! And you've been letting me mime everything all day!"

"Vell, it vos very funny," Dmitri commented, as several people in the box, Edward included, laughed. Cornelius looked thoroughly disgruntled as two wizards entered carrying the box that held the Quidditch World Cup.

Moments later, the defeated Bulgarian team made their way into the box, shaking hands first with Minister Oblansk, then Minister Fudge, and finally King Edward. They were followed by the victorious Irish team who reversed the order, shaking hands first with King Edward, then Fudge, and finally Oblansk, before the King awarded them the Cup. The plan had been that it would be Cornelius doing that, but he wasn't going to presume to do that once the King showed up.

After awarding the Irish the Cup and congratulating them on their victory, making sure to thank Viktor Krum for his part in it, Edward said, "We would like to invite you all to dine with us tonight in our tent. The invitation is open to all of you," as he gestured not only towards the Irish team, but Fudge, the assembled nobles and their guests, and Oblansk and the Bulgarians. Looking at the latter, he said, "We realize you may not feel much like celebrating tonight, but we do hope you won't allow that to stop you from joining us and enjoying our hospitality."

"Ve vould be honored, Your Majesty," Dmitri said, with a bow, as the Bulgarians nodded. It was true, they didn't particularly relish the thought of celebrating their loss with the victors, but it wasn't everyday that they were invited to dine with royalty and chose not to pass up the offer, since they didn't want to risk offending the King of their host country.

Looking at the two Quidditch teams, he said, "Well, they obviously are going to need some time to rest, clean up, and get their injuries tended to, so let's say, come to our tent in an hour and a half?"

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Cornelius answered, as the others invited nodded, before Edward took his leave, followed by Brian and the pair of royal guards.

"Wow," Ron said, after the King was gone. "Dinner with the King."

"Tilly!" Harry said, as Seacliff's head house-elf appeared with a pop.

"You is calling Tilly, Lord Potter?" Tilly asked.

"Yes, Tilly," Harry said. "Please go and buy the most appropriate clothing you can find for a dinner with His Majesty the King for the Weasley and Higgs families, Noah, Hermione, Oliver, Gavin and Kolin - one new outfit for each of them. Bring me something suitable from the castle and be back here within the hour."

Nodding her head enthusiastically, Tilly said, "Yes, Lord Potter," as she looked over everyone that Harry had asked her to get outfits for, using house-elf magic to ascertain their sizes, before disappearing with a pop.

"Harry..." Molly began to protest.

"No, no, Molly," Harry said. "You will not tell me that I cannot spend my money on you and your family. It is mine and what I do with it is my business. Besides, it's not as if I'm buying you all a brand-new Firebolt," noticing the look on Ron's face, he said, "I'm not, so don't get any ideas Ron. I'm just buying you all one new outfit each that is suitable for dinner with the King. What you choose to do with those outfits after this evening is completely up to you. I warn you, however, that I will not take them back. Now, I need to have a word with Hermione in my tent. Robert, if you could join me?"

"Of course, Your Grace," Robert said with a bow, as he followed Hermione and Harry to the Potter family tent to explain about the King and the history of the magical royal family.

-o-0-o-

Later that evening, after the final course of a lavish dinner was cleared away, His Majesty King Edward clapped his hands twice, immediately getting the undivided attention of everyone in the tent. After a moment, Edward nodded and said, "First of all, we would like to thank you for coming this evening, as we have greatly enjoyed your company. Now, however, before we allow you to leave, there is one matter of business to which we must attend."

There were a few curious murmurs throughout the room at that, but everyone kept their attention on their monarch, waiting for him to explain further. They didn't have to wait long, before he said, "When we call your name, please come and stand to our left. William Weasley."

Bill looked more than a little curious, but stood as his monarch had asked and went to stand where indicated.

"Draco Malfoy," Edward said next, as Draco stood and moved to join Bill in the indicated location, intending to keep as much distance between himself and the redhead as possible. However, there was soon a problem as Draco reached the limit of distance he could move from Rolf. There were a few whispers in the room, as many recognized the effects of a Tethering Charm. Noticing that Rolf had turned to look at him, Harry silently mouthed the words, 'Release him,' to his guard captain. Nodding imperceptibly, Rolf silently got out his wand and removed the charm, thus allowing Draco to move to the place that Edward had indicated. If the King had noticed this exchange or the slight delay, however, he made no mention of it.

"Brian Dumbledore," was the next name that Edward called, prompting the royal seneschal to stand up and join the other two.

After a moment's pause, Edward said, "Marcus Flint."

Marcus exchanged a curious glance with his parents, as he stood and joined the others. Thus far, nobody could figure out just what the King was up to, but everyone hoped that they'd find out soon enough.

Edward remained silent for a moment longer, a look of contemplation on his face, before he said, "Viktor Krum," prompting the burly Bulgarian seeker to stand and walk quietly over to the growing group of men.

A moment later, during which Edward raised a hand and stroked his chin as he scanned the seated guests, he finally nodded and said, "And last, but not least, Callum McKinnon."

As the others had before him, Callum stood and joined the others, as Edward pulled out his wand and waved it in front of the group of six men as he incanted, "Gyda hyn hud wyf yn rhwymo dynion hyn i mi fel fy eiddo tra byddaf yn ystyried pa un ohonynt i gymryd fel fy ngŵr. Gadewch iddo fod yn hysbys eu bod yn oddi ar derfynau i bawb arall nes i mi wneud fy mhenderfyniad a bod y gosb ar gyfer unrhyw un osod llaw ar eu cyfer mewn modd fy mod yn ystyried amhriodol yw marwolaeth."

Some of those in the room who were well versed in other languages gasped as they translated just what the King had said, leaving others to look confused as Edward finished speaking and each of the six men called to the front of the room were bathed in golden light as heavy golden pendants engraved with the Pendragon coat of arms appeared on chains around their necks. Once this occurred, some of those who didn't understand the language Edward had used but were versed in ancient rituals realized what was happening and for those that didn't, it was soon explained when the King turned to his other guests and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are pleased to present to you the official royal suitors."

'Suitor?' Bill thought. 'To the King? Oh sweet Merlin.'

'Talk about the last thing I expected,' Callum thought as he turned his gaze downward to look at the pendant hanging around his neck.

"I don't even like men," Marcus thought, or at least that's what he'd meant to do, but realized too late that he'd said it aloud. This prompted Edward to stand up, at which point all the other guests hastened to stand as well.

Edward ignored this, however and smiled as he walked over to Marcus and with a gentle touch ran a finger down the side of the young man's cheek, as he said, "My dear, Marcus, to be named one of the royal suitors is a great honor, considering that the person we choose will be crowned Prince Consort and rule this land at our side. Therefore we would suggest that you put aside such insignificant considerations as your preferences. After all, as your King, the only preferences that matter here are our own. Understood?"

Even though Edward had spoken in a level and calm voice, it was almost impossible not to pick up on the look of warning in his eyes as he'd spoken, thus making Marcus gulp and say, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Dropping his hand, Edward turned to the other guests and said, "While we have named these six as our official suitors, we are willing to entertain other options, should anyone here wish to submit any other names for our consideration. Please note, however, that doing so will not release any of the six gentlemen behind us from their positions, pending our final decision. We would also point out, in case you hadn't already figured it out from our selections, that any names you submit for our consideration should be male, single, and have no outstanding attachments or contracts promising them to another."

"Your Majesty?" Narcissa Black asked.

"Yes, Lady Malfoy?" Edward responded.

"My husband and I are," Narcissa paused here, as she glanced at Lucius, before continuing, "honored beyond words that you wish to take our fourteen-year-old only son and heir as a suitor, however, I would point out that he is currently a guest of Lord Potter's dungeons."

"Is this true, Lord Potter?" Edward asked.

Harry did his best not to gulp at the sudden attention, as he nodded and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. I'm afraid that Draco publicly insulted me, my late parents, and several of my friends at the Opening Ball some weeks back and then refused to apologize or grant me satisfaction when I challenged him to a duel. As is my right, I ordered he be confined to the dungeons at Seacliff - I gave him a temporary reprieve to attend the Cup, but made it clear he was to report back in the morning, where he would remain until the beginning of the Hogwarts school year."

"Ah, we see," Edward said, before he turned to Draco and said, "Draco, as one of our suitors, your imprisonment saddens us greatly."

"Does that mean I don't have to go back, Your Majesty?" Draco asked, his tone hopeful.

Edward was silent for a moment, before he shook his head and said, "No, we're afraid that Lord Potter is well within his rights to imprison you for your crime and we will not overrule him." Turning back to Harry, he said, "Provided, of course, Lord Potter, that you have no objections with our spending some time with him while he is in your care? Which we presume will be upgraded to reflect his new status?"

"Of course, Your Majesty, I will have Draco placed in the very best accommodations my dungeons have to offer," Harry said. "As for visiting him, you needn't even ask, you are always welcome at Seacliff."

"Thank you, Lord Potter," Edward said with a smile, before he said, "Please, all of you, feel free to stay and enjoy the dessert that is being served now, along with more wine. In the meantime, we should like to spend some time with our suitors." And then moving towards a door in the rear of the room, Edward motioned to the six young men and said, "Please come with us."

All was silent as the gathered guests watched the King leave and the six young men he'd selected filing out of the room behind him. Once the door was closed, however, the room was overcome with the noise of several people talking at once and resuming their seats.

"What was that spell he used?" Harry asked. "I gather it was some form of bonding ritual, but I didn't understand what he actually said."

"It was Welsh, Harry," Roger said. "And if I'm translating this correctly, what he said was, 'With this magic I bind these men to me as my property while I consider which of them to take as my husband. Let it be known that they are off limits to everyone else until I make my decision and that the penalty for anyone placing a hand on them in a way that I consider inappropriate is death.'"

Terence, who had also taken Magical Languages at Hogwarts and was further in the class than Roger, nodded and said, "Yeah that sounds about right."

"Why say it in Welsh?" Ron asked. "Aren't spells usually in Latin?"

"Some are yes, but certainly not all," Roger answered. "In this case, I suspect it's because this particular ritual predates the introduction of the Latin language to Albion, so it remains in its original Welsh. I imagine one could say it in Latin and it would still work, but it's not the traditional way of saying it."

Molly, meanwhile, had looked amazed just hearing the word suitor, but now having heard the translation of exactly what the King had said, she gasped as she grabbed onto Arthur's arm and said, "Oh Arthur, can you imagine? Our son, our Bill, married to the King?"

Arthur was quiet for a moment, as he tried to wrap his head around what had just happened. When he finally spoke he said, "No, Molly, I can scarcely believe it. Finding out that one of my sons might end up as the King's Prince Consort was certainly not something I expected to hear when I got out of bed this morning." At this, Arthur paused and turned to Charlie, as he asked, "I know it doesn't matter, but is Bill even gay?"

Of all the Weasley siblings, Charlie had always been the one that Bill was the closest with, most likely due to the fact that they were only two years apart in age. Thus Charlie, who was sitting across the table from his father with Noah, wasn't the slightest bit surprised that his father had asked him that question. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "If he is, he's never told me, and I can't say that I've gotten a vibe off of him that told me whether he was or not."

Noah grinned and said, "Well, Charlie, dear, that doesn't mean much. Your gaydar has always been faulty, to the point of being practically non-existent."

Charlie was silent for a moment, as if debating with himself on whether or not he should dispute what his fiancé had just said, but after a moment, Noah looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Charlie sighed. "You're right."

Hermione, who had been sitting quietly and listening, finally couldn't contain herself any longer as she asked, "How can it not matter if Bill is gay or not? I would think that would matter quite a bit."

"If it was anyone else, it would," Fred said, as George added, "But this is the King."

Seeing that Hermione looked ready to say something, Harry laid a hand on his friend's arm and said, "Hermione, in Albion, that is Wizarding Britain, His Majesty King Edward is the highest authority in the land. And unlike Queen Elizabeth in the Muggle world, he is not a constitutionally limited monarch. His power is absolute, his word law, nobody can overrule him and as such he has the right to call upon his subjects to serve him in whatever way he wishes."

"Even if he's asking men who aren't attracted to men to be with him romantically?" Hermione asked.

Robert nodded. "Yes, Miss Granger, even then. Basically, if the King tells you to do something, you have no choice but to comply - assuming that is you wish to remain free and or alive. The penalty for disobeying him is entirely up to him. Imprisonment or death are both options, however, depending on his whim."

Further down the table, towards the center, Bulgarian Minister for Magic Dmitri Oblansk could be heard having a somewhat heated conversation with Cornelius Fudge about the very real possibility of the King taking Viktor Krum as a suitor being the cause of an international incident. After all, Viktor was not a citizen of Albion and as such was not technically one of Edward's subjects. So, for the King to take him on as a suitor, which would effectively forbid him to leave the country pending the King's final decision, was not perhaps the most wise decision, diplomatically speaking. If something wasn't done, there would certainly be plenty of people in Bulgaria who would view it as a foreign king kidnapping and holding hostage a favored son of their country.

After a moment, however, one of Viktor's close friends and teammates, Chaser Alexei Levski, cleared his throat and said, "Not to interrupt Ministers, but you need not vorry. Viktor vill not mind this one bit. He plays for both teams, if you catch my meaning, and knowing him, he vill be quite honored to be selected as potential consort to King Edvard."

Beater Ivan Volkov nodded and said, "Alexei speaks truth. Viktor vill greatly enjoy this, I am thinking, so I do not think it vill cause too much trouble back home if it is made clear he is villing to stay."

Cornelius, who in fact had been quite worried before Levski and Volkov spoke up, let out a sigh of relief as he said, "See, Dmitri, there's no problem, so stop worrying."

Dmitri relaxed a bit as he said, "I vill need to speak with Mr. Krum to make sure, of course, but if this is true, then perhaps ve can avoid incident."

Alexei grinned. "It is true, Minister. Viktor dated my sister."

Ivan nodded at this and said, "And my brother. So, he vill definitely not mind chance to date King."

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the table from where Harry and the Weasleys were seated, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were looking at each other with meaningful expressions. Neither of them had expected their son to be named as a potential consort to the King. Clearing his throat, Lucius said, "Narcissa, I realize that we'd agreed not to have any more children, but we may need to consider revisiting that decision."

Narcissa nodded her head, as she considered the ramifications of what had just happened. After Draco was born, she and Lucius had decided that one child was enough, but now, she realized that perhaps that had not been the right decision. Because if Draco married King Edward and became Prince Consort, any chance of him carrying on the Malfoy line died the moment he said "I do." The reason for this was because while the laws of Albion allowed illegitimate children to assume noble titles, the same could not be said of children born of adulterous relationships. And married to the King the only way Draco would be having any children of his own would be to commit adultery, which would earn him a one way ticket to the executioner's block and the child, even if it was male, would still be barred from becoming Lord Malfoy.

"You have a point, Lucius," Narcissa said. "The product of adultery can't be named an heir and even if it was possible for His Majesty and Draco to have legitimate children together, they'd be the Pendragon heirs, not the Malfoy heirs."

Of course, Lord and Lady Malfoy were not the only ones now facing the possibility of losing their heir, since Lord and Lady Flint were in much the same position. Like Draco, Marcus Flint was an only child, however, it wasn't because Malcolm and Elizabeth Flint had decided not to have any more children, but because they couldn't have any more children. In fact, before Elizabeth had ever gotten pregnant they were told by their healer they wouldn't be able to conceive and then when Marcus came along, their healer dubbed him a miracle. Buoyed by their success in having Marcus, Lord and Lady Flint had tried to have more children, but hadn't managed to have anymore in the nineteen years since Marcus was born.

"Whatever will you do if Marcus is selected as Prince Consort, brother dear?" Caroline McLaggen, nee Flint, asked of her elder brother.

Malcolm turned his gaze from his wife's to look at his sister and shook his head. "I do not know."

"Well, it's certainly a great honor," Caroline said, before she grinned at her own son and said, "I find myself almost jealous that my nephew was selected over my own son."

"Mother!" Cormac exclaimed.

Caroline looked like she was about to say something more, when her husband's brother-in-law, Amos Diggory, who had heard her comment, said, "I don't see what's such an honor about it. If you ask me, you should be thankful that he didn't select your son for such a sickening position, Caroline. Honestly, what is Albion coming to for us to have a shirt lifter for a King."

"Amos!" Bruce exclaimed, in a forceful enough tone that he succeeded in silencing everyone else at the table and drew their attention. "You shouldn't speak of His Majesty like that. No matter your personal and in my opinion completely wrong feelings on the matter of gay relationships, this is still your liege you're talking about."

"There is nothing wrong with my feelings on the matter, Bruce," Amos said. "And if you were any sort of proper wizard, you would agree with me." At this, Amos turned his head and looked in Noah's direction, as he said, "Two wizards being together like that is a sickening and completely unnatural act which has no place in proper wizarding society."

Cedric desperately wanted to say something about what his father was saying, but he knew better, seeing as how he had to live with the man. Okay, technically, he didn't since he now lived at Forest Cottage, but Cedric was much too nice of a person to say anything that would in turn make his double's life miserable, not to mention the unhappy memories he would surely gain when it came time to merge with his double.

"I quite disagree," Garrick Ollivander spoke up. "Diggory, your prejudiced views are what have no place in proper wizarding society. There is absolutely nothing wrong with two wizards who love each other being together and as a testament to that, I've just decided that I will personally officiate at the wedding of Charles Weasley and Noah Kirke on Saturday."

Charlie's and Noah's eyes widened at that. While it was true that Lord Ollivander had legalized same-sex marriages on his lands, he'd never actually come out and said anything in favor of them. The legalization certainly suggested that he had a positive view on such things, but many had suspected that he'd done it more so because of his grandson, who made no attempt to keep his sexuality a secret, rather than because he harbored any strong feelings of his own on the issue.

"Thank you, Your Grace," Charlie said after a moment, as Noah nodded and said, "We would be honored to have you officiate."

Knowing that he couldn't say anything to Garrick, since the wandmaker outranked him, Amos turned his attention back to Noah and looked beyond disgusted as he said, "If I hadn't already done it, I would disown you again, Noah. The fact that you actually have the audacity to go ahead with this plan to marry a man sickens me to my very core."

Everyone else at the table had been quietly watching the conversation ever since Bruce's exclamation to Amos had silenced them. Finding himself unable to remain quiet any longer, Harry said, "And the fact that you could speak that way to your own child sickens me to my very core, Amos Diggory. Children are a gift and it's a parents' job to love them unconditionally. But it's obvious that nobody ever told you that and I find myself appalled to know that our families have been allies in the past. I will tell you this now, Amos, so listen well, as long as you insist on continuing to be a prejudiced, narrow-minded bigot I will never even consider the possibility of renewing any alliance between our families." Then turning to Charlie and Noah, Harry added, "Charlie, Noah, consider this an early wedding present: effective immediately same-sex marriages are now legal on all of the Potter lands - Robert, see to it."

"Yes, of course, my Lord, as you wish," Robert said, as Charlie and Noah smiled at Harry gratefully, while Molly, Caroline, and Hermione looked at Harry with looks which could only be described as proud.

"Here, here, well said, Lord Potter," Bruce said. "I don't know why I didn't do this before, considering that I have never agreed with my brother-in-law's decision to disown Noah, but from this moment on, same-sex marriages are legal on the McLaggen lands."

"And the Black lands, as well," Sirius said, prompting quite a few gasps, as it wasn't that long ago that Lord Arcturus Black was alive and those who knew him knew that was a decision he would never have made, even for all the gold in Gringotts'.

"I'm going to stand by my ally on this," Erik said. "They shall be legal on the Bones lands, as well."

All was silent for a moment, before another voice spoke, prompting many surprised looks to be cast towards the far end of the table as Lucius Malfoy said, "They shall be legal on the Malfoy lands, too."

"Lucius?" Malcolm Flint asked his ally, surprised.

"Well, Malcolm, my son and heir is a suitor to the King," Lucius explained. "It doesn't seem appropriate to me that in the event the King chooses him, that their marriage wouldn't be legal on the family lands."

Malcolm remained quiet for a moment, before he nodded and said, "You have a point, Lucius. Because Marcus is a suitor to the King, I too will legalize unions between same-sex couples on the Flint lands."

Amos looked more and more appalled with each lord who spoke up in favor of such unions, until finally, he stood up, threw his napkin on the table and said, "Come Amelia, Cedric, we're leaving."

Amelia stood immediately, although Cedric remained seated as he fought a desperate battle within himself on whether or not he should say anything. Catching a side-long glimpse of Noah, who shook his head negatively, Cedric finally stood and dutifully, silently, followed his parents out of the tent, even if it was the last thing he wanted to do.

-o-0-o-

Not long after the Diggorys left the tent, the other guests began leaving as well. Soon, it was only the Malfoys, Flints, Burkes, Ollivanders, Longbottoms, Blacks, Harry, and his own guests left in the tent. They were all engaged in light conversation, as they finished their coffee and dessert. Once that was done, they all began to stand and head out of the King's tent. As the last of them had left the King's tent several loud screams erupted from the direction of the lower campground.

"What in Merlin's name is that?" Harry asked.

Before anyone who'd just come out of the King's tent had a chance to answer him, someone came running up the hill from the non-noble campground yelling, "It's the Death Eaters! They're attacking the Cup!"

Several eyes among the noble group widened and many attempted to go back into the King's tent, rather than staying out in the open. They quickly, however, realized that the King's tent was warded and the those invited to dinner had obviously been granted one-time entrance, so once they left, their invitation expired and they were long able to get back in. Since the Potter tent was the closest, Harry said, "All of you into the Potter tent."

The large group quickly made their way into Harry's tent. No sooner did the last of them enter, did Regulus and Asterion push their way to the front and shocking more than a few people in the room, summoned their mages' staffs and began casting protective spells that would keep the Death Eaters from entering.

"They're mages?" Callidora Longbottom could be heard asking.

"Apparently so," Malcolm Flint said.

"I knew Regulus was a mage," Narcissa said. "He told me the night of the Opening Ball. Although I was unaware of Asterion being one, as well."

Harry, meanwhile, had caught the eyes of Terence, Oliver, and Gavin. They were all, of course, wearing the pendants which would allow them to summon the trainers. But, doing so was not without risks as there were so many people around that someone might see them pulling out the pendant and wondering where they'd gotten them. There was also the possibility that the trainers were already aware of the attack, as Cedric and Roger were presumably in the Diggory tent and could have used their own pendants. Making up his mind, Harry called out, "Tilly!"

Tilly appeared with a pop, "Yes, Lord Potter?"

"The Death Eaters are attacking the Cup, Tilly," Harry said, causing the little elf's facial features to pale. "I need you to go to Seacliff and sound the alarm. Go to my halls in Brynmoor and Mathry, as well. I want as many of the guards as possible here post haste."

Tilly nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Potter."

Since Draco was still in the King's tent with Edward and the other suitors, Harry turned to Rolf and said, "Rolf, when the guards arrive I want you to take command and do whatever you can to capture the attackers. I will see them on trial for attacking an event on my lands."

Bowing, Rolf said," Of course, Lord Potter," before he took out his wand and magically changed his clothes from those that he'd worn to the Cup to the uniform of the Seacliff Captain of the Guard. Opening the tent flap, Rolf exited the tent, just as several pops could be heard as a hundred guards from Seacliff and fifty each from the other two properties began to Apparate in. As the flap was closed, Harry and the others could hear Rolf giving orders, as the men lined up and formed ranks.

"Some of us should go out there and help," Fred said, as George nodded.

"Why in Merlin's name?" Molly asked. "Harry called his guards. Let them deal with it."

"Mum, if the Death Eaters are attacking then every available wand should be out there repelling them," Charlie said.

"I agree with your mother, guys," Harry said. "I've got two hundred of my guards out there. I'm sure they can handle it."

"Harry's right, guys," Remus said. "His guards are more than capable of handling whatever Death Eaters are out there. I sincerely doubt that it was an organized raid, as there hasn't been one of those in years."

Sirius nodded and said, "Yeah, my guess would be that it was actually some people who got drunk out of their heads celebrating Ireland's victory and decided to have some fun at the expense of others."

Before anyone could comment, Rolf entered and said, "My Lord Potter, the attack has been handled and the perpetrators are in custody. It would seem that they were mostly drunk revelers, as the majority of them scrambled in obvious fear when one of them cast the Dark Mark into the sky."

"The Dark Mark?" Arthur asked, as his face drained of all color. "Was anybody hurt?"

Rolf shook his head. "There were some minor injuries, but nothing serious and nobody died. We don't know who cast the Dark Mark. We did find the wand that was used to cast it, but we don't know who it belongs to, as we found it lying abandoned in the grass."

Garrick stepped forward at this, having heard what was said. "May I see this wand? I remember every wand I've ever sold, so if it's one of mine, I'll know who it belongs to."

Rolf nodded and pulled a wand out of a pocket of his robes, which he promptly handed over to the venerable old wandmaker. Garrick studied it for a moment, a look of concentration on his face, before finally he said, "Yes, 9 3/4 inches, cedar, dragon heartstring core - sold to one James McLaggen, three days ago."

"James McLaggen?" Harry asked.

"That would be Lord Bruce McLaggen's nephew, Harry," Robert said. "His brother Tiberius McLaggen's first-born son. He has two of them, James, whose eleven, and Duncan whose nine." Turning to Rolf, he said, "I sincerely doubt that young James cast the Dark Mark into the sky."

"Indeed," Rolf agreed. "He's way too young to be a Death Eater, so, some unknown party must have stolen his wand at some point during the Cup and then abandoned it after they cast the Dark Mark." Turning to Harry, Rolf added, "The perpetrators we caught have been taken to Seacliff to be thrown in the dungeons, sir, and I've split up the other guards to search for the person who cast the Dark Mark. With your permission, I'll take my leave and see to it that young Mr. McLaggen gets his wand back."

"Of course, Rolf, and thank you," Harry said. "And on your way back from the McLaggen's tent, stop by the King's tent and see if he's done with Draco. If he is, please escort him back to the Seacliff dungeons - only put him in the platinum suite this time."

"As you wish, Your Grace," Rolf said with a bow, before he left the tent.

"Platinum suite?" Hermione asked. "And just why is Malfoy a guest of your dungeons anyway?"

Harry took a moment here to explain what had happened at the Opening Ball, with Neville, Nick and Dominick adding in a few details, as they'd all been present. Narcissa's face looked a bit ashen as she heard a recounting of exactly what Draco had all said, as Lucius hadn't told her the exact details that led up to Draco being thrown in the Seacliff dungeon. "As for the platinum suite, it's usually reserved for prisoners of the highest noble or royal birth. Now I can't hold any of the heads of the other noble families prisoner nor obviously can I hold the King. The platinum suite is thus usually only used for the children of Dukes or members of the royal family other than the King himself."

"The King has no family, of course," Nick said. "So, usually the only people who would be given that particular suite would be myself or Neville if Harry decided to lock us up for some reason, but with His Majesty requesting that Harry afford Draco the very best accommodations while he's in Harry's care, he doesn't have much choice but to give Draco the platinum suite."

Turning towards everyone else in the tent, Harry said, "Well, now that the trouble is over, you're all more than welcome to stay for after dinner drinks, if you like."

Nick, Dominick, Kolin, Sirius, Remus, Regulus, and Asterion were the only ones who opted to stay, while the others thanked Harry for his hospitality but said they were all tired and would retire to their own tents to get some sleep.

Once they were all gone, Ron shook his head and said, "Can you imagine Malfoy as Prince Consort, should the King choose him?"

"I'm doing my best not to imagine it, honestly," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Although he did seem genuinely sorry about his actions at the ball the other night when I talked to him in the dungeons and gave him permission to attend the Cup. And that was before he knew that I'd be asking Rolf to accompany the Malfoys to keep a close watch on him."

"He may have been faking to get out of the dungeon," Dominick said. "Although, stranger things have happened, so anything is possible. What I wonder is what will happen if His Majesty chooses Lord McKinnon. He is the last of his line, after all, so after him, there would be no McKinnons left. Of course, since they can't have children together, I'd assume that the King may allow him to produce an heir for the McKinnons, at least. The child wouldn't have any royal blood as it wouldn't be Edward's obviously."

Shaking his head, Charlie said, "Don't be so sure about that," before he explained all about how some other countries, including Romania, had found ways for same-gendered couples to have children together. Molly, of course, looked particularly interested as Charlie spoke, because she wanted lots of grandchildren. Now while she had fully supported Charlie when he came out and made it clear that she didn't care one way or the other, as she really only wanted him to be happy, there was a small part of her that had been disappointed. Mainly because she'd figured that Charlie, being gay, wouldn't be giving her any grandchildren. So, now to hear that it actually was possible for him to do so thrilled her to no end and while she kept quiet, in her head, she was already putting together plans for a baby shower for Noah and Charlie, wanting to be prepared when the moment arrived, even if it was many years from now.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's Chapter Nine, Part Two. I hadn't intended to end this chapter here, but I've decided to split Chapter Nine into three parts to give you something for now. For those of you who haven't seen the note in my profile, or my posts about it on my journal, Yahoo group, or Twitter, I placed all of my works on indefinite hiatus in late April when my mother-in-law lost her battle with cancer. I simply didn't feel like writing at the time. I am now slowly getting back into writing, although I've been concentrating on a few original stories that I am considering attempting to get published. So, I'm unsure when I would have been able to finish this chapter and since I had this much written, I figured I'd give you something for now to tide you over until I can finish up the last part of the chapter, which will detail Charlie's and Noah's wedding and the Founder's Ball. The Death Eaters who attacked the Cup will also likely be addressed.
> 
> Also, I'm fully aware that in the books, the World Cup is referred to as being the 422nd. However, JKR wrote in Quidditch Through the Ages that the first World Cup was held in 1473 and then every four years after that. If that's true, there's simply no way that it's been held 422 times by 1994. So I corrected the number to 131, as that's the most number of times it could have been held. Now, technically it should also have been held in 1993 instead of 1994 in order to keep up with the every 4 years scheme if the first was held in 1473, but I opted not to address that.
> 
> The poll for King Edward's love interest is still open on my FFNet profile and my Yahoo group, so, if you haven't already voted, you're more than welcome to do so. I'll be closing the poll after I release Part 3 of Chapter 9.


	11. Chapter Nine, Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rewrite of the first story in the Unexpected Love series. Fourteen-year-old Harry Potter, along with three of his Hogwarts classmates, one from each house, are selected to be trained in a series of advanced magical arts and begin a journey that will have many twists and turns along the way... and quite a few surprises for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Nine  
Part Three

-o-0-o-

Following the attack on the campground, there were several families that opted to pack up their tents and leave, as the attack had shattered their sense of security. Many opted to stay, however, especially after they found out that the Ministry had called in extra Aurors to patrol the campground overnight, in addition to Harry's own guards. King Edward also called in an extra company of his royal guards, who were ordered to join with the Auror and Potter patrols. This extra security certainly eased many minds, especially those of the foreign visitors to the Cup who couldn't leave since their international portkeys weren't set to activate until the following day.

Of course, not everyone's minds were so easily eased and Molly Weasley thought they should all leave immediately. She thought it foolish to stay in a location where the Death Eaters had attacked, especially since the patrols hadn't managed to find the person responsible for casting the Dark Mark into the sky. Harry decided to remain, however, feeling that it would send the wrong message if the lord of the land left. He wanted people to believe they were safe on his lands, so what better way to do that than to remain there himself?

"Harry," Molly began.

"No, Molly," Harry said. "My mind is made up and you will not change it. You and your family have been good to me over the years and I think of you like a second mother, but I'm an adult now. Maybe not physically, but legally, and I'm the lord of these lands, so as much as you may not like it, I'm staying."

"You needn't worry, Mrs. Weasley," Asterion said before she could say a word. "Between the Aurors, Harry's and the King's guards, I highly doubt that anything is going to happen. And even if it did, my father and I have placed every protective charm we could think of on this tent. Nobody who isn't supposed to is going to be getting in."

"I still can't believe that you and your father are mages," Kolin said. "They're a little more common back home, but not by much. So, most people go their whole lives without knowing one, let alone two."

Asterion smiled. "Yes, I know, we are a rather rare breed." After a moment of silence, he added, "And as this may help to ease Mrs. Weasley's mind, I would point out that my father and I are not actually mages, but magisters."

"Magisters?" Hermione asked. "What's the difference?"

"You remember I mentioned the power scale earlier, Hermione? After Gavin said he was a hedgewizard?" Harry asked and Hermione nodded. "Well, to be a Magister means that you're level twenty-two on that scale. So, on a scale that only goes up to thirty, Asterion and Regulus are definitely on the higher end of it."

Hermione looked curious as she asked, "And how do you know about the power scale, Harry?"

"I've been talking with my Mum and Dad quite a bit," Harry answered. "And my Grandfather Julian and Great-Grandfather Nathaniel and his brother Sebastian. They've taught me quite a bit about the wizarding world and its customs, including the power scale."

"How do you find out where a person ranks on the scale?" Hermione asked.

"Well, there's two ways," Asterion answered. "People in the Magus range, which is levels twenty-six through thirty on the scale are powerful enough to determine a person's power just by looking at them, as they can see and read the magical auras created by spells and magical people. There's also a spell, however, which I do know, if you're curious."

Hermione nodded and said, "Yes, I'm very curious."

"All right then," Asterion said as he summoned his staff. "Now, this spell is mage-level, which means that you have to be at least level sixteen on the power scale to cast it. Any lower and you run the risk of not only the results being inaccurate but also of draining your magical core and shorting out your wand at best and killing yourself at worst, which is why I'll be casting this spell silently. If you don't know the incantation you can't be tempted to try it."

Raising his staff in Hermione's direction, Asterion said the necessary incantation in his head, causing the large blue crystal on top of his staff to glow brightly for a moment, which was followed by Hermione's entire body lighting up in a myriad of colors for a few seconds. Asterion smiled and said, "You're currently a Master Witch, Hermione, which is level eight on the scale."

"Currently?" Hermione asked.

"On the day of your seventeenth birthday," Asterion answered, "at the exact time at which you were born you will undergo what's known as the magical inheritance, in which you'll most likely gain between one and three additional levels of magical power. There are recorded instances of people gaining as many as six, but that's rare enough that most people think that three is the most that can be gained. There's really no reliable way to determine for sure how much power you'll gain in your inheritance, but you'll definitely get at least one additional level."

"How powerful is Harry? And Ron?" Hermione asked. Ron, who had noticed Asterion casting a spell on Hermione, had come over to see what was going on.

This led to Asterion performing the spell again, this time on Harry and Ron. "Ron, you're level seven on the scale, so, a Wizard."

"And Harry?" Ron asked.

"Level thirteen or Master Sorcerer," Asterion answered.

"Blimey, Harry, you're one level below Dumbledore," Ron said in a rather amazed tone. Harry knew him well enough, however, that he could also detect the faint hint of jealousy in his tone. At Hermione's confused look, he added, "It says right on our Hogwarts letters that Dumbledore is a Grand Sorcerer." Turning to Asterion, he asked, "Grand does come after Master, right?"

"Yes, Ron, it does," Asterion said. "All the different ranges from level six and up follow the same progression of Apprentice, Standard, Master, Grand, and Arch. Although the word standard is never used and is simply replaced with whatever the name of the range you're in is. So, Wizard or Witch, Sorcerer or Sorceress, Mage, Magister, or Magus."

Asterion ended up casting the spell several more times as he ended up testing pretty much everyone in the tent. For the Weasley family, Arthur was a Master Wizard, while Molly was a Witch. Bill was still in the King's tent and thus couldn't be tested, but Charlie and the twins all registered as Archwizards, while Percy was a Wizard and Ginny was a Grand Witch. Testing Noah and Kolin next, Asterion determined that they were both Archwizards, while Sirius and Remus were both Master Wizards. Turning his staff upon Dominick Burke, Asterion found him to be an Apprentice Sorcerer. Performing the spell one more time, this time on Nick Ollivander, Asterion remained silent for a moment, before he said, "Well, it seems that other than my father and myself, you're one of the most powerful people here, Nick. You're an Archsorcerer, so one level below the Mage range."

'Wow,' Harry thought. 'I wonder why he was never trained as a Mage? He'd be a Grand Mage if he did the blood ritual.'

Of course what Harry had no way of knowing was that Nick had actually been approached by an Egyptian mage trainer shortly after his arrival in Cairo, offering to train him. Despite a bit of an internal battle over his decision, Nick had ended up turning him down, as ultimately there'd just been something about the man that he didn't trust. It turned out that he was right not to trust him, as about a month later the Pharaoh ordered the trainer's execution. It would seem that after Nick had turned him down, he set out to find someone else to train, finding a candidate in one of the Pharaoh's numerous sons, twenty-year-old Prince Ramesses, who despite being older than Crown Prince Khufu was quite far behind him in the succession. This was due to the fact that Khufu was the first born son of Pharaoh Seti and his primary and first wife, Queen Meritites. Ramesses, however, was the seventh-born son of Pharaoh Seti and his fourth wife, Princess Nefertari.

Anyway, as it would turn out the Egyptian trainer wasn't really skilled enough to be taking on students in the first place. So, when he performed the blood ritual, or more accurately tried to perform it, he almost killed Prince Ramesses. The prince had barely enough blood left in his body to keep it functioning when the Medjai found him and put a stop to the ritual, as the Egyptian trainer had royally botched it. The ritual called for the mage performing the spell and the person undergoing the spell to each drip seven drops of blood in a specially charmed silver goblet. Unfortunately, the would-be trainer somehow got this wrong and used none of his own blood and seven pints of the Prince's blood. Thankfully, the imperial healers had been able to save Prince Ramesses' life, but that didn't save the Egyptian trainer, as in the Pharaoh's mind the attempted murder of his son, even if murder wasn't intended, warranted a swift execution.

Needless to say when he'd read about the whole ordeal in The Daily Sun, which was wizarding Egypt's version of The Daily Prophet, he was more than a little sick to his stomach that he had almost said yes. If he had, it would have been him who almost died and he wasn't entirely sure that he'd still be alive. After all, he wouldn't have access to the imperial healers, whose services were reserved solely for the members of the imperial family. That's not to say that the healers for the general populace of Wizarding Egypt weren't any good at their jobs, as they were, but they weren't usually looked upon with as much respect as the imperial healers, nor did they have quite the same level of resources at their disposal.

Nick nodded and said, "I already knew that I'm an Archsorcerer before today." Knowing the secrecy surrounding the training and what it entailed, he said, "Before my inheritance, I was approached about the possibility of entering mage training, but it didn't work out since I only gained two levels in my inheritance, instead of the three I would have needed to enter the mage range."

That was actually a lie, as Nick had been twenty-three when he was approached for training, at which point the Egyptian trainer told him that there was a ritual which could be used to increase his power and push him into the necessary range. However, knowing that was a secret, Nick decided it was best to lie to the people listening rather than reveal closely guarded secrets that weren't really his to be telling. Judging by the discreet looks he saw them exchange, Nick also knew that Harry, Asterion, and Regulus were aware that he was lying, but none of them said anything.

-o-0-o-

The next morning, Harry Apparated to Seacliff, knowing that his double was still in an enchanted sleep. Going straight to the dungeons, he headed into Rolf's office and asked, "Everything okay with the prisoners?"

Rolf nodded and said, "Yes, Your Grace. I ordered most of them placed in the lower levels, but there was one among them that I had to grant better accommodations to."

"Who?"

"Arcturus Lestrange," Rolf answered, and Harry felt himself paling a bit as he heard the name.

Rolf noticed it, apparently, and asked, "Is something wrong, Your Grace?"

"Possibly," Harry said after a moment. "I need to go have a chat with Nathaniel and Sebastian in the portrait gallery to know for sure, however."

Rolf nodded, but remained silent as Harry left his office and made his way to the gallery. Arriving in the gallery, he said, "Nathaniel? Sebastian? I need to talk to you."

"First of all, you can call me Nat if you want," Nathaniel said, as Sebastian nodded and said, "And you can call me Ian." After Harry had nodded, Sebastian asked, "So, what's up?"

"A group of idiots attacked the World Cup," Harry said. "Nobody was hurt and my guards rounded up all but one of them. They were dressed like Death Eaters, though, so obviously it caused quite a panic."

"I can imagine," Nathaniel said, as his brother nodded.

"Problem is," Harry said, "One of them is Arcturus Lestrange - son and heir of Rodolphus Lestrange."

"Ah, I see the issue," Sebastian said. "You have the meeting of the Tribunal coming up and Arcturus needs to stand in for his father, who obviously can't make it due to being in Azkaban."

Harry nodded and said, "Does Arcturus have to be there? I mean would things work with only twelve Lords showing up?"

Shaking his head, Nathaniel said, "No, the bylaws by which the Tribunal operates says that all thirteen houses must be represented by either the lord or the heir in order for any decisions made to be legally binding. So, Arcturus or his father has to attend."

"Well, then Arcturus it'll have to be," Harry said. "Frank Longbottom obviously can't come, so Neville will have to represent his family. I know he dislikes Arcturus, but I'd rather he deal with him than Rodolphus Lestrange, even if there was some way for him to attend the Tribunal."

Nathaniel and Sebastian nodded their heads in agreement. Harry was just about to ask his great-grandfather and great-granduncle their opinions on what he should do, in terms of whether he should let Arcturus go now or just give him a one-day reprieve when Tilly popped in and said, "Excuse me, Lord Potter."

"Yes Tilly?"

"Lucius and Draco Malfoy have arrived," Tilly said. "And His Majesty King Edward is with them."

Harry's eyes widened at that statement, as did Nathaniel's and Sebastian's, as Sebastian asked, "The King has come out of his self-imposed exile?"

Harry nodded. "He came to the Cup and named six men, including Draco, as his official royal suitors."

"Royal suitors?" Nathaniel said. "Well, he would be in his early twenties by now I suppose, so it makes sense. Anyway, best not to keep him waiting, Harry."

Nodding as he stood, Harry said, "Tilly, tell our guests I'll be with them momentarily."

Tilly nodded and popped out. Looking at his relatives portrait again, Harry noticed, not for the first time, that they really didn't look like they were in their sixties. There was a very small touch of gray at their temples, but other than that they really didn't look any older than maybe around twenty-five. Thus, it was sometimes hard for Harry to think of these two men as what they really were to him. Even though he knew the King was waiting, Harry found himself asking, "You two were sixty-six when you died. Why don't you look it?"

Sebastian laughed at that question, while Nathaniel just shook his head, as he nudged his brother with his shoulder and said, "That would be Ian's fault, Harry. We sat for this portrait when we were twenty-four and he adamantly refused to ever sit for another one. Mainly because he's a vain little bastard who didn't want to grow old, so, he hid our true appearance behind glamour charms and refused to allow our portrait to be updated. Took me thirty years to convince him to let a little of our by then gray hair show and it wasn't until the year before we died that he consented to have our portrait updated to show the small amount of gray hair."

"Forgive me, Nat, but weren't you Lord Potter?"

"Yes, Nat was Lord Potter," Sebastian replied. "However, I believe there's a saying about who wears the trousers in a relationship." Giving his brother a cocky grin, he said, "Let's just say that I'm the one who wore them in ours."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "That's not entirely true, but I will admit that I did give up a lot of control to Ian over the years. I become Lord Potter when we were only sixteen, so, I had a lot of control handed to me, running the Potter lands and what not. So I guess when it came to the two of us, I let Ian make most of the decisions that didn't pertain to Potter family business. It was nice to give up control to someone else occasionally."

"I guess that makes sense," Harry said. "So, do you think I should let Arcturus out now? Or just give him a temporary reprieve like I did with Draco?"

"A temporary reprieve might not work," Sebastian said with a sigh. "The magic-restraining collar that prisoners wear affects different people in different ways. Sometimes it will take as long as a week for the prisoner to have full use of their magic back after the collar comes off and Arcturus will have to have full use of his magic if he's going to be of any use at the Tribunal."

"I guess I'll have to let him go then," Harry said and fought down the bile that threatened to rise in his throat at the idea of allowing a Death Eater that he'd locked away in his dungeons go with basically what amounted to nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

"Well, in lieu of time in the dungeon," Nathaniel said, "you can order him to pay a fine, since his offense happened on your lands. It's up to you how much, but I personally would say 10,000 galleons, minimum, and tell him he has 30 days to pay or he'll be back in your dungeon."

Harry nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for the advice." Nathaniel and Sebastian nodded. "Alright, well, I'd best be on my way. Mustn't keep the King waiting, after all."

-o-0-o-

When he arrived in the main entry hall, Harry found Lucius, Draco, King Edward, and Robert in conversation. Deciding to make his presence known, he said, "Your Majesty, I’m sorry I kept you waiting."

Edward smiled as he turned to face Harry and said, "No need to apologize Lord Potter. Your house-elf explained that you were in the middle of wrapping up some family business. You seneschal has kept me company." At this, Edward raised his left hand and ran it through Draco's hair, as he said, "And I'm certainly not going to complain about a little extra time with Draco."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Harry said.

"Please, Lord Potter, there's no need to be so formal," Edward said. "Not here in your own home, at least. You may call me Edward."

With a slight bow, Harry said, "As you wish, Edward. I usually go by Harry, if you'd care to use it."

"Thank you, Harry," Edward said with a disarming smile. "Now, shall we head for the dungeons and get Draco locked up?"

"I'm really in no hurry," Draco said.

"Oh, dear, sweet Draco," Edward said with a grin, as the hand that had until now still been in Draco's hair moved down and cupped his left cheek. "You did the crime, you must do the time." Turning back to Harry, he added, "I do, hope, however, Harry, that you will allow Draco one more reprieve before the school term starts? I'd very much like him and my other suitors to attend the Founder's Ball with me as my dates for the evening."

"Of course, that's not a problem," Harry said. "Shall we head for the dungeons then?"

"Lead on, Harry," Edward said with a smile, as he moved to stand behind Draco and wrapped one arm around his chest, while the other moved back up to rest in his blond hair. With a grin, Edward said, "I do so love your hair, my darling Draco, it's so soft."

"Thank you, sir," Draco said, as Harry led the group to the dungeons.

-o-0-o-

Twenty minutes later, the group, plus Rolf, arrived at a landing near the top of the Nobles' Tower, where there was only one door visible and a small hallway that turned a corner. Taking a deep breath, as he was tired from climbing up the three hundred steps they'd just climbed to get this far, Draco looked at the door and said, "Finally."

Shaking his head, Harry said, "Sorry, Draco, but that door is not our destination. There's another staircase around the corner here. It's another seventy steps up to the platinum suite."

"Oh Merlin," Draco whined. "Honestly, Your Grace, I don't mind if you don't put me in the platinum suite. Can't you just put me in this cell and be done with it?"

"No, I can't," Harry said.

"Why?" Draco said. "I don't think I can climb any more steps."

"Sorry, Draco, but I don't have a death wish," Harry said.

"What?" Draco asked, clearly confused.

"I said I don't have a death wish," Harry repeated. "Edward asked me to put you up in the best accommodations I had in my dungeon and that's the platinum suite." Pointing at the lone door, he added, "And this is not the platinum suite and is a place I would never even consider placing you, because I'm sure His Majesty would be quite angry with me if I did."

Edward smiled and asked, "And why do you think that, Harry?"

Turning to the King, a grim look on his face, Harry said, "Because that door doesn't lead to a noble's cell. It leads to the oubliette."

Since the Malfoy family was French and he spoke the language fluently, Draco had no trouble recognizing the French word or what it actually meant. "You have an oubliette?"

It was Robert who answered. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy. It was built in the 17th century for Lord Thomas Potter, the 146th Duke of Granston."

"Why would you put the family head in an oubliette?" Lucius asked.

"I'm very curious to hear the answer to that myself," Edward said, prompting Robert to look at Harry, who nodded his head, almost reluctantly.

"It was a very dark moment in the Potter family history," Robert replied. "Lord Thomas was placed there by his younger brother, Lord Jameson Potter, the 147th Duke of Granston, after pensieve memories and a Veritaserum confession uncovered the fact that Thomas had murdered their father, Lord William Potter, the 145th Duke, so that he could take his place as the family head."

Having read about this particular event in some of the family journals, Harry added, "Lord Thomas hated his father with a passion, enough so that he held him under the Cruciatus Curse until he was driven to the point of insanity, before finally putting him out of his misery with the Killing Curse. Appalled that his brother had used two Unforgivables against their own father, Jameson challenged Thomas do a duel for the family headship and Jameson won. The moment the family magic recognized Jameson as the new Lord Potter, he ordered Thomas arrested."

"Lord Jameson thought that his brother should suffer as their father had," Robert said. "But he refused to sully himself by using Unforgivables and instead had the center of the Nobles' Tower hollowed out and turned into an oubliette. As soon as it was completed, Lord Thomas was thrown into it and forgotten about. Ten years later, his bones were removed from the bottom of the shaft and he was buried in an unmarked grave near the swamp at the back of the estate, as Lord Jameson felt that a murderer didn't deserve to rest in the family mausoleum alongside his victim."

Harry sighed. "Well, now you know of my family's skeleton in the cupboard. As Robert said, it was a very dark moment in the family history that successive generations have done their best to forget. It was recorded in the family journals, in order to explain the oubliette's existence, but beyond that Lord Thomas Potter is rarely spoken of by family. Nobody in the family has borne the name Thomas since and he is the only past Lord Potter whose portrait doesn't hang in a place of honor in the family portrait gallery. According to the journals, Jameson ordered the portrait destroyed shortly after Thomas, totally unrepentant of what he'd done, was imprisoned in the oubliette."

"So, it hasn't been used since?" Draco asked.

Shaking his head, Harry said, "No, it hasn't. There are mentions in the family journal that some of the successive generations of the family had strongly considered removing it, as if they hoped to erase the event from the family history, but it was always decided that it would be best to remember the incident, if only to hopefully prevent such an atrocity from happening again in the future."

"Well, perhaps we should continue on our way," Lucius said.

Draco didn't look to happy about the idea of climbing more stairs and Edward must have seen it, because the blond Slytherin soon let out a startled sound as he found himself lifted off the floor by the King and cradled in his arms. When it looked like he was about to open his mouth, whether it to be to thank the King or protest at being carried, Edward shook his head and sealed his lips against Draco's. Lucius, Harry, Robert, and Rolf all averted their gazes away, as Edward kissed Draco. Harry, Robert, and Rolf because they felt that it was a private moment and Lucius because he still wasn't totally comfortable with the sight of his only son kissing a man. Not that he was about to say anything about that, mind you, as he greatly enjoyed his head where it was.

Ending the kiss, Edward said, "We can continue now."

Rolf looked a bit dubious as he said, "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but this last flight of stairs is very narrow and we'll likely have to ascend in single file, so, I don't think there will be room for Mr. Malfoy to be carried up the stairs the way you're currently holding him."

"That's easily fixed," Edward said with another easy grin, as he adjusted the Malfoy heir in his arms a bit and said, "Draco, wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist."

Draco looked hesitant to do so and asked, "Are... are you sure, Your Majesty? I can probably walk the rest of the way. It's only, um, what did you say, Lord Potter, another seventy steps?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, another seventy, narrow and steep steps."

Apparently deciding that he didn't want to walk up that many steps after all, not when there was somebody who was willing to carry him, Draco did as Edward had told him to do and wrapped his arms around the king's neck and his legs around the king's waist. Edward smiled as he leaned forward and placed another kiss, more of a peck this time, on Draco's lips, before wrapping one arm securely around the teen's back. Edward rested his other hand on his suitor's rear end and patted it, prompting Draco's pale skin to turn an interesting shade of rosy pink. Although Harry suspected it wasn't only because of where the king's hand was, considering just how close a certain part of Draco's anatomy was to the same part on the King.

Turning his face away to hide the grin he couldn't help but get, as he'd never expected to be witness to a blushing Draco Malfoy, Harry took the lead and led the rest of the way up to the platinum suite.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, at the Burrow, Charlie and Noah had arrived about half an hour ago, intending to tell Charlie's parents about some important developments regarding their wedding the following day. However, as she didn't get a chance to see her son and future son-in-law very often, as they maintained their own flat in Diagon Alley and didn't stay with the family when they were in Britain, Molly insisted on spending a little time catching up. She made tea and Charlie and Noah found themselves distracted from their purpose by questions about their lives and work in Romania. Arthur was just pleased that they were both clearly happy, but Molly couldn't help but express her concern about their dangerous jobs.

"Mum, we're fine, really," Charlie said, with an exasperated smile.

"The reserve employs a team of top-notch healers," Noah added. "So, there's nothing to worry about as we've never been injured in such a way that the healers couldn't fix. There's five of them, in all, and between them they have just over a hundred and fifty years of experience treating dragon-related injuries. So, we're really in the best possible hands."

Before Molly could say anything further, and Charlie could tell from the look on her face that she was gearing up to do just that, he said, "Now, Mum, Dad, as much as Noah and I have enjoyed this grilling about our lives, that's not why we came. There's something very important we need to talk to you about."

With a nod of his head, Arthur placed a hand on his wife's shoulder to calm her down, as he said, "Of course, boys, what is it?"

"Well, it involves our wedding tomorrow," Noah said, slightly hesitant. "There's been a few, well, last minute plan changes."

"What kind of last minute changes?" Molly asked. "Charlie, Noah, you can't be serious. We've been planning this wedding for months now. You can't just come to us the day before the wedding and tell us that you're making changes."

Charlie and Noah shared a look, before Charlie asked, "Well, you remember last night at dinner in the King's tent that Lord Ollivander announced his decision to personally officiate our wedding?" Molly and Arthur nodded. "Well, it would seem that he felt that holding the wedding at the Gwaren Town Hall, as we'd planned, wasn't appropriate with himself as the officiate. So, he's insisting that we move the wedding to the ballroom at Castle Windermere."

"He says we needn't worry about anything," Noah quickly added, as he saw Molly's face going pale. "His house-elves will handle all of the decorations. They'll adapt what we already had if they can, but they'll be adding to it, as well, as he assures our wedding will become one of the social events of the year."

Molly was sitting there in stunned silence, so noticing the looks on their faces, Arthur asked, "There's more that you're not telling us, isn't there?"

"More? How could there possibly be more?" Molly asked, before Charlie or Noah could answer. "We've just gone from a simple wedding at the town hall, officiated by Lord Ollivander's seneschal, to a much grander affair officiated by the Duke of Whitehaven himself in his castle! What more could there possibly be?"

"Well..." Charlie said, drawing out the word as he called upon his Gryffindor courage. "Harry has offered his own ballroom at Seacliff Castle for the reception. He's already got his elves working on a more appropriate menu than what you'd planned to serve, Mum."

"He's also made all the necessary arrangements for the music," Noah added. "Celestina Warbeck, Lorcan d'Eath, and the Weird Sisters will all be performing live."

Molly's eyes widened with every word she was hearing. The plan had been for the wedding reception to be held in a tent in the Weasley's back garden at the Burrow, with music provided via the Wizarding Wireless. Now they were having a reception in the ballroom at Seacliff Castle, with live performances by three of the wizarding world's most famous musical acts.

"And, um, there's also the matter of the guest list," Charlie said, pushing ahead before his mother could start panicking, as he was sure she was on the verge of doing already. Although, he knew what was going to be coming out of his mouth next, would possibly make her have a complete mental breakdown. "All the nobles and their families will be there, of course. Several officials from the Ministry, including the Minister." Glancing over at Noah, who gave him an encouraging smile, Charlie added, speaking so fast that his words blurred together, "AndBillpulledusasidetosaythattheKingwouldbethereashisdate."

Arthur looked confused and asked, "What was that, Charlie, I didn't quite get that?"

Cuffing Charlie playfully upside the head, Noah shook his head and said, "Bill pulled us aside this morning. He is, of course, Charlie's witness and thus has to be there. But, since he's now an official royal suitor, well, His Majesty the King has decided to put in an appearance as Bill's date."

The next sound in the room was a thud, as Molly fell out of her chair into a dead faint. A few moments later, after he'd levitated her to the sofa in the living room, Arthur pointed his wand at his wife and said, "Rennervate!"

Molly's eyes flickered open to look up into the concerned eyes of her husband and she said, "Oh Arthur, I just had the most distressing nightmare. Charlie and Noah were here and they were telling us that there'd been all these changes to their wedding tomorrow - including that the King would be there."

"That wasn't a nightmare, Mum," Charlie said. "That really happened."

Arthur, Charlie, and Noah all winced, because at that moment, Molly let out an almost ear-piercing shriek that would probably make a banshee envious. This, of course, prompted quite a bit of movement throughout the house, as several pairs of feet could suddenly be heard running down the stairs and moments later, Percy, Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron all burst into the living room with their wands drawn, as Percy asked, "What's wrong?"

"Your Mum is reacting to the news," Noah added. At Percy's questioning glance, he added, "In a nutshell, your brother and I are getting married at Castle Windermere, with reception to follow at Seacliff Castle, and the King will be there as Bill's date."

"Ah, I see," Percy said, as he and his siblings put away their wands, as they realized that there wasn't a life-threatening situation in progress.

Ginny soon let out a shriek to rival her mothers', as she exclaimed, "What in Merlin's name am I going to wear?!"

Casting a look at his brother, Ron, who was not exactly thrilled about Charlie marrying Noah in the first place, asked, "Blimey, Charlie, what have you gone and gotten us into now?"

Fred and George, meanwhile, wrapped their arms around their little sister and Fred said, "Clothes, dear sister," as George nodded sagely and added, "Yes, clothes would be good."

"Everyone calm down, please!" Charlie exclaimed, as everyone turned to look at him. "Lord Ollivander's house-elves are handling everything for the wedding and Harry's are handling the reception. All we have to do is show up," and noticing that Ginny and Molly looked ready to say something, he held up his hands to stop them and said, "And as for clothing, Harry told Noah and I to bring all of you over to Seacliff this afternoon. He said that he'll have Tilly bring a few trunks of his family's old clothes down from the attic. You can all sort through them and find an appropriate outfit, which Tilly will tailor on the spot to ensure it fits."

Looking at Molly, a smile on his face which he hoped would ease her nerves, Noah added, "Harry knows that you were hesitant to let him buy you those new outfits for dinner with the King last night, so, he figured letting us borrow some of the clothes that are just sitting in cedar trunks in his attic would be an acceptable alternative."

"Why do we even need to borrow clothes?" Ron asked. "We've all got a brand new outfit that Harry just bought for all of us."

Ginny looked scandalized and she punched her brother in the forearm and said, "Don't be daft, Ron! We can't possibly wear the same outfits to the wedding that we just wore to dinner with the King two nights previously."

Percy nodded and said, "Yes, Ron, if we did that we might as well brand the word 'poor' on our foreheads."

Remembering the hideous dress robes that his Mum had bought him about a week prior to the World Cup, Ron shuddered and said, "What if we can't find anything that we like?"

Guessing what Ron was thinking, the twins grinned, as Fred said, "Don't worry Ickle Ronniekins..."

"...I'm sure we'll find something..."

"...we all like. These clothes are..."  
"...from the private collections of..."

"...one of the oldest noble families around."

"They wouldn't be caught dead in anything as hideous as your second-hand dress robes," the twins finished in unison. They both cast slightly worried looks in their mother's direction as they said this, afraid they were about to get yelled at for this comment, but Molly was clearly too wrapped up with everything that was obviously going through her head at the moment to pay much attention to her prankster sons.

Charlie sighed and wrapped an arm around Noah's waist. They'd both been a little upset at how their wedding had been hijacked, but they had to admit that from what they'd heard it sounded a lot better than anything they had planned. And they both knew that with the King coming the ballrooms at Windermere and Seacliff would be vastly more appropriate then a tent in the back garden at the Burrow. Besides, they had sat down with Tilly and Lord Ollivander's head elf and answered a myriad of questions that would allow the two elves to get a feel for Charlie's and Noah's likes and dislikes. Both elves assured the couple that they would do everything they could to make this their dream wedding, so, they couldn't be too upset.

Looking at his watch, Noah said, "Well, it's time we all get over to Seacliff. Harry gave Charlie and I a portkey that would bring us directly to Seacliff," as he pulled out a small silver ball that resembled a snitch. "And he's sending Robert to pick up Hermione, so that she'll also have something appropriate to wear to the wedding."

"Gather round and let's get going," Charlie said, as his family nodded mutely and moments later, they disappeared.

-o-0-o-

Back at Seacliff, once Draco was settled in the platinum suite, Lucius, Rolf, Harry, Robert, and Edward made their way back downstairs. Rolf went back to his office while Harry and Robert saw Lucius and Edward to a small garden about ten yards from the front door. With Eudora's help, Harry had adjusted the Seacliff wards to allow for a small outdoor apparition point that would allow people to Apparate closer to the front door and not have to take the carriages up from the front gates. As a security measure, however, this apparition point would remain closed most of the time and only Harry, as the lord of the castle and master of the wards, would be able to open and close it to allow for it to be used.

Once Lucius and Edward disappeared, Harry was silent for a moment, as he willed the seals on the apparition point to activate, effectively making it impossible to use it, before he and Robert walked back towards the castle. "Did you get the invitations ordered?"

After offering up his ballroom for their wedding reception, Harry had sent Robert to a well-respected magical printing shop in Highever that had often printed things for the Potter family in the past to order several gold-embossed invitations for the reception. They would be magically charmed to act as time-and-date activated portkeys which would allow the bearer and one guest to use them to portkey directly into the entrance hall at Seacliff. Thus once the wedding itself was over, it would be very easy for the guests to get from Castle Windermere in the Duchy of Whitehaven down to Seacliff Castle in the Duchy of Granston.

Robert nodded. "Yes, Harry. Being a priority order, they've agreed to call in some extra employees to make sure they're ready for tomorrow, but they refused any compensation when I offered it to them. The owner of the shop says that he and his ancestors have happily served your family for seventeen generations and he's just glad to be able to do so again."

As they arrived back at the front door and entered the castle, Harry said, "Well, Robert, if you could accompany me to the dungeons, I have to have a talk with one of the Death Eaters captured at the Cup and as much as it galls me, release him."

Harry then explained the situation as the two of them walked back towards the dungeon. Robert agreed that it was a shame that they had to release a Death Eater, although he did feel it necessary to point out that he doubted that Arcturus Lestrange was a marked Death Eater. The Lestrange heir had only been eleven years old when Voldemort had tried to kill Harry, after all, and Robert just didn't think that the Dark Lord would mark an eleven-year-old boy. Stopping by Rolf's office, to collect the magically-binding contract of release that had been drawn up, which set the terms for Arcturus' release, the three men then proceeded to the cells.

As the courtesy Viscount Cumberworth, the cell that Arcturus had been placed in was identical to the one that Draco had originally been placed in. Entering the room, Harry saw Arcturus laying on the bed reading a book. If he'd heard his cell door open, he made no indication of it.

"Arcturus," Harry said, finally causing the man to look up, at which point he closed his book, set it on the bedside table, and swung his legs off the bed.

"Your Grace," Arcturus said, in a somewhat cold tone. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm here to see to your release," Harry said.

Arcturus looked smug as he said, "Finally realized that I'm innocent, did you?"

"On the contrary, Arcturus," Harry said. "I've seen the pensieve memory of my guards unmasking you as one of the Death Eaters who attacked the Cup last night. My seneschal has pointed out that you most likely are not a marked Death Eater, seeing as how you were only eleven when Voldemort died, but the fact remains, I do have proof that you participated in an attack with the Death Eaters. Thus I would hardly call you innocent."

"Why release me then?"

"I'm sure you know I've called for a meeting of the Tribunal of the Thirteen," Harry responded and Arcturus nodded. "Seeing as how its rather doubtful that your father will be able to put in an appearance, that leaves you and I understand you'll need full use of your magic at the Tribunal, so, you can't be a prisoner wearing a magic restraining collar."

"I see," Arcturus said. He was a shrewd man, however, and asked, "And I suppose there's some condition to my release?"

"Indeed there is," Harry said, as Robert produced the magically binding contract. "You will sign this contract, which stipulates that the House of Lestrange will pay a fine of 15,000 galleons to the House of Potter for your crime. You have thirty days to pay or you will once again be a guest of this cell. By signing the contract, you also admit that your participated in last nights' events and that should you ever participate in any Death Eater activity in the future, you understand that I will be turning over all evidence in my possession to His Majesty's Court for perusal."

"And if I refuse to sign this contract?" Arcturus asked. "You need me for the Tribunal, Lord Potter. I shouldn't have to explain to you that gives me all the leverage here and places you at a rather severe disadvantage."

Harry smiled. "I figured you might say that, Arcturus, which is why I spoke with His Majesty the King about this. If you choose not to sign my contract of release, you will still be released, because as you say I do need you at the Tribunal. However, you should know that if you don't sign, the day after the Tribunal business is concluded, the King will be issuing an order for your arrest at which point you will be thrown in the dungeon at Castle Camelot and the fine that House Lestrange must pay House Potter will be tripled to 45,000 galleons. Oh and since His Majesty does have a rather compelling reason to hate Death Eaters, after what they did to his family, he hinted that once your increased fine was paid, that the rest of your family's assets would be seized by the crown, leaving you completely penniless. So, the choice is yours."

Arcturus laughed and said, "Well played, Your Grace, well played indeed. I wouldn't have expected such maneuvering from a Gryffindor." With a shake of his head, he said, "I'll sign your contract of release."

"Good, I'm glad we could come to an agreement then," Harry said as he motioned for Rolf to place the contract on the table, along with a specially charmed blood quill which would allow Arcturus to sign the contract despite the fact that his magical core was currently blocked by the collar around his neck.

Once the contract was signed, Rolf removed the collar from Arcturus' neck and returned his wand to him, at which point Harry said, "Oh and Arcturus, before Rolf escorts you out, the King asked me to pass on a message to you. He said that if he finds out that you've participated in any form of Death Eater activity in the future, he will not be amused. He also asked that I tell you to stop pestering his seneschal about overturning the convictions of your parents and uncle."

Arcturus looked like he was going to say something, but Harry held up a hand to stop him and said, "While its' true that it may have been unlawful for the Wizengamot to try them, King Edward has since signed off on their imprisonment, thus fully legalizing their confinement to Azkaban. He says that having reviewed the evidence from their trials, he couldn't come to any other conclusion but that they were guilty and that they should remain where they were. He was going to have his seneschal draft a letter to you about this, but once he found out you were in my dungeon, he asked that I pass along the message personally."

Arcturus sighed, but remained silent, as which point Harry said, "Rolf, please escort Viscount Cumberworth down to the gates."

Rolf nodded and said, "As you wish, Your Grace."

Once Arcturus and Rolf were gone, Harry turned to Robert with a smile and asked, "Well, I think that went rather well, wouldn't you say so?"

Robert smiled and nodded, before he answered simply, "Quite."

-o-0-o-

About half-an-hour after Arcturus had left, Harry walked into the drawing room to find Noah, Hermione, and the Weasleys, minus Bill, waiting for him. He smiled widely and said, "Hello all, welcome to the real Seacliff."

"Blimey, Harry, this place is huge!" Ron said. "I know you said that the interior of the tent was full-size, but this seems larger."

Harry nodded and said, "Yes, I've since found out that I was wrong about that statement. My great-grandfather, Nathaniel Potter, and his brother, Sebastian, were the ones who charmed the tent the family uses at the World Cup. They said that they stretched the wizard-space as much as they possibly could to fit the full-scale interior of the castle, but there were limits. Most of the rooms on this floor were made close to their actual sizes, with perhaps a few feet cut off every now and then. Rooms on the upper levels were greatly reduced in size, however, and the dungeons and the Nobles' Tower were completely eliminated. They didn't see much reason to include them in a tent, after all."

Molly had managed to calm down by now and said, "Harry, I appreciate you offering your ballroom for Charlie's and Noah's wedding reception."

"It was my pleasure, Molly," Harry said with a smile. "As I told them, it's my wedding present to them. I know that it's technically Potter money that's paying for their honeymoon, but that money was bequeathed to Noah fair and square. So, I couldn't exactly count that as my wedding present, so I figured I'd offer to host their wedding reception. I hope you weren't too put out over the last minute change of venue."

"No, it was a shock, definitely," Arthur answered, "but I think Seacliff will be much more appropriate, especially now that Bill's plus one is King Edward."

"Yes, hosting the King will be an interesting experience," Harry said. "Of course, he was already here this morning. You all missed him by about an hour."

"Why was the King here?" Percy asked.

"He accompanied Lucius and Draco Malfoy," Harry answered. "I guess since Draco is one of his suitors, he wanted to make sure that Draco's new accommodations in my dungeon were satisfactory."

"I am quite surprised that His Majesty chose Draco," Molly said. "The boy is only fourteen and His Majesty is twenty-four. That's a rather disturbing age difference."

"Well, Mum, the age of consent in Albion is fourteen," Charlie pointed out, "so, even if this wasn't the King we were talking about, it would be legal."

"And even if it wasn't," Noah said, "it would still be legal if His Majesty says it is."

"I never thought I'd hear myself say this," Hermione said, "but a part of me kind of feels sorry for Draco."

"What?" Ron looked at her like she'd gone crazy. "Why would you be sorry for that git?"

Turning to Ron, Hermione said, "Because Ron, as far as I know, Draco is straight, so being with the King must be rather awkward for him. And Marcus Flint also admitted at dinner last night that he's straight."

"So is Callum McKinnon," Robert said. "He dated my first wife's niece for just over a year. They broke up a few months ago, but for Terence's sake, we do stay close with his mother's family, so I know for a fact that Lord McKinnon prefers women."

"Well, I don't feel sorry for him," Ron said. "Malfoy deserves everything he gets."

"Ronald Weasley," Molly said in her angry tone. "You will shut your mouth this instant."

When it looked like Ron was going to retort, Arthur shook his head and said, "Ron, don't say another word on the subject. You have no outstanding contracts or relationships, so, unless you want your mother and I to submit your name as one of the King's suitors, as he said last night that people could, you should do as your mother and I say."

All the color drained out of Ron's face at that and he managed to say, "You wouldn't!"

"We would, Ron," Molly said, "if it'll make you learn to treat people with some basic human compassion. I understand that Draco hasn't been kind to you over the years, but that doesn't mean you should take pleasure in him becoming one of the King's suitors and possibly having to go against his preferences."

Charlie nodded and said, "Yes, Ron, that is rather bad of you. Even if Draco is straight, as a suitor to the King, he may well end up in the King's bed before His Majesty makes a decision. Just think how you'd feel if that was you in that position."

At this, Ron's skin started to look a little green and he moaned, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Tilly!" Harry said, as the elf appeared, at which point he pointed at Ron and said, "Take him to the nearest bathroom before he throws up all over my rug."

Tilly nodded, walked over to Ron, took his hand, and popped out of the room, taking Ron with her.

Once Ron was gone, Harry shook his head and said, "Anyway, I'm sure by now you've all noticed the trunks," as he motioned to the six large cedar trunks lined up across one wall of the room. "Tilly tells me that the first three, closest to the fireplace, are full of women's clothes. The other three are men's clothes, so you should all be able to find something appropriate to wear in them."

"Thank you for helping us with clothes, Harry," Percy said. "It really would be inappropriate to wear the outfits we wore to dinner with the King last night."

Percy wasn't as into fashion as Ginny was, but he was very interested in politics. Since the royal and noble families played a very big role in the politics of Albion, he had extensively studied the subject and thus knew what would and wouldn't be considered appropriate when socializing with them. And in the royal and noble circles, being seen in the exact same outfit within the span of a single week would definitely not be considered appropriate. It would, in fact, be considered highly uncouth and a sign of both improper breeding and upbringing.

"Well, let's get started then, shall we?" Harry asked with a smile, as the others nodded. Molly, Ginny, and Hermione made their way over to the trunks that contained the women's clothes, while the others made their way over to the other three trunks.

After a few moments, Hermione caught Harry's eye and asked, "These all seem rather outdated, Harry."

"By muggle standards, yes, I suppose they are," Harry said, as he eyed the clothes that had thus far been removed from the trunks. "However, as you've surely noticed by what I'm currently wearing and by what the other nobles were wearing at the dinner with the king last night, wizarding fashions, especially among the noble classes, are more in line with what muggles were wearing in the 18th and 19th centuries."

Hermione nodded and said, "Yes, I noticed, although I have seen some people wearing more up to date clothing. Terence, for example, when he came with you to my house before the Cup."

Harry smiled. "Well, he isn't nobility, first off, and despite being a Slytherin pureblood, he does have muggle-raised halfblood and muggleborn friends. His stepmother, Katherine, who tends my greenhouses here at Seacliff is also a muggle-raised halfblood. Thus, over the years, he's adapted his personal style to be a bit more modern than what would be normal by wizarding standards. Of course, since we were going into a muggle neighborhood, I also helped him select options that wouldn't look out of place."

"Okay, that makes sense," Hermione said. "Was it very challenging to help him pick something out?"

"Well," Harry said with a grin, "it was a little, yes. You see, some of his clothes while they could pass pretty well in a muggle environment would raise eyebrows simply because they're clearly magical. The first time I met him he was wearing a white silk shirt with a green snake embroidered on it. Would have looked fine to the muggles if it wasn't for the charm work that allows the snake to move."

Hermione looked up at that, as she asked, "It moves?"

"Yeah. The charms on it capture the movement pattern of a live snake," Harry said. "So, it might coil up so that it's completely on the back of the shirt, or it might move so that most of its body is on the back, but its head has moved up over Terence's shoulder and you can see the tongue going in and out of its mouth. Thing even reacts to both Terence and others touching it as if it was actually alive, but it isn't."

Grinning a bit, Hermione said, "Wow, I'd like to see that actually."

"Well, I'll make sure Terence wears that shirt at some point at Hogwarts," Harry said. "Maybe on a Hogsmeade weekend."

Hermione nodded at that, before she turned her attention back to the trunk she was sorting through. Tilly and Ron popped back into the room at this point and Ron was looking better than he had been. As Ron walked over to join his family at the trunks, Tilly came over to Harry and said, "I gave him an Anti-Nausea Potion, just in case, Lord Potter, sir."

Nodding, Harry said, "Thank you, Tilly. Could you get some dressing screens setup in the room?"

"Yes, Lord Potter, sir, right away," as she popped out of the room, only to return moments later with six other elves, as she supervised the setting up of five dressing screens along one wall of the room. Once they were setup, the other elves popped away and Tilly closed a few of the draperies near the screens. Pausing to light some of the candelabras on that side of the room to compensate for the loss of daylight, she then popped out.

Once the screens were setup, a few people took advantage of them and began trying on a few of the outfits. Seated in a chair near the fireplace, Harry couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he saw Fred and George go behind one screen together. 'Well, they are twins,' he thought. 'I suppose they would have seen each other naked before.' At this point, Harry had the random thought that if he'd had an identical twin brother, he supposed he might have wanted to see them naked, just to compare how identical they actually were. Of course, that thought had Harry wishing, not for the first time, that his parents hadn't died, as he thought that he really would have liked being an older brother.

A few moments later, Harry watched as Fred and George emerged from behind the screen wearing matching white shirts with lace at the ends of the shirt cuffs, covered by vibrant red waistcoats, black coats, and trousers with a black and grey herringbone pattern. As Harry was the only one who'd noticed them, they each held a finger over their lips to keep him quiet, as they walked closer to the center of the room, before striking a somewhat dramatic pose and asking, in perfect unison, "How do we look?"

Several people turned around to look and while some of the Weasley siblings began laughing, Molly gasped and asked, "Fred! George! What have you done to those clothes? Harry was kind enough to let us borrow some of his ancestors' clothes and you go and wreck them by sewing them together?"

Apparently there had been a few outfits belonging to Nathaniel and Sebastian in the trunks that Tilly had brought down, which the twins had obviously found. Thus the clothes were made in order to take the shared liver of the outfit’s original owners into account. So, the trousers they were wearing, while having four separate legs were connected from hip level up. The shirts, waistcoats, and coats, were also connected from about midway down the torso.

"We didn't do anything to them, Mum!" Fred exclaimed as George nodded and said, "Yeah, Mum, these clothes were like this when we found them."

Before Molly could say anything, Harry stood and said, "I imagine they're right, Molly. My great-grandfather, Nathaniel Potter, and his brother, Sebastian, were conjoined twins who shared a liver, so those are probably their clothes that Fred and George are wearing."

"They were never separated?" Hermione asked. "When where they alive?"

"They were born in 1881 and died in 1947," Harry answered. "And no, they were never separated. Wizarding conjoined twins are very rarely, if ever separated, Hermione, because regardless of how their bodies are joined, their magical cores are fused together. Thus separation would carry a very high risk of turning both twins into squibs, so, you wouldn't find many parents of such twins who would want them separated. Along the same vein you wouldn't be likely to find many such adult twins wanting to be separated either, simply because having grown up being able to use magic, they wouldn't want to risk losing the ability to do so."

Even as Hermione nodded in understanding, Molly shook her head and said, "Well, Fred and George are not conjoined, so take off those clothes. I will not allow you two to dress like that on your brother's big day. Especially not with the nobility and the King coming!"

Fred and George grinned and moved to take off the coats, prompting Molly to pinch the bridge of her nose with one hand as she raised the other and pointed to one of the screens as she said, "Behind the screen!"

Ginny, Ron, Charlie, Harry, Noah, and Hermione all had grins on their faces at the twins' antics. Even Arthur looked like he was rather enjoying it, but he tried not to let it show too much on his face, if only to keep the peace with his wife, who obviously didn't find it funny in the slightest.

-o-0-o-

The following day, the large and ornate ballroom of Castle Windermere was full of people. The oaken floors were polished so well that people could see their reflections. Several arrangements of snapdragons, in many vibrant colors, were placed all around the room. With a bit of magic they filled the room with a sweet smell, which quite nicely complimented the sea air that a light breeze was blowing in through two of the open windows. The call of seagulls could be heard every now and then over the classical music being played by a full orchestra. A red carpet stretched down the center aisle of the room, with rows of white wooden chairs lining either side. 

At the front of the room, under the large stained glass window depicting the Ollivander family crest was a white trellis on a raised platform, covered in red and white roses. A pair of tall golden candelabras rested on either side of a lectern, on which rested the thick gilt-edged Ollivander family bible. Of course, with Wizarding society in Britain being polytheistic, worshiping the Greek deities, much of the book's girth was due to the extensive family tree, dating back over a thousand years, that was contained within its pages. The rest was a collection of prayers and stories about the various gods and goddesses, with this particular copy, since it was often used in wedding ceremonies, paying special attention to Eros and Aphrodite, as the God and Goddess of Love, and Hera, as the Goddess of Marriage.

The guests, dressed in their finest, were beginning to arrive, and were shown to their assigned seats by the castle's house-elves. Since the wedding hadn't started yet, soft conversations could be heard all over the room, as family and friends talked about a variety of topics. Everything from politics and money, to the latest gossip, and even a few parents chastising their children for wearing something they didn't deem appropriate for the occasion. This was especially true since it had gotten out that the King would be putting in an appearance, owing to the fact that one of his suitors was the best man of one of the grooms.

Meanwhile, in one of the upstairs bedrooms, Noah Kirke was busy getting ready. He was already dressed and the hairdresser who had done his hair had just left. Now, he was just sitting in front of the vanity mirror and taking several deep breaths as he tried to calm his nerves. He loved Charlie with all of his heart and he'd been looking forward to this day for months. But, that didn't make him any less nervous now that it was finally here. He also couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness over the fact that his parents and siblings wouldn't be there. 'At least Uncles Bruce and Tiberius, Aunts Caroline and Lavinia, and my cousins will be here. I guess that's better than nothing,' he thought. 'Of course, Uncle Bruce is standing up for me, so he rather had to come. I would have preferred to have Ric stand up for me, but there's no way he'd be able to be here today. Our parents would make sure of that.'

Noah jumped slightly when a knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts. Knowing that Charlie might try to sneak in to see him, despite the rule about not seeing each other for twenty-four hours before the wedding, Noah stood up and walked over to the door. "Who is it?" he asked in a voice loud enough that it would carry through the door.

"It's me," a voice said.

Noah's eyes widened as he recognized the voice and he immediately pulled the door open and stared open-mouthed at the person on the other side. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't come and wish my own brother good luck on his wedding day?" Cedric asked, in a mock-hurt tone.

Pulling Cedric into the room and closing the door, Noah hugged him and said, "No, Ric, of course you can, I'm just shocked to see you here. Mum and Dad would be furious if they found out you were here."

Wrapping his arms around his brother, Cedric said, "Don't worry about that, Noah, it's been taken care of."

"What do you mean, taken care of?"

Cedric grinned as the hug ended. "Well, Aunt Caroline arranged for Mum and Dad to be called away from the house for several hours. So, they won't find out I'm here. Aunt Caroline is going to help me put on some Glamour Charms and I'm attending the wedding as Cormac's plus one. He isn't all that thrilled about that, as he's straight and I'm a guy, but then seeing as how he doesn't have a girlfriend, it's not like I'm taking anyone's place."

Noah couldn't help but grin, because it was definitely a sneaky plan that his aunt and brother had put into action. Not that he was all that surprised though, because what with being the younger sister of Lord Malcolm Flint, it wasn't the least bit surprising that Lady Caroline McLaggen, like the vast majority of the Flint family, had been a Slytherin when she was at Hogwarts. Speaking of younger sisters, however, Noah suddenly remembered something and asked, "Wait a minute, if Mum and Dad are out of the house and you're here, what about Lucy? Cedric, please don't tell me you left a two-year-old home alone."

Punching Noah lightly in the arm, Cedric shook his head and said, "Relax, Noah, I'm not that stupid. Of course I didn't leave Lucy home alone. In fact, I have a surprise for you."

At this, Cedric walked over to the door and pulled it open to reveal Cormac standing there, holding Lucy in his arms. Motioning Cormac into the room, Cedric closed the door behind his cousin and then turning to Noah, who was staring silently at the little girl in Cormac's arms, Cedric smiled and said, "Thought it was high time you met our sister, Noah."

Walking up behind Cormac, Cedric wrapped an arm around his cousin and grinned as he said, "Hi honey."

Cormac rolled his eyes and said, "Oh knock it off, Cedric." Turning to Noah, he added, "So, Noah, say hello to Lucinda Amelia Diggory." Smiling at the little girl in his arms, he said, "Lucy, this is your brother Noah."

"Noah?" The little girl asked in a hesitant voice, having never heard that name at home before.

"Yes, Lucy, this is Noah," Cedric said with a big, goofy grin, which made Lucy laugh.

"Would you like to hold her, cuz?" Cormac asked.

Noah hadn't said a word this entire time, as he just stared, wide-eyed at Lucy. Nodding his head, he said, "Yes, please."

Handing the little girl off to Noah, Cormac and Cedric stood back and smiled as Noah said, "Hi Lucy, I'm your brother."

"Bro? Noah?" Lucy asked. "Like Cedwic?"

Grinning at Lucy's mispronunciation of Cedric's name, Noah said, "Yes, Lucy, like Cedwic."

"Hey!" Cedric said. "It's one thing for her to slaughter my name, because she's only two, but you can't use that excuse Noah."

"Oh is wittle Cedwic upset?" Cormac asked, in a babyish tone, similar to Lucy's, as a means of annoying his cousin. Since Cedric seemed to really want to play up the whole 'plus one' thing and had been hanging onto him ever since they'd arrived at Castle Windermere like someone had dumped glue over them. Cormac couldn't help but groan as he thought about what people were going to be saying if the Glamoured Cedric kept it up in public at the wedding. Not for the first time, he found himself a little upset with his mother. First she'd publicly stated that she was jealous that the King hadn't picked Cormac as a suitor and now she was forcing him to take his Glamoured cousin to Noah's wedding as his date. She was also steadfastly refusing to make Cedric look like a girl. It's almost as if Caroline wanted Cormac to be gay.

Noah ignored Cedric and Cormac, his attention focused solely on his sister, as he made funny faces to make her laugh and blew a raspberry on her cheek. He'd seen pictures of her, thanks to Cedric and Cormac, but he'd never thought he'd actually get to hold her in his arms. Beyond his parents turning their backs on him, not being able to know his sister was probably the hardest thing for Noah to deal with. 'Actually, on second thought, it's the second hardest thing,' Noah thought, as he did his best not to start crying. 'Hardest is knowing that Mum and Dad will probably try to raise her to hate me.'

After a few more minutes, Cormac glanced over at the clock on the fireplace mantle, before clearing his throat and saying, "I hate to break this up, but you have a wedding to go to, Noah, and it's time we got Lucy back to my dad. He's arranged for a sitter for her and we still have to Obliviate her."

Noah looked horrified at his cousin, as he asked, "Obliviate her?"

Cedric sighed. "I hate to even consider doing it, but it's necessary. She's too young to understand that she can't talk about meeting you, Noah, and if she let it drop with Mum and Dad, there'd be hell to pay."

With a nod, Noah sighed and said, "Yes, you're right." Turning to Lucy, he smiled and said, "I love you, Lucy."

"Noah?" Lucy asked, but otherwise said nothing, as she didn't really comprehend the concept of love at her age. And she did only just meet Noah for the first time less than ten minutes ago. Noah, at least, had been watching her grow up, even if only in pictures, since she'd been born and thus he'd had ample time to come to love her as much as he loved Cedric and the rest of his family.

"Maybe when she's older we can do this again," Cedric said, seeing how hurt his brother obviously was at the idea that he'd just met his sister for the first time and now she wasn't even going to remember it. "Once she's old enough to understand the need to keep it a secret."

Noah nodded and said, "Thanks, guys, for arranging this."

"No problem," Cormac said. "You have every right to know her, Noah, no matter what Uncle Amos and Aunt Amelia say. The fact that you like both genders and are marrying Charlie doesn't change the fact that you're a kind and good guy."

Noah grinned. "Careful, Cormac. I'm not married yet and if your Mum heard you talking like that she might just overlook the fact that we're first cousins and try and get me to marry you instead of Charlie. Merlin knows she's always seemed bound and determined to believe that you're gay."

Cormac rolled his eyes, as he took Lucy from Noah and said, "You don't have to tell me that, Noah - I live with her after all."

Both Cedric and Cormac wished Noah all the happiness in the world, before they left the room. Twenty minutes later, Lucy was with her sitter, as the McLaggen family entered the ballroom. Bruce and Caroline first, followed by Cormac, with Cedric hanging onto him as his black-haired, blue-eyed date named Evan. After them was Tiberius and Lavinia McLaggen, and then their two sons, James and Duncan.

In a whisper, Cormac asked, "You're loving this aren't you?"

"Annoying you?" Cedric asked, as he wrapped an arm tighter around Cormac's waist, before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, "Merlin yes."

"I suggest you stop it," Cormac said. "Or I'll hex your balls off."

"No you won't," Cedric whispered back. "I'm the Diggory heir and castrating me would be illegal and land you in Azkaban. Not to mention what your mother would do. And let's not forget that I'm training as a mage and you're not."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you really don't," and at this Cedric playfully swatted Cormac's ass, his hand lingering slightly longer than necessary.

"Yeah, that's just going to make me hate you more," Cormac whispered in an angry tone. "I'm straight, remember?"

"So am I," Cedric said, even though he suspected that wasn't true. It wasn't something he actively thought about, however, since he was afraid of how his parents would react, what with how they'd reacted to Noah. He was also terrified of the prospect of having Lucy ripped out of his life and being raised to hate him. So, he had a tendency to do his best to present himself as being straight and think about his suspicion that he wasn't as little as possible. However, under the guise of Evan, Cedric decided to let some of what he was feeling out a bit. It had to be said, of course, that he wasn't attracted to Cormac in the slightest, but he did love to annoy his cousin, so if that meant interacting with him as a boyfriend would, then so be it.

-o-0-o-

Not long afterwards, all of the guests had taken their seats in the ballroom of Castle Windermere. In the front row of seats in the middle, an ornate, low-backed mahogany throne accented in gold had been added to the seating arrangements. It was here that His Majesty King Edward sat, looking every bit as regal as one would expect the King-Emperor to look. With the King present and with the recent Death Eater attack at the World Cup, security was tighter than it might normally have been. Lord Ollivander had three dozen of his guards stationed in various places around the room. This was matched by an additional three dozen guards, with a third each being provided by Harry, Augusta Longbottom, and King Edward. The other lords who showed up for the wedding, which was all of them with the exception of Lord Diggory, had also brought at least one guard of their own with them.

Charlie and Noah were dressed in matching crimson dress robes with gold trim, in deference to the fact that they'd met at Hogwarts as housemates in Gryffindor. Coming in separate doors, they walked down the angled aisles to where they met in front of the King's throne. Bowing to Edward, they then clasped hands and walked the rest of the way down the central aisle to the trellis where Lord Garrick Ollivander stood waiting, ready to officiate the wedding. Before he could begin, however, Edward cleared his throat and stepped forward.

With a wide grin on his face, Edward said, "It is our wish to invoke our right to the first kiss with both grooms."

There were a few murmurs around the room at this, some confused and some just surprised that the King would actually invoke that right. From where she was seated between Harry and Ron on the left side of the room, Hermione whispered, "Right to the first kiss?"

Ron simply shrugged, because while he was a pureblood, the Weasleys were not nobility and thus weren't well-versed in all of the customs practiced by the noble caste. Well, actually, there were several members of the Weasley family who were versed in such things, but Ron didn't think it was important enough that he should care and thus had never bothered to learn about any of it. Harry, meanwhile, as one of the most powerful lords of the land, had been studying everything he could get his hands on in his downtime from mage training and thus knew all about this custom.

"I'll explain it later, Hermione," Harry whispered back. "For now let's just watch the wedding."

Hermione nodded, knowing that during the actual wedding ceremony probably wasn't the best place for Harry to explain what was going on. So, she was happy to wait until the reception later that night, but wouldn't be waiting any longer than that as she fully intended to get answers out of Harry. It was one of the great mysteries of life why the Sorting Hat thought that Hermione would be best placed in Gryffindor, because her thirst for knowledge went beyond that of many of the most studious of Ravenclaws.

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Garrick said, as Edward approached Noah and placed one hand behind his neck, while he wrapped his other arm firmly around Noah's waist. For his part, Noah just starred for a moment into the King's eyes, as he wasn't expecting to be kissing anyone but Charlie today. Although from his training when he was still the Diggory heir, he did know about this particular right of the reigning king. He just hadn't considered the possibility that the King would actually invoke it, especially considering that he'd just picked six men as his suitors and one of them was in attendance since Bill was standing up for Charlie.

Bill and Charlie, along with everyone else in the room, could do nothing but watch as Edward's lips met Noah's in a kiss that was far from chaste. After a moment, Edward dipped Noah backwards and it was clear that there was tongue involved, at the very least on Edward's part. Having been exposed to lots of the nobility through his job at the bank, Bill had known about this particular right, but hadn't expected the King to use it. Then again, even being one of the King's official suitors, they had only just met a matter of days ago, so Bill was far from being an expert on Edward's behavior patterns.

Charlie, meanwhile, like many Gryffindors and redheads, had a rather fiery temper, but he was doing his best to hold it in check as he watched Noah getting thoroughly kissed by the King. Charlie hadn't known about this right beforehand and while he assumed that Noah had, he figured it was never mentioned as a possibility because Noah hadn't thought it would be an issue. As the kiss entered its second minute, it was getting harder for Charlie to keep a hold on his anger, but the fact that this was the King, who had the authority to order his execution, certainly helped him in keeping him from saying or doing anything he would regret later.

Finally, after nearly three minutes, Edward righted Noah and broke the kiss. He looked quite pleased with himself, while Noah was looking a bit dazed. It had been years since he'd kissed anyone other than Charlie and he had to admit that the kiss with Edward had been very enjoyable. If he was honest, it was probably one of the best kisses he'd ever experience, but he still ranked Charlie's higher on the scale, simply because Charlie was the man he loved with all his heart. Releasing Noah from his arms, Edward moved over to Charlie and grinned. "Your turn."

Charlie didn't have a chance to comment, before Edward had him in his arms and their lips met in a kiss that was, again anything but chaste. Honestly, it was almost as if the King was making love to Noah's and now Charlie's mouths, because there was quite a bit of passion in the kisses. Certainly more than what two friends might use when kissing each other and quite possibly even more than what many married couples would ever dream of using outside of the privacy of their bedrooms. Like he'd done with Noah, Edward soon dipped Charlie backwards and began to snog him senseless.

Noah, meanwhile, watched the kiss and despite feeling a bit of jealousy at watching his soon-to-be husband kissing someone other than him, he also had to admit that he was a little turned on by it. That fact surprised Noah to an extent, as he'd never considered the possibilities that such a revelation would suggest, but he decided it best not to dwell on such things at that particular moment.

Bill, meanwhile, having already experienced Edward's kissing skills firsthand, knew that Noah and now his brother were being thoroughly kissed by a very skilled kisser. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a bit angry, not only by the intrusion into his brother's and Noah's special day, but also because he felt a bit odd watching Edward kiss someone, especially his own brother, when Edward was kissing him less than two hours earlier. Bill, knew, however that he'd have to get over that because he was probably going to see Edward kissing lots of people - his other five suitors, for example.

After another minute or so, Edward ended the kiss and smiled. "We quite enjoyed that." Returning to his throne, Edward sat down and motioned to Garrick. "You may continue now, Lord Ollivander."

Clearing his throat, Garrick said, "We are gathered here today to witness the union of Charles Septimus Weasley, son of Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley, nee Prewett, and Noah Andrew Kirke, a scion of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Diggory and McLaggen. Who gives these men to be united to one another?"

Arthur stood at this and said, "I, Arthur Septimus Weasley, as the head of the Weasley family, gladly give my consent and blessings to Charles on this union, and wish him and Noah many long years of happiness together."

As Arthur was sitting down, Tiberius McLaggen stood up and, receiving an almost imperceptible nod from his elder brother, said, "I, Tiberius James McLaggen, on behalf of my brother, Lord Bruce McLaggen, The Marquis of Levenmore and Lord of Kinloch Hold, and my misguided sister, Lady Amelia McLaggen Diggory, The Marchioness of Taleford and Lady of Willowglen Manor, gladly give my consent and blessings to Noah on this union, and wish him and Charles many long years of happiness together."

Nodding his head, Garrick said, "Very well. Ladies and Gentlemen we are gathered here in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses to unite this man, Charles Weasley, with this man, Noah Kirke. If anyone present has a just reason for them to not be allowed to be united in wedlock, please speak now or forever remain silent." Taking a breath, he then added, "And I would only remind you that here in Whitehaven, marriage between two men is legal, so, please do not interrupt these proceedings with that as your reasoning."

Garrick waited for about a minute and when nobody said anything, he nodded and opened the Ollivander family bible on the lectern in front of him. Turning to the appropriate page, he said, "I ask that you now stand for the opening prayer to the Goddess Hera."

Whispering to Hermione, Harry said out of the corner of his mouth, "Wizarding society is polytheistic. Just go with it," as they stood along with everyone else.

Reading from the book in front of him, Garrick said, "We praise you, great Hera, fair bride of mighty Zeus, mother of stout Ares and skillful Hephaestus, beautiful queen who walks the golden halls of Olympus. Magnificent are your temples, glorious goddess; with libations and festivals are you honored. Hera, with your fathomless eyes, your even gaze, and your measured step, your poise and grace are beyond compare. To each wedding day, you bring joy, most honored one; by your will do lovers join in lawful marriage, as partners form a household and begin a family. Beautiful, brilliant and strong-willed defender of marriage, oh great Hera, Queen of the Gods, we honor you and humbly ask for your blessings upon Charles and Noah, on this, their wedding day."

When Garrick finished speaking, several voices from the assembled guests, said, "We praise you, oh great and beautiful, Hera."

"You may be seated," Garrick said, and paused for a moment to allow everyone to sit down, before he took out his wand and said, "Now, Charles and Noah have requested a traditional marriage bonding, so at this time, I'd ask that they remove their robes and hand them off to their best men."

Charlie and Noah removed their robes at this point, revealing that they were wearing matching white silk shirts, black knee-length breeches, white stockings and black shoes beneath. Handing their robes off to Bill and Bruce, who carefully folded them up and then held them under their left shoulders, Garrick pointed his wand at the floor and said a spell under his breath which caused an intricate runic pattern to draw itself around Charlie and Noah on the floor of the ballroom.

"Charles and Noah, please turn to face each other," Garrick said, as they did so, "as I call upon the elemental spirits to bear witness to your union."

Raising his wand, Garrick incanted in Latin, "We humbly ask that you come and bear witness to this union, oh great Spirit of Fire." As he said this, a jet of fire shot out of the tip of Garrick's wand and formed a circle around Charlie and Noah, as a few in the audience who had never witnessed the rarely used traditional marriage bonding, gasped. There were, however, also a few murmurs of approval from the members of the more traditional families.

"We humbly ask that you come and bear witness to this union, oh great Spirit of Earth," Garrick incanted, as a string of rocks emerged from the tip of his wand and formed a solid ring of stone, which encircled Charlie and Noah at about knee height. The ring of fire was spinning around their legs roughly four to six inches lower.

"We humbly ask that you come and bear witness to this union, oh great Spirit of Water," Garrick incanted next, as a jet of water shot from the tip of his wand and moved to encircle Charlie and Noah, floating another four to six inches above the ring of stone.

"We humbly ask that you come and bear witness to this union, oh great Spirit of Air," Garrick said, as a visible stream of air emitted from his wand and, just as the other elements had done, moved to encircle Charlie and Noah, once again floating about four to six inches above the ring of water.

"Oh great spirits of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, we ask that you lend your powers to formalize the bond between these two young men," Garrick intoned, once again speaking in Latin. At this the four elemental rings, which had previously just been moving around in circles around Charlie and Noah began to speed up, moving in a quite chaotic pattern up and down the length of their bodies. It was quite the sight to behold as the various rings changed size in order to pass by one another, while also making sure that the opposing elements never came in direct contact with another. Soon, the speed the rings were moving slowed, however, as they synchronized themselves with Charlie's and Noah's heartbeats.

"Now, Charles and Noah, please grip the forearms of your partners wand hand," Garrick said, prompting Charlie to grip Noah's left forearm as Noah gripped Charlie's right forearm. "Now it's time for Charles and Noah to make their vows to one another. They're going to use the traditional pattern of seven declarations of love followed by seven vows to one another, however, in order to avoid overly verbose speeches and to give themselves a moment to breathe in between, they've opted to slightly break with tradition by delivering their declarations and vows in an alternating format. So, Charles, are you ready?"

Charlie nodded as he took a deep breath, looked into Noah's eyes and said, "One of the greatest things about you, Noah, is that you refused to give up on us, even in the face of your parents' hostility and threat of disowning you."

Noah smiled and said, "There's a lot about you, Charlie, that I find great, but to pick one thing, I'd say it's how you've always treated me like a normal human being, despite the fact that I was the heir to a noble family when we got together - and not just any noble family, but the family whose lands your family lives on. The fact that you could look past that and see me as a person and not just your local lord's son really impressed me."

"Noah, I'd known for a few years that I loved you, but I think the moment when it became clear to me that I wanted to marry you was when you chose to remain with me, even after your parents disowned you. I know that was a very hard time for you and many lesser men would have looked at the situation and seen our relationship as being to blame and ended things in the hope of getting back what they'd lost. So, the fact that you chose me over your family not only reinforced my love for you, but also made me realize that you were the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

"Well, Charlie, like you, I'd known for awhile that I was in love with you, but the way you did everything you could to cheer me up when I was sad, both before and after my disownment, is what made me realize that you were the one. Some people might have looked at us and seen nothing more than a poor boy trying to improve their lot in life with a rich, noble boy, but you proved to me countless times that you didn't care about the money or the title. You loved me for me and would stay with me no matter what, which is what made up my mind that I was going to marry you."

"I have so many good memories of our time together, Noah, and it was hard to pick out just one, but I finally settled upon the first time I took you home to meet my family. It wasn't long after you were disowned and I worried that meeting my large family would be hard on you, but you put on one of your best smiles and by the end of that day, your natural charm had won over my whole family. We had a great time that day and it made me so happy that I could share my family with you."

From his place outside the runic circle, Bill smiled in his brother's direction, although only Noah saw it, since Charlie currently had his back to his brother. Meanwhile, in the front row, Arthur looked extremely proud of his son, while Molly was pulling a lace handkerchief from her handbag and dabbing her eyes. Ginny, too, was looking near tears, while Fred and George were grinning from ear to ear. Those who knew the twins well would recognize those grins as meaning that they were plotting something, although Merlin only knew what.

While Percy had had his share of disagreements with his family over certain things, he was also smiling as his brother stood at the front of the room saying his vows to Noah. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that any member of his family would be standing in the ballroom at Castle Windermere getting married by Lord Ollivander himself with just about every noble family in attendance, not to mention the King. Percy had at times felt ashamed of being a Weasley and blamed his father's lack of ambition for the poor state of their bank account, but he didn't feel any of that today. No, today, he felt nothing but pride, not only because Charlie was happy, but also because a Weasley was the center of both royal and noble attention.

Ron was perhaps the only member of the Weasley family who didn't look all that happy. He was smiling, but an observant person would recognize it for what it was - a fake smile. Ron had never been particularly thrilled about Charlie and Noah, because he didn't think it was right for two men to be together in that way, but he kept his opinions to himself, because he knew that his mother would tan his hide if she knew. So, he plastered a fake smile on his face and pretended to be happy, even if inside he felt nothing but disdain for the fact that Charlie was standing up there committing himself to a man.

"You're right that picking one memory is hard, because there's been so many good ones, but one that has always stood out in my mind was the time in Romania that we went out to dinner one night and heard someone use a homophobic slur as we were leaving the restaurant. You had your wand out so fast to defend my honor that I didn't even see you reaching for it. Of course, it turns out the slur wasn't directed at us, but at a lesbian couple across the street, and you still charged in and got an apology from the idiot who'd said it. You were willing to risk your own safety to defend a couple you'd never met and I have to say that I found that very sexy."

Harry grinned when he heard this and while he'd already liked Charlie, he liked him more upon hearing this. He couldn't blame Noah for finding it attractive. Of course, all three of them were Gryffindors and it was such a Gryffindor thing to do. Of course, Harry wasn't the only Gryffindor in the room who was beaming with house pride over Charlie's actions, as the Weasleys, Hermione, Cormac, and Neville were all visibly impressed. Harry couldn't help but notice that Cormac's date was also looking particularly impressed. Of course, he'd never met this Evan Lockwood before and he was more than a little surprised that Cormac would bring a male date to Noah's wedding, because as far as Harry knew, Cormac was straight. So, what was going on? And why did Evan seem familiar somehow?

"The one thing that I feel is the most important thing about our relationship, Noah, is the love that you've freely given to me. As most people here know, I come from a large family, so, I'm no stranger to love, but there's definitely a difference between familial love and the all-encompassing romantic love that I feel for you, Noah. And just by your actions, I know you feel the same for me and it makes me almost giddy to know that someone I love so much returns those feelings just as much."

"For me, it's also the love you've given me over the years, Charlie, that's the most important thing of our relationship. But, what really sets it apart is knowing that your love for me is unconditional and that you're not going to say you love me today and then toss me aside like yesterday's trash the next. I experienced that with my parents and you were there for me to do whatever was necessary to make me feel better and help me pick up the pieces of my shattered life. I will never be able to find the words to express just how much that meant to me, Charlie - how much you and your love mean to me."

"Something I'd like everyone here to know about Noah, if they don't already, is that in all the years that I've known him, he has consistently remained a good and kind man, who cares deeply about the people that he loves. Even when his parents turned their backs on him, forbidding him to have any contact with his brother, Cedric, or kept him from even meeting his sister, Lucinda, he has always remained the good and kind man that I fell in love with. Some people would let such upheaval in their lives affect them in a way that would permanently change them, but Noah didn't and I'll always respect and adore him for that."

From his place in the audience, Harry couldn't help but notice that Evan seemed to be particularly affected by what had just been said, enough so that Cormac even elbowed him in the side and whispered something to him. Harry couldn't hear what was said, but it only strengthened his curiosity about just what in Merlin's name was going on with Cormac and Evan.

Noah grinned as he said, "For me, something I'd like you all to know that Charlie, if you didn't already and I don't imagine that many of you would know this, is that in the years since Charlie and I have gotten together, he's turned into something of a cuddle monster, in that he loves to cuddle and can't fall asleep unless he's got his arms around me."

Charlie blushed, as he was a little embarrassed that Noah chose that to reveal, but at least he didn't reveal the nickname that he called Charlie in private. Because Charlie was pretty sure that if Noah had called him his 'Charlie Bear' in front of everyone in the room, he probably would have died of embarrassment.

"If there's one thing that I feel will change about Noah's and my relationship now that we're getting married it's that maybe I'll finally get over my fear that he'll find a nice girl or some hot guy and decide that he'd rather be with them instead of me. I know he loves me, but, I've always had that fear in the back of my head and I'm really hoping it goes away now. But, if one thing stays the same, I definitely want it to be that Noah will remain the kind, caring, and honestly, the noblest man I know. If there's one thing I've learned from Noah it's that you don't actually have to be titled nobility to be noble and that's something that I'll always love about you, Noah."

Some of the lords and ladies among the audience shifted a bit uncomfortably in their seats at these words, while some looked slightly offended because such a statement flew in the face of everything they believed about the natural order of things. Of course, there were also a few nobles, Harry among them, who didn't feel the least bit offended by it and in fact agreed with every word.

Perhaps most surprising, however, was the smile that showed up on Edward's face at those words, as he reached over to the chair beside his throne where Callum was seated, grabbed his hand, and brought it to his lips. Whether this was an attempt to hide the smile on his face or not, only Edward himself knew. Of course, if he was trying to hide his smile, it wasn't really necessary because very few people could have seen it and in fact only Bill had noticed it. Even Callum hadn't noticed it, but then he was looking at Charlie and Noah, at least until he felt Edward's hand close on his.

"I was just going to say that I hoped my totally silly fear that Charlie would find a hot guy that he likes more than me would go away now that we're getting married, but in light of his confession, I've gotta say I also hope he realizes that I have no intention of leaving him no matter how many pretty girls or hot guys I come into contact with. You're it for me, Charlie, so you'd better get used to it, because you're stuck with me. And as for something that I hope never changes, well, that would have to be Charlie's unwavering support of me in whatever way I need. It's gone a long way towards strengthening our relationship up until now and I think it will only make it stronger going forward."

"This last declaration is one I didn't struggle with nearly as much as I did with some of the others," Charlie said. "Having grown up in a loving home with my parents as a prime example of what a successful and happy marriage looks like, I could only dream of one day having that myself. And I'm very happy to say that as I stand here today, I'm more sure than I've ever been that Noah and I have what it takes to have just as successful and as happy a marriage as my parents have and that makes me one of the happiest men alive."

Molly's tears began falling even more then they had previously at this statement and even Arthur was looking a little teary eyed. Several of the women had joined Molly in crying at this point, as several of the married men throughout the room turned to their loved one and smiled at them, as Charlie's words served to remind them just how much they cared for the special person in their own lives.

"I think you're going to make me cry, Charlie," Noah said, as he shook his head and added, "Anyway my last declaration is similar to Charlie's. Growing up, I had three examples of strong marriages to look at, of course, only two of those couples are still in my life. My Uncle Bruce and Aunt Caroline and my Uncle Tiberius and Aunt Lavinia are both examples to me of what a strong and healthy marriage is supposed to look like and I can only hope that I can have even half the success and happiness in my own marriage that they've had in theirs, because then I'll know that I've done something right."

Garrick nodded and said, "Very well, it's now time for your vows to one another. Charles Septimus Weasley, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to love, honor, and remain faithful to Noah for the rest of your life?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Noah Andrew Kirke, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to love, honor, and remain faithful to Charles for the rest of your life?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Charles Septimus Weasley, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to always be honest with Noah, and keep no secrets from him which could in anyway harm him or those he cares about?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Noah Andrew Kirke, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to always be honest with Charles, and keep no secrets from him which could in anyway harm him or those he cares about?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Charles Septimus Weasley, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to always trust in not only your love for Noah, but also in his for you, and to believe him on all matters, regardless of what anyone else might say?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Noah Andrew Kirke, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to always trust in not only your love for Charles, but also in his love for you, and to believe him on all matters, regardless of what anyone else might say?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Charles Septimus Weasley, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to do everything within your power to keep Noah safe from any harm which may befall him, regardless of its source?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Noah Andrew Kirke, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to do everything within your power to keep Charles safe from any harm which may befall him, regardless of its source?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Charles Septimus Weasley, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to never allow anger to fester between you and Noah, to discuss any issues that come between you, and to do your best to at least understand Noah's point of view, even if you don't agree with it?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Noah Andrew Kirke, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to never allow anger to fest between you and Charles, to discuss any issues that come between you, and to do your best to at least understand Charles' point of view, even if you don't agree with it?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Charles Septimus Weasley, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to share everything you come to possess in this world, whether it be material, monetary or otherwise, with Noah as an equal partner and owner?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Noah Andrew Kirke, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to share everything you come to possess in this world, whether it be material, monetary or otherwise, with Charles as an equal partner and owner?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Charles Septimus Weasley, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to do everything within your power to help Noah become and remain the best man that he can be and to nurture your relationship together to be the strongest it can possibly be?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Noah Andrew Kirke, in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses, do you vow to do everything within your power to help Charles become and remain the best man that he can be and to nurture your relationship together to be the strongest it can possibly be?"

"I so vow, so mote it be."

"Very well," Garrick said. "Having made your declarations and made your vows, it is now time for the joining ceremony, for which I ask that all in attendance please stand."

Once everyone was standing, Ollivander waved his wand and four long ribbons appeared in midair, floating above Charlie's and Noah's joined forearms. "Mighty Spirit of Air, in your wisdom, do you believe that Charles and Noah have come here today to be joined with no hidden agendas to bring harm upon one another?"

One of the ribbons, an almost translucent white ribbon, began to glow at this point as it began to wrap itself around Charlie's and Noah's joined wrists, tying them together.

"Mighty Spirit of Air, we acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony," Garrick said. "My King, lords, ladies, and honored guests, I now ask that you join me in prayer to the goddess Hera."

Upon these words, small scrolls appeared out of thin air in front of every guest, who took and unrolled them, prepared to read what was written upon them along with Garrick. "Stately Hera, glorious Queen of the golden halls of fair Olympus, comely you are, your shining beauty is unsurpassed. Great daughter of Kronos, defender of cities, deep-eyed goddess, chosen bride of thundering Zeus, mighty guardian of the marriage oath and bond. Graceful one, vital one, we praise and honor you. Sublime Hera, swift of thought and certain of action, we pray to you. Grant Charles and Noah strength of will, oh wondrous goddess, help them to know their worth, to act with confidence and passion, to risk wisely, and to freely speak their minds. Bless their marriage bed, their vows, and their devotion. Peerless Hera, watchful one, we humbly beseech you for your favor on Charles' and Noah's behalf."

As the reading finished, the scrolls disappeared, and Garrick said, "Mighty Spirit of Water, in your wisdom, do you believe that Charles and Noah have come here today to be joined of their own free will?"

At these words, another of the ribbons, a deep blue one that resembled the color of the ocean, began to glow brightly as it wrapped itself around Charlie's and Noah's forearms, entwining with the white ribbon already tying them together.

"Mighty Spirit of Water, we acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony," Garrick said. "My King, lords, ladies, and honored guests, I now ask that you join me in prayer to the goddess Aphrodite."

Once again, small scrolls appeared out of thin air in front of every guest, prompting them to take and unroll them as they prepared to read along with Garrick. "We praise you, Aphrodite, great and beautiful goddess born of foam. Fairest of all of Olympus' maids, always adorned in the most precious of jewels and with the finest silks draping from your unparalleled form. With your sweetly scented hair you come, your sea-green eyes shining as stars, and we all fall in supplication at your delicate feet. You, who looks so kindly upon lovers, we praise you. You, who answers prayers of longing, we praise you. You, whose gifts entrance all, young and old, we praise you. You, who brings sweet bliss, who comforts the bereft, and who binds souls together, no heart can deny you. Aphrodite, great Goddess of Love, whose beauty would light the night sky, we praise you and ask that you grant your blessings upon Charles and Noah, so that they may always know love for each other and for you." 

As Aphrodite's prayer scrolls disappeared, Garrick said, "Mighty Spirit of Earth, in your wisdom, do you believe that Charles and Noah have come here today to commit to each other in fidelity and loyalty to each other?"

A third ribbon, a deep brown with accents of green, began to glow brightly and like the others before it, wrapped itself around Charlie's and Noah's forearms, entwining with the blue and white ribbons already present there, as Garrick nodded and said, "Mighty Spirit of Earth, we acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony."

Waving his wand, more prayer scrolls appeared, as Garrick said, "My King, lords, ladies, and honored guests, please join me in prayer to the god Eros." Turning the Ollivander family bible to the correct page, Garrick cleared his throat and began to read. "Eros, deep-hearted god, source of sweet need and the searing, purifying flame of desire, the agony we seek again and again, unquestioned guide of those lost in feeling. Golden-winged god whose madness none may flee, beautiful one whose will none may defy, your gifts unbearable, ephemeral, your blessings ceaseless, endless, and limitless. Great Eros, we pray to you, consume Charles and Noah, bring them the essence of passion, the wholeness of lust, and the lightness of completion. Bless them, oh great Eros, God of Love, with long and happy lives together, full of love."

When the prayer scrolls for Eros had blinked out of existence, Garrick said, "And finally, Mighty Spirit of Fire, in your wisdom, do you believe that Charles and Noah together have everything they need to create a happy home, not only for each other, but for any children that may join them in the future?"

At these words, the final ribbon, a deep crimson colored length of silk which appeared to burn like fire, glowed bright, as it wrapped itself around Charlie's and Noah's arms, entwining itself with the other three. "Mighty Spirit of Fire, we acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony." More prayer scrolls appeared, as Garrick said, "My King, lords, ladies, and honored guests, please join me now in prayer to the goddess Hestia."

Turning the appropriate page and giving the guests a moment to prepare themselves, Garrick began. "Gentle Hestia, who sits at the fire at the heart of each home, you are a goddess revered above all others. You are the bringer of quiet comfort, of belonging, of peace, and of a place of love and family. You grant us the strength to hold together against all ill, oh great goddess, eternal provider of serenity, we honor you. Hestia, seen in candle glow and soft shadow, we pray to you. Help Charles and Noah to see you in their work, and to make their home a refuge from care and distress. Give them competence, efficiency, and wisdom; give them quick, sharp eyes to see what must be done and the will with which to do it. Oh Hestia, great Goddess of Hearth and Home, we ask that you bless Charles' and Noah's home and keep them safe now and every day of their lives together."

As the scrolls to Hestia vanished, Garrick said, "Oh Mighty Spirits of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, you have come together to witness the union of Charles and Noah in a marriage binding and found them worthy. In your endless power and wisdom, we ask that you now bind them together for the rest of their lives."

The four ribbons entwined around Charlie's and Noah's wrists all began to glow brightly. As the light emanating from the four ribbons got steadily brighter, Charlie's and Noah's forearms, and then their entire bodies began to glow, surrounded by a bright, ethereal white light. As the pulsing light got ever brighter, Garrick, Charlie, Noah, and everyone else in attendance closed their eyes for a moment to avoid being blinded. Mere seconds after the last pair of eyes in the room closed, there was a bright flash of light, as the four ribbons binding Charlie and Noah together merged together to form a pair of solid platinum armbands with their initials and the date of their joining engraved upon them in gold.

As those assembled opened their eyes, Garrick said, "Oh Mighty Spirits of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, on behalf of Charles and Noah, whom in sacred marriage binding you have joined today, we once again acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony." Prayer scrolls appeared in front of each guest once again, as Garrick said, "My King, lords, ladies, and honored guests I ask that you join me in our closing prayer to the great and almighty god Zeus!"

"Father Zeus, holder of lightning, master of storms, and undisputed ruler of the golden halls of fair Olympus and all who dwell there, we praise you. All is within your power and all bow to your will. Great Zeus, who hears all oaths, who sees justice done, who watches over all with your benevolent gaze, and whose blessings are great; awesome Zeus we honor you. Guardian of our homes, protector of our children, kind Zeus, we pray to you. Guide Charles and Noah to be just, to act with honor, to keep their promises, to welcome guests freely, and to do what is right. Watch over their home and bring to it abundance. Oh great Zeus, King of the Gods, we humbly beseech you, to watch over Charles and Noah, their future children, and to shield them all from harm."

As the prayer finished and the scrolls vanished, the four rings of elemental energy that surrounded Charlie and Noah glowed brightly before they too disappeared into thin air, as Garrick smiled and said, "Charles and Noah, I'm sure you've been eagerly awaiting this moment - you may now seal your bond with a kiss."

Grinning at each other, Charlie and Noah, leaned forward and kissed as Garrick announced to thundering applause, "It is my great honor to present to you, Mr. and Mr. Charles and Noah Kirke!"

Following the wedding ceremony, everyone used the charmed invitations provided by Harry to move over to Seacliff for the wedding reception. Upon arriving, Charlie, Noah, and their wedding party were quickly escorted out to one of the formal gardens to take their wedding pictures while it was still light outside. The guests, meanwhile, made their way into the ballroom and began mingling. After the pictures were taken, the wedding party came into the ballroom and a fabulous dinner was served. Even Mrs. Weasley had to admit that it was far beyond anything she'd planned to serve and was quite happy with the quality of the food. And having the house-elves around to serve was an added benefit because she could sit down, relax, and enjoy the evening rather than serving everybody, as she would have had to do if they'd had the reception as they'd planned in a tent at the Burrow.

Once dinner was finished, there were speeches given to congratulate Charlie and Noah on their marriage and wish them luck, before they took to the dance floor for their first dance. About two hours after dinner, the Seacliff elves served coffee and a truly spectacular eight-layer marble wedding cake with chocolate fudge icing. White icing was perhaps more traditional, but Charlie and Noah were both chocoholics, so, they much preferred the chocolate icing, but used marble cake as a compromise for those who preferred white cake over chocolate. Charlie and Noah had fun feeding each other and there did end up being a bit of a mess, but it was all in good fun. Much later that evening, after many of the guests had begun to leave, Harry escorted Charlie and Noah upstairs to a special honeymoon suite he'd had the elves prepare for them, before calling it a night himself.

-o-0-o-

The following evening, Harry found himself in the ballroom at Kinloch Hold for the Founder's Ball. A part of him still felt a little bit uncomfortable attending such a fancy event, as he wasn't used to dressing up and attending these types of events, but he was sure it would become second nature soon enough. After this, there was another ball every month, after all, and then he'd have to actually host the Honor Ball at Seacliff come July. After being announced upon his arrival, Harry did as he had at the Opening Ball and made his way over to one side of the ballroom, where he was quickly joined by Neville, Cormac, Nick, and Dominick. Cedric came over and said hello, but couldn't stay because his father had specifically forbidden him to talk to Lord Granston, after the various times recently that Harry had publically humiliated Amos.

After Cedric walked away, Harry shook his head. "I guess I should have expected Taleford to do something like that."

"Well, you have rather publicly humiliated him a few times now, Harry," Nick said. "Don't get me wrong, he deserved everything you said to him."

"Yeah and then some," Dominick agreed. "But, I can still understand that he would be less than thrilled and want nothing to do with you tonight as a result."

"And as head of the Diggory family, he can order Cedric not to talk to you," Cormac said, with a sigh. "It's just one of the pitfalls of being the heir to a noble family, because you can't escape the politics."

Their attention was drawn to the entrance at this point, as the wizard stationed at the door struck his staff against the floor three times and said, "Presenting The Marquis of Charlton, His Excellence the Lord Sirius Black, accompanied by his brother, Earl of Alnwick, The Right Honorable Regulus Black, and his nephew, Viscount Langleeford, The Honorable Asterion Black."

"Hello," a voice said over Harry's shoulder, and he turned to see Kolin standing there.

"Kolin, I didn't expect to see you here," Harry said.

Kolin grinned. "Yeah, well, I didn't really expect to come either, but Regulus asked me to, so I did."

"Regulus asked you?" Harry asked. "You mean as his date?"

Kolin shook his head. "I wish, but no, just as friends."

"You like him don't you?" Harry asked.

Kolin nodded and said, "Yeah, I do, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. I doubt he's into men and even if he was, why in Merlin's name would he want to date me? He's got a son that's only two years younger than me." In a softer voice that Harry could barely hear, Kolin added, "Not to mention the fact that I'm damaged goods."

Pulling Kolin into a hug, Harry whispered in his ear, "You are not damaged goods, Kolin. Don't let what that bastard did to you affect your self-worth. You're a fine young man who deserves happiness just as much as anyone else in this world - well, with the exception of Cuffe. And he'll be punished soon enough."

"Thanks, Harry," Kolin whispered, although he didn't say what had been on his mind recently. That being that despite Harry's confidence that the Tribunal would find Cuffe guilty, that he'd manage to weasel out of being convicted of any wrongdoing somehow.

As the hug ended, Neville smiled and said, "Who's your friend, Harry?"

Turning to the others, he said, "You may have seen him at the World Cup, Neville. This is Kolin Mikaels. He's my houseguest at Seacliff at the moment, because some pipes broke in his flat and flooded the place. He also works for me, as a typesetter at the Daily Prophet."

Neville nodded. "Ah yes, I think I did see you."

"You were hanging out with the Black family right?" Dominick asked.

Harry grinned. "Yeah, he was. He's here with them tonight, actually. I didn't know he was coming, but apparently Regulus asked him to come."

Nick looked surprised and asked, "Regulus is gay?"

Shaking his head, Kolin said, "No, he isn't. We're not dating or anything. He just asked me to come tonight as his friend. He wanted me to stand with the family and get announced with them, but, I'm not nobility and didn't want that kind of attention. So, I slipped in through the side entrance instead."

"As Charlie Kirke so eloquently put it at his wedding yesterday," Asterion said as he came over to the group, having overheard what Kolin said as he approached, "you don't have to be titled nobility to be noble, Kolin. I haven't known you long, but I have to say that you seem pretty noble to me."

Kolin blushed a bit at that, and said, "Thanks, Rion."

Asterion grinned as he said, "No problem. And as for my father, I wouldn't so sure if I were you about his sexuality." Kolin raised an eyebrow at that and said, "I can personally guarantee that my father is nowhere near being a hundred percent straight."

"How can you be so sure, Rion?" Harry asked.

"Well, Harry, you may have heard Uncle Sirius grilling Dad," Asterion said. "Trying to get him to open up about some prank I played on him on his last birthday?"

"I have actually," Harry said. "Regulus always clams up and doesn't say anything, but he usually blushes redder than a tomato. Just what did you do anyway?"

"Well..." Asterion said, as he drew out the word. "Let's just say that I hired some company for Dad and he had quite a nice wakeup call, compliments of his companion's rear."

Dominick's eyes widened at that, as he asked, "Asterion do you mean that you hired a male prostitute for your father?"

"That's such a dirty word," Asterion said with a shake of his head. "I hired him an escort."

"But it was a male escort?" Nick pressed.

"Maybe," Asterion said. After a moment, he blushed a little himself and said, "And, well, I might have used a little mage level magic to make the escort invisible and weightless, so that when Dad actually woke up, well, he may have thought that it was me giving him that wakeup call."

"Oh sweet Merlin," Cormac said. "Is everyone gay?"

"I'm not, actually," Asterion said. "I have experimented, but I much prefer women, thanks. Of course, I was under the impression that you were straight, Cormac, but then you brought a guy as your date to Noah's wedding."

Before Cormac could respond to that, everyone's attention was drawn towards the entrance when a drum roll sounded and the royal fanfare began to play. When the fanfare ended, the wizard at the door hit the floor with his staff three times and said, "Presenting The King-Emperor of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor of the Empire of Camelot, His Imperial and Royal Highness Edward Pendragon, accompanied by his suitors, The Earl of Whitecross, His Lordship the Lord Callum McKinnon, Viscount Sarn, The Honorable Marcus Flint, Viscount Bratton, The Honorable Draco Malfoy, His Majesty's Seneschal, The Honorable Sir Brian Dumbledore, William Weasley, and Viktor Krum."

A murmur went up throughout the ballroom at the announcement. Partially because nobody really expected Edward to bring all six of his suitors to the ball as his dates. Most had figured it would be like a repeat of the wedding the previous day, in which he'd only brought Callum and Bill as his dates. The larger reason for the murmurs, however, as the way in which Brian Dumbledore was announced. Harry could hear people nearby talking about it in hushed tones and in turn asked his own companions about it.

"The Royal Seneschal does have quite a bit of power," Nick said. "In the King's absence, he can actually hold court from the King's throne, which is something not even the Minister for Magic is allowed to do."

"The position usually doesn't grant a title, however," Dominick explained. "The fact that he was announced as The Honorable Sir Brian Dumbledore suggests that Edward has granted him the Royal Star of Camelot."

"That's the hereditary knightly title, isn't it?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah, Harry, it is. Usually it's only granted to people who have done a great service to the country as a whole or for the monarchy itself. I have no idea what service Brian performed to warrant the title, but then the King isn't required to share his reasons for granting the Royal Star. He's the King, after all, and doesn't have to answer to anybody, save perhaps the Gods themselves."

"Huh," Harry said. All was silent for a moment, before he then turned to Cormac and asked, "Anyway, so, Cormac, what was up with you bringing that bloke to the wedding? What was his name? Evan Lockwood?"

Cormac opened his mouth to say something, but once again, he was interrupted. This time, it was by Evan himself, who had just come up behind Cormac, wrapped his arms around Cormac's waist and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey baby."

Cormac groaned. "Let go of me, Evan."

"Oh come on, Cormac, you know you love me," Evan said, as he turned Cormac around in his arms and tried to kiss him on the lips.

He didn't get the chance, however, as Cormac pushed him away so hard that he fell to the floor. This caused several eyes to turn and see what the commotion was about, as Cormac said, "No, Evan, I don't love you. I never did and I never will."

"You're breaking up with me?" Evan asked.

"How can I possibly break up with you?" Cormac yelled. "We were never together!"

"Cormac Duncan McLaggen!" Caroline exclaimed as she came over. "You will stop yelling this minute. You're embarrassing yourself and this family. Now, go apologize to your boyfriend."

Turning on his mother, Cormac said, "Mother, get this through your head! I am not gay! I'm straight and Evan is not now nor will he ever be my boyfriend! You bloody well know the only reason I took him to the wedding yesterday is because you forced me to."

"Cormac, don't take that tone with your mother," Bruce said, although he didn't say it as forcefully as he normally would have, because he could understand why his son was so upset. He had never understood why his wife was so insistent, despite all evidence to the contrary, that Cormac was gay. Still, he had succeeded in making quite the scene in front of the other nobles, not to mention the King. "Now help Evan up and then go to your room."

"Father..." Cormac began.

"You heard me Cormac," Bruce said, his tone taking on a note of warning.

"Yes, sir," Cormac said, as he held out a hand for Evan and helped him up. Once the other man was on his feet, Cormac left the ballroom as gracefully as he could, despite being able to feel almost every eye in the room following him as he walked.

Once Cormac was gone, Bruce turned to Evan and said, as quietly as he could, "Evan, I apologize for my son's behavior, but you should have known better." Evan hung his head and nodded, greatly confusing those who'd actually heard what Bruce had said, which thanks to the silencing charm that Asterion managed to silently cast without anyone noticing, wasn't anyone beyond Bruce, Caroline, Evan, Harry, Nick, Dominick, Neville, Kolin and Asterion himself.

Turning to his wife, Bruce said, "As for you Caroline, a word, please," as he gently took his wife's arm and led her out of the room to have a private word with her in his study, while doing his best to make it look like he wasn't leading her out of the room by the arm like a child who was in trouble.

"Um, Evan?" Neville asked. "What did Lord McLaggen mean by you should know better?"

Before Evan could answer that question, Asterion said, "Feel free to answer truthfully, Evan, as I've placed a silencing ward so nobody but the seven of us will hear what you say." There were a few raised eyebrows at that, especially those who noticed that Asterion had stressed Evan's name a bit more than seemed necessary.

Evan sighed. "You guys have to promise to keep this a secret and just act normal when I say this." Taking a deep breath, he added, "My name is not Evan Lockwood. It's me, Cedric."

"Cedric?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Harry."

"You're obviously wearing glamours, but why?" Dominick asked.

"It was Aunt Caroline's idea," Cedric answered. "She arranged everything for my parents to be away from the house yesterday and then she helped me apply these glamours. Then she forced Cormac to take me to the wedding as his date, so that I could attend Noah's wedding."

"So why were you acting so lovey dovey with Cormac?" Nick asked. "He is your first cousin, after all."

"That was just to annoy him," Cedric replied. "None of us really get why, but his Mum thinks he's gay and I know that really annoys him, so, since it's just a normal part of our relationship to try to annoy each other..." Cedric trailed off. "I should have known though that I was probably pushing things too far by showing up here tonight as Evan. Cormac had reluctantly agreed to having me act like his date for the wedding and the reception last night, but I imagine the ball was too much for him and he lost it."

"You knew who Evan was didn't you, Rion?" Kolin asked.

Asterion nodded. "Yeah, I did. Dad and I both thought it seemed strange that Cormac would attend the wedding yesterday with a guy, since from everything we've heard, he's straight. So, last night, during the reception, Dad used the Black family spell that allows us to see through Glamour Charms."

Cedric sighed. "As much as I'd love to stay here and talk with all of you for awhile, I suppose I should probably be going before my parents notice I'm missing and wonder what's happened to me. They weren't overly thrilled about coming here tonight, considering Uncle Bruce's vocal support of Noah."

"I'll walk with you," Asterion said, as he and Cedric left the ballroom through the side door.

There were no further incidents for the rest of the evening and in time, Bruce and Caroline McLaggen returned to host the ball. Cormac remained upstairs in his room for the rest of the night, but as Harry would later find out, he wasn't actually all that angry about that. He hated attending the balls, so, despite the embarrassment of being publicly dismissed from the ball, he rather enjoyed being away from it.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's Part 3 of Chapter 9. I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Next Chapter: The Tribunal of the Thirteen, the Blood Ritual is performed, and one of the trainer's identities is revealed.
> 
> Also, if anyone reading this is talented at art, I am looking to possibly have a few drawings made of a few locations featured in the upcoming Chapter 10. The drawings in question would just be locations, with no people in the pictures, although I would prefer images that don't look like they're too much like what you'd expect to see in a cartoon. If anyone is up to it, please contact me.
> 
> Other works by JayColin:
> 
> 'A Windsor at Hogwarts'  
> Summary: Upon turning eleven, Prince William got the shock of his life when he received a letter, delivered by an owl, saying that he’d been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Join William as he goes off into the previously unknown magical world and makes friends with a variety of people, including one Harry James Potter.  
> Warnings: Slash, Alternate Universe, Mpreg, Harem, Original Characters  
> Eventual Main Pairing: Harry/Cedric/Viktor/Prince William/OMC/OMC
> 
> 'Knights of the Founders'  
> Summary: Rewrite of 'Return of the Heirs'. It's Harry's 6th year and with the Ministry finally accepting that Voldemort is back, changes are coming for Harry and for Hogwarts... question is will they be enough? Especially when not everything is as it appears...  
> Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Original Characters, Language, Violence, Pseudo-Incest, Incest, Torture, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, and Mpreg  
> Main Pairing: Harry/OMC, with mentions of past Harry/Cedric  
> Note: This story is currently updated twice a month on the 1st and the 15th.


	12. Chapter Ten, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Ten  
Part One

-o-0-o-

With Charlie's and Noah's wedding and the Founder's Ball in the past, the morning of the 29th of August soon dawned and that meant that it was time for the Tribunal of the Thirteen to meet. With the trainers' permission, Harry spent the night at Seacliff, since he'd have to leave fairly early. Waking up at six in the morning, Harry showered and got dressed, before heading downstairs to the morning room for breakfast. He had a brief conversation with Charlie and Noah before walking them to the Apparition Chamber, with Tilly following, levitating their luggage behind them. After they left for their honeymoon, Harry returned to the morning room and found Kolin, who had obviously woken up and come downstairs while he was seeing-off Charlie and Noah.

"Well, Kolin, today is the day," Harry said. "The Tribunal is going to meet and Cuffe is going to be convicted for what he did to you."

Kolin nodded, his face apprehensive, as he said, "I'm glad one of us is so sure."

"Kolin, he's a monster," Harry said, as he came over and laid a comforting hand on the older boy's shoulder. "You don't have to worry. He will be convicted and sent away."

"I hope so, Harry," Kolin said. "But, until it actually happens... I'm not going to get my hopes up, because I don't think I could take it if I did and then he doesn't get convicted."

Harry could understand that after everything Kolin had been through with Cuffe, that he would be stressed out about the upcoming Tribunal meeting. But there was something about his tone that had Harry wondering something. "Kolin, has he contacted you?"

Kolin remained silent for a moment, before he nodded. "He's sent four owls, including one with a howler. He's very upset that I haven't been in to work since the day you found me at the Leaky Cauldron. I've also been in contact with Chelsea and she says that he's gotten more abusive with her since I've been gone. Apparently he's been taking his anger over my absence out on her."

"Kolin, you should have told me," Harry said. "As Lord Potter I could have adjusted the wards so that owls from Cuffe couldn't get through. You're lucky that one of the wards nullifies mailed portkeys or it would have been very easy for him to abduct you." After a moment of thought, he asked, "Does he know you're staying here?"

Kolin shook his head. "No, all the letters had my flat address. But, the owls can find the person the letter is for anywhere, whether the envelope is properly addressed or not." He was silent for a moment, before he added, "And I didn't tell you about his letters because I didn't want to burden you."

"Burden me? Kolin, you're not a burden to me," Harry said. "I want to help you. Promise me. If you need help, I want you to come to me. Or Regulus. Or Asterion. Or even Robert. We're here for you and we all want to help you, in whatever way that we possibly can."

"Thank you and I promise," Kolin said, his voice choking up as he'd said it. He truly felt like he didn't deserve such kindness, especially from one of the highest nobles in the land, but he chose not to voice those thoughts.

-o-0-o-

An hour later, Harry and Kolin walked into the Master's Study at Seacliff. Between Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Julian, the current Lord Potter had been briefed on everything he needed to know about the Tribunal, plus a few things he probably hadn't needed to know. How to get there and what to do once he arrived, that information he was glad to have. However, Sebastian's favorite place to sneak off to for an after meeting blowjob from one of his paramours or the fact that Harry's father, James, had been conceived during a meeting of the Tribunal in 1959 that had lasted just over three months was information that Harry did not feel he really needed to know. It was information that had come out, however, over the course of his relatives' portraits' recollections of their own experiences with the Tribunal.

Of course, Harry had been more than a little shocked to learn that there'd been a meeting that lasted just over three months, at which point the portrait of the 170th Duke, Harrison James Potter, Harry's great-great-great-grandfather, who had been Lord Potter from 1797 until his death in 1839 informed Harry that he'd attended a meeting of the Tribunal in 1810 that had lasted just over six months, which was the longest meeting of the Tribunal in recorded history. Over a century before this meeting, however, it had been a meeting that lasted just over one month that had prompted the custom of the married Lords bringing their wives with them to Tribunal meetings. Since once the meeting actually starts, nobody is allowed to leave until it's over, the married Lords wanted their wives present to warm the beds of the private quarters that each Lord had in the Tribunal's meeting complex.

"Okay, well, I guess it's time to go," Harry said. "You ready, Kol?"

"Kol?" Kolin asked, having never been called that before.

"Thought the familiarity of a nickname might help put you more at ease."

"Ah, okay," Kolin said with a smile. "As for being ready, yeah, I guess as ready as I'll ever be."

"It'll be okay, Kol," Harry said. "Now, grab my left hand and we'll be off."

"What about Robert? Isn't he coming?"

Shaking his head, Harry said, "No, he isn't. In the past, some meetings of the Tribunal have lasted months. Really hope this one doesn't, but in the event that it does, well Robert has to be around to take care of the day-to-day business of running the Potter estates for me in my absence. It's the same with all the lord's seneschals."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," Kolin said, as he thought, 'Months?! Oh please don't let it take that long - I don't think my nerves could take it.' Schooling his expression, however, his inner turmoil didn't show on his face as he grabbed Harry's left hand.

"Hold on," Harry said, as he reached out and placed his right hand on the black marble stone in the fireplace mantle and said, "A meeting of the Tribunal has been called - take me to the Tribunal Chambers."

Nothing happened for a moment, prompting Harry to wonder momentarily if he'd said what he was supposed to say wrong, but then the color of the stone turned from black to a bright, almost blinding white, as Harry felt the sensation of a hook behind his navel.

-o-0-o-

When the light dimmed, Harry found that he and Kolin were now standing in a completely different room. In some ways, it looked very similar to the Master's Study at Seacliff, but the big difference was that instead of the richly paneled oaken walls that were present at the family castle, this room's walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of polished solid stone. Harry knew, of course, that the Tribunal Chambers were actually underground, in a huge network of subterranean caves. Nobody knew exactly where these caves were actually located, however, as plenty of the lords had attempted to find them over the years and none of them had ever succeeded. Another difference was that the black stone set into the fireplace mantle had thirteen gems set around the stone, which Julian had explained would begin to glow as each lord arrived so that Harry would know once everyone had arrived.

Looking at the stone, Harry said, "Hmm, looks like Lords Ollivander, Crouch, and Malfoy have arrived," as he let go of Kolin's hand. "And Lords Burke and Bones just arrived now."

"How can you tell?" Kolin asked, confused, since he hadn't been privy to all the discussions about the Tribunal that Harry, as a Lord, had been.

"That'll be my little secret," Harry said with a grin. Turning away from the stone, Harry said, "Anyway, I've got to take you to a different area of the complex to wait for the trial to actually begin. I wish I could wait with you, but, I'm afraid I can't as it would be improper for the accuser to be hanging out with one of the judges while waiting for the trial of the accused to begin."

Kolin nodded, understanding how it wouldn't really appear to be fair to Cuffe for the people who had to sit in judgment of him to be fraternizing with his accusers before the trial. Not that he was really all that concerned about being fair to Cuffe, but then again, he also didn't want to be the cause of any legal technicalities that could get Cuffe off, so, if that meant he had to wait somewhere else, then that's what he would do.

"Cuffe won't be able to get to me will he?" Kolin asked.

Harry shook his head, "No, on that you have nothing to worry about. Cuffe isn't even here yet, as he won't be summoned until all of the Lords arrive and the proceedings are due to actually begin. And after he is here, as the person on trial he'll be well guarded and not allowed to wander where he pleases."

With a nod, Kolin then followed Harry out of the room.

-o-0-o-

After Kolin was situated in the wing of rooms that was reserved for the Prosecution Witnesses, Harry made his way quietly back to his private suite of rooms within the complex and changed into his best dress robes. He hadn't put them on when he'd woken up because he felt a little out of place wearing such fancy robes to eat breakfast in and also didn't want to deal with any potential questions should Charlie or Noah see him and wonder what the occasion was.

Now, while some people might expect the lords to wear special robes like the members of the Wizengamot did, the Tribunal had never adopted a uniform. The reason for this was because unlike the Wizengamot, where it was necessary to differentiate between the noble and non-noble members, there was no such need for the Tribunal. Each family's head, or in some cases the heir, sat behind a large curved stone table in a half oval shape. On the front of this table, engraved into the stone and decorated in gold, silver, and various jewels, were the family crests of the Thirteen Houses and thus it was unnecessary to adopt a uniform, as it was quite easy to tell one lord from the other.

Coming back from his bedroom into the room he'd originally arrived in, Harry looked at the mantelpiece and saw that all of the gemstones were now glowing, signaling that every lord or their representative had arrived. Taking a deep breath, Harry said, "Well, time to get this meeting underway."

Leaving his suite, Harry moved down the corridor and through the imposing double doors at the end that led into the large meeting room of the Tribunal. The room was cavernous in its size, at least partially due to the floor to ceiling windows along one wall which overlooked an actual cavern. Inside this cavern, was lush green grass, a large and majestic spring, and a huge, ancient oak tree. According to his lessons on the Tribunal, Harry knew that the cave with the spring and tree were inaccessible and nobody that anyone knew of had ever managed to figure out how to get into the cavern. Some hypothesized that access to the cavern would only be granted during times of great need, but there were no recorded instances of anyone getting in. It was clear just from the shimmering magic that could be seen glowing in the spring's waters and the tree's leaves that it was a magical site with immense energy, but nobody knew what purpose it actually served.

"Ah, Lord Potter, how nice of you to join us," Arcturus said, when he spotted Harry.

"Hello Arcturus," Harry said, before he exchanged greetings with everyone else; well, almost everyone, because Amos Diggory made a point of ignoring him as much as possible.

"So, Lord Potter, now that we're all here," Bartemius Crouch began, "perhaps you could tell us why you've summoned the Tribunal to meet?"

"It's a matter of Potter family business," Harry answered. "It also involves the Burke lands." This got Lord Caractacus Burke's attention, as Harry continued. "It's recently come to my attention that a crime has been committed at one of my family businesses which has its offices on Diagon Alley."

"What kind of crime, Lord Potter?" Caractacus asked. "And who perpetrated it?"

"Sexual harassment, rape, physical assault and coercion of at least two employees of the Daily Prophet, although it is possible that there are more victims that I'm currently unaware of," Harry replied. "As for the perpetrator, that would be the Editor-in-Chief, Barnabus Cuffe."

"Barnabas?" Bruce McLaggen asked, obviously shocked. "Lord Potter, are you certain? I've known Barnabas for years. My brother Tiberius was the best man at his wedding and is the godfather of both of Cuffe's daughters, Evelyn and Abigail, and I personally am godfather to his twin sons, Jonas and Lukas, so the idea that he'd do any of the things you just said strikes me as very hard to believe."

"I'm sure," Harry said. "I was present at the questioning under Veritaserum of one of Cuffe's victims, as was Lord Bones, with the questioning being done by his aunt, Lady Amelia Bones. Since this would cause a scandal if it got out, however, and because the Criminal Trial Act of 1670 would make the case public domain if it was tried before the Wizengamot, I opted to call the Tribunal to try him."

"How old are the victims you know of, Harry?" Neville asked. Obviously his father was in no shape to sit in the Longbottom seat, so Neville had to come in his place. His grandmother Augusta hadn't come since she acted as seneschal for the Longbottom family. However, Neville wasn't alone as his grandfather's cousins, Algie and Enid Longbottom, had accompanied him. Algie was the family barrister, while Enid served as their solicitor, and thus Augusta had asked them to go with Neville, not only to keep him company, but also to give him legal advice if he needed it.

"A nineteen-year-old boy and an eighteen-year-old girl," Harry answered, with a grim look on his face.

"If I may ask, Lord Potter, why is anything that happened at the Daily Prophet of any interest to you to begin with?"

Harry was just about to answer, when Amos interrupted and said, "And just how did you discover these alleged crimes to begin with, Lord Potter? Maybe you were sticking your nose into business that doesn't concern you?"

"I was not sticking my nose into business that doesn't concern me, Amos," Harry said, making a point of not referring to him as a lord because he didn't like his tone. "Perhaps you and Lord Malfoy are unaware of this, how I can't even begin to fathom since Arcturus mentioned it at the last governor's meeting, but I happen to wholly own the Daily Prophet, so what is happening on its premises is very much my business."

"I must say that I am quite shocked you even asked that, Lord Malfoy," Caractacus said. "I thought it was common knowledge that the Potter family owned the Prophet, but perhaps I was wrong in thinking that. Obviously I was aware of it due to the fact that the Prophet's offices are on my lands, but clearly I'm not the only one who knew, since as Lord Potter pointed out, Arcturus did mention it at the governor's meeting."

"Yes, I do recall him saying that," Garrick said. "Of course, I was already aware of it before then." Turning to Amos, he then added, "And Amos, I would suggest that in the future you remember that you shouldn't take that kind of tone with a higher lord than yourself, no matter how much you might not like them."

Wanting to get things back on track so that this meeting hopefully didn't end up running for months, as he knew that Athena and his other trainers would be furious if it did, Harry said in authoritative tone, "Can we get back to the business at hand? I called the Tribunal for a reason and I for one would like to get back to it, preferably before the end of my seventh year, so I move that we begin these proceedings post haste."

Perhaps wanting to overcome his previous mistake, Lucius said, "I second that motion, Lord Potter."

"All those in favor of getting under way then?" Harry asked, at which point all of the other lords, except for Amos who abstained, voted in favor of hearing the case that Harry had presented to them.

"Well, now that that is taken care of," Harry said, "One of Mr. Cuffe's accusers, Kolin Mikaels, is already present in the witnesses wing, however, Ms. Chelsea Fawley, the other known victim, will need to be summoned. I would also request that Jonas Cuffe be summoned as a witness for the prosecution."

"As a judge in these proceedings, Lord Potter," Bartemius said, "you do realize that you can't try the case yourself, correct? I mean no disrespect, of course, however I realize that you are quite young and only recently became a lord, so I just wanted to make sure."

Harry nodded, "Yes, Lord Crouch, I am aware of that. However, once the prosecutor is chosen, then I am sure that after going over the evidence, they will agree that Jonas should be questioned and I rather doubt that any prosecutor worth their salt would suggest going through a criminal proceeding without questioning the victims of the crime in question."

"I agree with that Granston," Garrick said. "If I might suggest, I think we should summon Aberforth Dumbledore as the prosecutor for the case. He is a licensed barrister and has previous experience working for the Ministry as a prosecutor. In fact, until he retired several years ago, he was one of the best prosecutors the Ministry had." Garrick looked thoughtful for a moment, before he added, "You know, if I recall correctly, he never lost a case in his career, which spanned nearly fifty years when he retired."

Harry was unsure of whether or not he could trust Aberforth Dumbledore, as he was the younger brother of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. This uncertainly most have shown on his face, because Garrick added, "I realize that you have some issues with Albus, Granston, but you needn't worry about Aberforth. Despite being brothers, there's no love lost between them due to some incident that happened in their youth. I'm afraid that I'm unaware of the details, but I can say that Aberforth has successfully presented and won over 700 cases before the Wizengamot, including several after Albus became Chief Warlock. Having attended some of those cases, I can tell you that it was clear that they were not friends, which I suspect is the only reason the Ministry didn't ask one of them to recuse themselves from the proceedings."

"Yes, I must agree with Lord Ollivander on this issue," Amos said. "As the head of the Law Practitioner's Licensing Committee, I do know that despite his post-retirement career as a barkeep, Aberforth Dumbledore has retained his license to practice and that he does, by quite a wide margin, have the best win record of any barrister in the country."

Harry nodded and said, "Very well then, Aberforth Dumbledore will try the case. Now, I believe that Mr. Cuffe will need defense counsel, even if I don't believe that there is a valid defense for what he did."

"Forgive me, Lord Potter," Callum said, "but it sounds like you've already made up your mind about his guilt, which probably isn't the best thing for a judge to do before the trial has even started."

"I will keep an open mind and listen to his defense," Harry said. "Although after hearing Mr. Mikaels' statements under Veritaserum, I do find it hard to believe that Mr. Cuffe's representative could possibly come up with a plausible defense. However, I will listen to it and any evidence presented and judge as fairly as I can. The King may not have appointed me yet, as I haven't asked him to, but I am still technically the Lord High Chancellor to the Court of Pendragon with purview over the entire judiciary, so I understand that I must set a good example, even if nobody outside of this room will ever be aware of these proceedings."

"I happen to know that Barnabus has my brother on retainer," Bruce said. "So, I imagine he'll want to use his services, which doesn't present any conflict, as Tiberius is not the McLaggen family barrister. I offered him the job once, but he turned me down, saying he preferred to leave the family business to me and continue to take care of his non-noble clients."

"Very well then," Harry said. "Shall we summon Mr. Cuffe and the others?"

Several heads nodded in agreement, as each lord took out their wands and gathered in a circle against a stone plinth in front of the judges' table. Holding their wands over it, they simultaneously incanted several words in Latin which caused the plinth to light up and moments later, several pops could be heard, as Barnabas Cuffe, five Aurors, Amelia Bones, Aberforth Dumbledore, and Tiberius McLaggen appeared in the room. Chelsea and Jonas Cuffe, meanwhile, had been transported directly to the witness rooms with Kolin until they were needed.

"What? Where am I?" Barnabas asked, as he looked around. As the accused he was standing in a swirling translucent pillar of magical restraining energy intended to prevent him attacking anyone or apparating away.

"I was wondering the same thing, honestly," Tiberius said. "What's going on, Bruce?"

The thirteen lords moved so that they were standing behind their seats, before Harry, positioned at the center of the judges' table due to his family’s position as Lord High Chancellor, and flanked by Garrick and Neville, with the other lords to his left and right, in descending order of their families' rank and ennoblement dates, said, "Barnabus Cuffe, you have been called before the Tribunal of the Thirteen to be tried on the following charges: sexual harassment, rape, physical assault, and coercion. How do you plead?"

Barnabas looked at Harry as if several blood vessels in his head were about to explode, as he said, "What kind of ridiculousness is this? I haven't done anything wrong and furthermore you don't have the authority to try me for anything even if I had. I've never heard of this Tribunal before, but that doesn't matter because only the Wizengamot can try criminal cases."

"I assure you, Mr. Cuffe, you are wrong," Harry said. "The Tribunal of the Thirteen is a legal and higher court than the Wizengamot. However, since all cases heard by the Tribunal are sealed affairs and the Criminal Trial Act of 1670 doesn't apply, I'm not surprised that you were unaware of the Tribunal's existence. The fact that you didn't know about it is irrelevant and I ask again, how do you plead?"

"Innocent, of course!" Barnabus exclaimed.

"Very well then," Harry said, as he turned to Tiberius McLaggen and said, "I understand that Mr. Cuffe has you on retainer?" Tiberius nodded, at which point Harry said, "Then I trust you will have no problems in representing him in this matter?"

"I will represent him," Tiberius said. "Although it would greatly help my ability to do that if I was able to look at the evidence that this body has against him."

"You will be provided with that shortly," Harry said, before turning to Aberforth and saying, "Aberforth Dumbledore, this body has chosen you to prosecute this case, however, if you do not wish to do so, please let us know so that we can find someone else."

"That won't be necessary, Lord Potter," Aberforth said. "I have every confidence that the evidence must be quite compelling to call the Tribunal, as I've tried cases before this body in the past." Casting a look at Tiberius, he added, "I suggest you prepare yourself young man, because I've never lost a case and I don't intend to start now, so good luck, Mr. McLaggen, because you will need it."

"You're a legend in our field, Mr. Dumbledore," Tiberius said, "and I look forward to the chance to spar with you in the courtroom."

Clearing his throat, Harry said, "As has always been the case, all information pertaining to this case will be sealed immediately upon the conclusion of the case. There will be no reporters or spectators allowed to witness the trial nor will any of you be allowed to leave the Tribunal Chambers until the conclusion of this trial."

Waiting only a moment, Harry then said, "Madam Bones, you and your Aurors at this time will please escort Mr. Cuffe to a holding cell, after which, I suggest you explain to your Aurors the differences in procedure they can expect from a case tried before this body versus the Wizengamot." Madam Bones bowed her head in acknowledgement, as Harry turned to the lawyers and said, "Meanwhile, Mr. McLaggen and Mr. Dumbledore, you will be provided with the evidence for your perusal. The Tribunal will stand in recess for two hours to allow you to look it over and then we will begin."

"It would seem luck is on your side today, Mr. McLaggen," Aberforth said. "As a body that predates both the Wizengamot and even the Empire of Camelot, the Tribunal is one of the oldest courts in the land, only outranked by the Royal Court. As such many of the newer advancements, such as allowing the defense the ability to see the evidence before the trial, don't usually apply, but if Lord Potter is willing to let you see it, then I have no objections."

"I'm doing that as a courtesy only," Harry commented. "This does not mark a change in the normal procedure of the Tribunal, but I figured I'd be accommodating this one time."

Tiberius and Aberforth both bowed their hands in acknowledgment, as Madam Bones and the Aurors stepped forward and collected Mr. Cuffe's wand before magically restraining his wrists at which point the column of magical restraining energy dissipated and then leading him towards the prisoner exist from the room.

As he was led away, Cuffe yelled, "You can't keep me here indefinitely! You're only hurting yourself, Lord Potter, because without me nobody can edit the Daily Prophet, which means it won't go out and you'll be losing money!"

Holding up a hand to stop Madam Bones for a moment, Harry said, "You honestly think I care about money, Mr. Cuffe? I already have more of it than I could possibly spend in ten lifetimes, so that's not a convincing argument for me. Besides, my seneschal will be taking care of the Prophet and getting a temporary editor in place for the time being. You obviously have a very high opinion of yourself, Mr. Cuffe, but I assure you that you are not the only person in the country who is qualified to act as Editor of the Daily Prophet." Motioning towards Madam Bones he said, "Now take him away."

Once Cuffe was out of the room and the lawyers had retreated to the rooms provided to them for looking over the evidence, the thirteen lords began to file out of the room, heading back to their various chambers. Neville stayed behind to talk to Harry, however, asking if he'd like to play a game of chess or something to pass the time until the recess was over.

"Sure, I guess," Harry said with a grin. "Seeing as how you're not Ron, I might actually stand a chance of winning for once."

Neville laughed. "Yeah, he’s easily the best chess player in the tower, which works against him really, because very few people are willing to play him anymore."

"Well, people can only take so many losses before they get tired of it, I guess."

"True," Neville agreed, as the two of them left the courtroom and headed for Harry's quarters to play their game.

-o-0-o-

Half an hour later, in a consultation room off the holding area, Tiberius sat across a table from Barnabus Cuffe, with a grim look on his face. "Barnabas, I have to be honest the evidence is pretty damning. Do you know a Kolin Mikaels?"

"I think he's one of my typesetters," Barnabas said, in an uncaring tone. "I don't think I've ever talked to him, honestly, because as Editor-in-Chief I have more important things to be doing."

"You're sure about that?" Tiberius asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because from what I've seen, this Mr. Mikaels told Madam Bones, Lord Bones, and Lord Potter that you had beaten him, and that on numerous occasions forced him to have sex with a woman named Chelsea Fawley, while you anally penetrated him."

"That is the most ridiculous and malicious slander I have ever heard in my life," Barnabas protested. "I never did nor would I ever do such a thing. You've known me for years, Tiberius, you know I wouldn't do that."

"I know that you wouldn't," Tiberius said, although in his head he said, 'At least I thought I knew you wouldn’t.' Aloud, he said, "I'm not sure I can dismiss it very easily, Barnabas, because Mr. Mikaels was under the influence of Veritaserum when he said it."

"Honestly, Tiberius," Barnabas said with a dismissive shake of his head. "Anyone with a passing grade in NEWT-level Potions, as I know you have, would know that Veritaserum is not completely foolproof. Anyone with sufficient training in Occlumency can resist it, not to mention the fact that having a high sugar content in one's bloodstream can make it not work. Assuming this Mr. Mikaels doesn't know Occlumency, he would only need to eat a bag of sweets before taking the potion and he could easily lie under it."

"While that's true, Barnabas, I highly doubt that Madam Bones would allow that," Tiberius said. "She's the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for Merlin's sake. She's not going to let a witness eat sweets before she gives them Veritaserum."

"She would if she didn't have a choice," Barnabas argued. "You yourself said that her nephew, Lord Bones, was present for the questioning. I suspect he's allied with Lord Potter, so he could easily have ordered his aunt to give Mr. Mikaels a pound of sweets before the potion and as a member of the Bones family, she couldn't say no to the head of her family, even if she didn't agree with him."

"Are you suggesting that Lord Potter is trying to frame you?" Tiberius asked, in a tone that indicated he could scarcely believe what he was saying. "What possible reason could The-Boy-Who-Lived have to frame you for a crime you didn't commit?"

"I think the power has gone to his head," Barnabas said. "He came into the Prophet a little over a week ago and forced his way into my office, interrupting a very important business meeting and he then proceeded to threaten my job if I didn't make changes to an article that we had printed the day before. Changes which I knew weren't true, as our fact-checkers check everything before we go to print, but he wouldn't take no for an answer."

Tiberius remained silent, as Barnabas continued with, "My son Jonas and Ms. Rita Skeeter can both substantiate those facts and we can also call any number of employees who will discredit these vile accusations that I have ever threatened or abused an employee or demanded sexual favors from them, which is the most ludicrous charge I have ever heard in my life. I'm a very happily married man, Tiberius, as you well know."

"I know," Tiberius agreed. "I was the best man at your wedding after all and being one of your oldest friends and the godfather to both Evelyn and Abigail, I've certainly had plenty of opportunity to see how much you love and adore Agatha. I must admit I do find the idea that you'd cheat on her hard to believe."

"We should call my wife as a character witness," Barnabas said. "And you know there's several other people we could call, now that I think about it, all of whom will refute the idea that I could ever do such a thing. There's Agatha, of course, all of my children, the Prophet's former sports reporter turned star Quidditch seeker, Benjy Williams, famed Potions Master and former Professor at Hogwarts Horace Slughorn, and hell, even the Minister for Magic himself!"

Tiberius nodded and said, "Yes, that could certainly work to your advantage and I'll submit the request that the people you mentioned be summoned." After a short pause, he then said, "Although, Barnabas, you should know that Jonas is on the prosecution's witness list."

If Barnabas was at all bothered by this revelation, it didn't show on his face as he said, "I can't say as I'm surprised. Lord Potter has already managed to strong arm Jonas once, so he probably figures he can do it again, but my son will not say anything that could possibly look bad for me, because there's not a word of truth to any of these charges."

"As you say," Tiberius said, even as he wondered if he stood a snowball's chance in Hades of actually winning this case. He'd been worried enough about his chances with Aberforth Dumbledore as the prosecutor, but after seeing the evidence he was even less sure, even if he did find it hard to believe that his friend could ever do what he was being accused of.

-o-0-o-

Exactly two hours after Harry had called for a recess, the eleven lords, plus Arcturus and Neville, were seated at the judges' table, with Barnabas and Tiberius at a table on the right side of the room and Aberforth at a table on the left. Something did, however, catch Barnabas' eye and prompted him to lean over and whisper to Tiberius, who nodded and promptly stood up. "Excuse me, but I was under the impression that spectators were not allowed to witness these events. You did say that, did you not, Lord Potter?"

"You are correct, Mr. McLaggen, I did say that," Harry said, as he motioned towards the seats that were occupied by a small number of people to the left of the room. "However, in case you failed to recognize them, they're all the heirs of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses and according to the Tribunal's procedures, they are allowed to witness these proceedings, as training for when they will one day take their places at the judges' table."

Taking another, this time closer, look at the spectators, Tiberius realized that Harry was correct, as he could see his nephews, Cormac and Cedric, in addition to Nick Ollivander, Dominick Burke, Regulus Black, Draco Malfoy, and Marcus Flint.

Since meetings of the Tribunal happened relatively rarely, Harry had conceded to Lucius' request that Draco be allowed to attend the Tribunal, as it would be the first time since Draco was born and thus not knowing when it might be called again, might be his only chance to get some practical training before he himself became Lord Malfoy one day.

Tiberius sat down, at which point Harry said, "If there are no further objections or comments," nobody said anything, "then I hereby call this trial to order and ask prosecutor Aberforth Dumbledore to present his opening statements."

Aberforth stood up and rounded the prosecutor's table, with his hands clasped behind his back as he said, "My Lords of the Tribunal over the course of this trial, I intend to prove beyond any possible shadow of a doubt that Mr. Barnabas Cuffe is one of the most vile and reprehensible predators to ever walk the face of the Earth. I will prove that he has on numerous occasions forced a young man to allow him to penetrate his anus and that he forced the same young man to have intercourse with a woman against his will. I also aim to prove that when this same young man tried to stand up to Mr. Cuffe and end these unwanted sexual activities, that his job was threatened and he was severely beaten. No person, young or old, in a civilized society deserves to be treated that way and I will prove that Barnabas Cuffe is guilty and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law!"

Aberforth sat down at this point, at which point Tiberius stood and said, "My Lords of the Tribunal, my esteemed colleague would have you believe that my client is a monster, but I intend to prove that nothing could be further from the truth. I will show that he is a loving and caring husband, father, and employer and that any attempt to make him out to be anything else is nothing more than a heinous attempt to slander an upstanding member of our community. Mr. Cuffe has been very happily married for over thirty years and has six children and four grandchildren, all of whom he dotes on like any loving father or grandfather would. He has also donated both his time and money to numerous charitable organizations over the years, so I have little doubt that over the course of these proceedings, you will find that the charges laid against him are beyond ridiculous."

As Tiberius returned to his seat, Garrick said, "Very well. Mr. Dumbledore, you may call your first witness."

Aberforth nodded as he stood and said, "The prosecution calls Mr. Kolin Mikaels."

One of the Aurors who had shown up at the beginning of the trial, who on instruction from Madam Bones, was acting as a form of bailiff, led Kolin into the room. He couldn't help the involuntary shudder that overcame him as he passed the defense table and saw his boss, but one look at Harry calmed his nerves, as he thought, 'You can do this.'

Taking a seat in the witness box, Madam Bones stepped forward and asked, "In the eyes of the Gods, the Lords of the Thirteen Houses, and the assembled witnesses do you swear to tell only the truth and in the interests of justice being served swear to not withhold any information you feel is pertinent to this case, even if you were not specifically asked for it?"

Before Kolin could speak, Tiberius stood and said, "Objection! You can't make the witness swear to volunteer information they were not asked for. Witnesses are only required to answer the questions asked of them by counsel."

"That is true for cases heard by the Wizengamot," Caractacus said, "but that does not hold true for cases heard by the Tribunal, so your objection is overruled."

"I do so solemnly swear," Kolin said, repeating the phrase that he'd been instructed was the proper response to Madam Bone's question.

Madam Bones nodded and pulled a potion vial from inside her robes as she said, "Very well, Mr. Mikaels, to make doubly sure, you will now open your mouth and stick out your tongue for application of Veritaserum."

"Objection!" Tiberius exclaimed, as he again stood up. "Anybody with a passing knowledge of NEWT-level Potions knows that persons with sufficient training in Occlumency or who have eaten a large quantity of sweets can lie under the influence of Veritaserum, so I move to have all charges against my client dropped, because I do not believe that Mr. Mikaels' previous testimony under Veritaserum was legal or that he was telling the truth. Furthermore, I move for a mistrial on the grounds that Madam Bones did not, as she is required by law to do, ask Mr. Mikaels just now for his consent and rather told him that he would submit to Veritaserum as if he had no choice in the matter."

"Your objection is overruled and your motions are denied," Bartemius said. At Tiberius' shocked look, he added, "It is clear that you are not familiar with the procedures of the Tribunal, Mr. McLaggen, because if you were you would know that a mistrial cannot be declared in this courtroom. You would also know that Veritaserum is mandatory and that witnesses do not have a choice if they wish to take it or not, because that right was only created in the Criminal Trial Act of 1670 which does not apply to the Tribunal since it was written over 500 years after the Tribunal was founded and only applies to the Wizengamot. It does not now, nor has it ever, applied to the Tribunal of the Thirteen or the Royal Court and this legal distinction was signed off upon by the sitting monarch in 1670 and has never been changed by any of the following monarchs and thus this Tribunal continues to not be bound by the Act."

"As for your assertion about the weaknesses of Veritaserum," Lucius said, "you are correct that in the standard dosage of three drops, it can be rendered useless by a practiced Occlumens or a person who has consumed a large quantity of sweets. However, as a member and the acting Chairman of the Potions Licensing Board, I can tell you with certainty that when given in a larger dose of six drops, those weaknesses no longer exist and even the Veritaserum Antidote is rendered ineffective. And before you mention the possibility of allergic reactions or that six drops is beyond the safe dosage, I would point out that the ancient magic of the Tribunal renders allergic reactions to Veritaserum impossible and that six drops is a safe dosage.

"The only reason that three drops are normally all that's used is because it wears off in about an hour or so, which is thought to be all the time that is needed to get the necessary information out of a witness. When applied in a dose of six drops, however, the effects last for a full day and the person may experience some vertigo, but I assure you it's still a perfectly safe dosage. If you don't believe me, feel free to contact the experts at the Potions Licensing Board after these proceedings. You may continue now, Madam Bones."

Madam Bones nodded and said, "Your tongue, Mr. Mikaels," at which point Kolin opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Pulling the dropper out of the vial, she dropped six drops of the clear liquid on Kolin's tongue and after a moment, his eyes glazed over and he slumped a bit in his seat for a second before sitting up straight again.

"Please state your full name, date and place of birth, for the record," Aberforth said.

"Kolin Elijah Mikaels, 8 May, 1975, Lindstad, Sweden."

"What is your profession, Mr. Mikaels?" Aberforth asked.

"I'm a typesetter at the Daily Prophet on Diagon Alley," Kolin said, before he added, "Mr. Cuffe has also sent me to collect his lunch from The Leaky Cauldron on numerous occasions."

This statement prompted Tiberius to turn his head and look at his client, as he whispered, "I thought you said you'd never even talked to him, Barnabas."

"I haven't, he's lying," Barnabas whispered back.

"With six drops of Veritaserum? I doubt that," Tiberius whispered back furiously, before turning his eyes back to Kolin.

"So then I would be correct in saying that you're a typesetter and an errand boy?" Aberforth asked.

"Yes, I suppose that would be true," Kolin said, ignoring the chuckles from some of the judges and heirs.

"How long have you been employed at the Daily Prophet, Mr. Mikaels?"

"Since 17 September 1992, shortly after I arrived in England from Sweden."

"Which job came first? Typesetter or errand boy?"

"I was hired as a typesetter," Kolin answered. "It wasn't until last year, around late August, that Mr. Cuffe's son and Executive Assistant, Jonas, came to me and asked if I'd be willing to run errands for his father. He said I'd get paid a bit extra for it, so, I agreed as I was trying to save up for a nicer flat than the one I'd been living in."

"And when you completed your first errand for Mr. Cuffe, was this the first time you had spoken to him?"

"For about a month or so, all of my assignments came from Jonas," Kolin said. "I didn't actually meet or speak with Mr. Cuffe until late October of last year."

Aberforth nodded and said, "And how long would you say it was after that first meeting with Mr. Cuffe that you began a sexual relationship with him?"

Before Kolin could answer, Tiberius said, "Objection, counsel is leading the witness. There is no proof that my client has ever had a sexual relationship with this young man."

"I'll rephrase my question," Aberforth said. "Mr. Mikaels have you ever had a sexual relationship with Mr. Barnabas Cuffe?"

"Yes, I have," Kolin said, at which point Tiberius sighed and sank back down into his seat.

"Is that enough proof for you, Tiberius?" Aberforth asked, but didn't wait for an answer before turning back to Kolin and asking, "Alright, same question as before the objection."

"It began almost immediately after that first meeting," Kolin stated.

"And was this relationship consensual?"

"Yes, it was," Kolin answered, prompting Aberforth to look momentarily surprised, before the young man added, "At first, anyway."

"What do you mean 'at first'?"

"I mean that when it first started, I was okay with it," Kolin answered. "I've known and accepted that I was gay since I was thirteen. It's why I opted to move to England, because I thought it would be easier to find a boyfriend here than in my small home village in Sweden. I also accepted at a relatively young age that I wasn't really interested in guys my own age and that I liked older, more distinguished men, so when Mr. Cuffe first made advances, I was still a virgin and my hormones encouraged me to be receptive, even if I didn't find Mr. Cuffe to be the most attractive person I've ever met."

Tiberius was busy writing notes on a sheet of parchment in front of him, trying desperately to formulate some form of defense for his client. After a moment, he thought, 'Perhaps I can argue that it was Kolin who seduced Barnabas? A virgin boy of eighteen with overactive hormones, who likes older men, surely I could make that fly?' Even as he thought it, however he didn't have much confidence in his ability to actually do that, especially if anything more damning was said before he had his chance to cross-examine the witness.

Meanwhile, at the judges' table, several of them were exchanging looks which quite clearly indicated that they weren't sure what to believe, but that they couldn't help but wonder if perhaps this was nothing more than Kolin crying over a spoiled relationship.

"And when exactly, Mr. Mikaels, did your willingness to continue your sexual relationship with Mr. Cuffe cease?"

"Pretty much since the first time we had sex," Kolin answered. "When he was fully-clothed I didn't mind the intimate touches or the flirting, but without any clothes on, well, as I said, he's not the most attractive man. The first time we had sex, he forced me to lean over his desk and he then rammed his cock into my ass, without a condom or lubricant of any kind, so it hurt like hell."

"And he wasn't concerned that he might be hurting you?"

"No, he was clearly only concerned with his own pleasure," Kolin answered. "After we were done, he told me to be back in his office at the same time the next day for another round and that if I didn't show up or if I told anyone about what had happened, he'd fire me and make me wish that I had never been born."

"So you did go back the next day?"

Kolin nodded. "I didn't have a choice. A week earlier a water pipe in my flat broke while I was at work and did extensive water damage before I got back and stopped it with magic. Unfortunately the damage was too extensive for me to fix myself and I had to call in someone more skilled with that type of magic, but their services were not cheap and between that and replacing various necessities, my savings were wiped out. My rent and several other bills were due soon, so I couldn't afford to lose my job."

"Was the possible inability to pay your bills the only reason?"

"No, it wasn't," Kolin answered. "Other than the reason I've already given, there's another reason I left Sweden. My family has been in the business of creating magical suppression collars to supply to prisons and jails all over the Wizarding World for over three hundred years and of course I was expected to follow in my ancestor's footsteps and go into the family business. I had very little interest in doing so, however, especially since the methods used to create the collars, over a long period of time, often end up costing the creator their own magic, leaving them little more than squibs. My family, however, is very passionate about the family business, because they see themselves as helping to keep dangerous criminals contained, so they weren't happy with my decision to not go into the family business and to leave Sweden. They made it quite clear when I left that they viewed me as a traitor to everything they held dear and that if I ever returned I would not be welcome among them."

"Objection! I fail to see how this is relevant," Tiberius said, although in a much less forceful tone than he had previously used and he didn't bother standing up.

"Sustained," said Arcturus, who was looking quite bored. Harry thought he could detect a slight angry tone in Arcturus' voice which may of course have been due to his own recent incarceration in a magical suppression collar, or perhaps he was wondering if Kolin's family might have made the collars that his parents and uncle were currently wearing at Azkaban. "Please stop rambling and make a point that actually answers the question asked of you, Mr. Mikaels." 

Kolin nodded and said, "I'm not a legal citizen of Albion yet, although I have begun the process. I'm here on a visa which required me to have a job lined up before I was allowed into the country and the terms are quite clear in that if I were lose my job, I'd have to find another within three months or be deported. It took me six months to find the job at the Daily Prophet, so I was scared that if I got fired, I wouldn't be able to find another job in time and I'd get deported, which with no savings and my family basically disowning me, would mean that I'd likely end up homeless if I went back to Sweden, and getting a job in Magical Sweden without a home address is next to impossible."

"Did you tell Mr. Cuffe that you weren't interested in continuing the sexual relationship?" Aberforth asked.

"Yes, but he made it clear that my continued employment depended on me doing everything he said and that included having sex with him."

"How did Miss Chelsea Fawley become involved?"

"There was office gossip going around that Chelsea had a crush on me," Kolin answered. "Mr. Cuffe heard it and decided that he liked her enough to have her join us. Of course, he never actually had sex with her, I imagine he didn't want to risk getting her pregnant. So, he instead he forced me to have sex with her, while he had sex with me."

"So, you're bisexual?" Bruce asked.

"Does it matter, he's still a disgusting pervert," Amos said.

"Lord Diggory, insulting a witness isn't behavior becoming of a judge, so I suggest you stop doing it," Neville said.

"Well said, young man," Garrick said, as he cast a displeased look at Amos for a moment, which shut him up, as he was clearly about to say something to Neville, feeling that he could since Neville was only a courtesy Marquis and not an actual lord like he was. Garrick Ollivander, however, was another story. Turning to Kolin, Garrick, in a kinder, gentler voice, said, "Please answer Lord McLaggen's question, Mr. Mikaels."

Shaking his head, Kolin turned to look directly at Bruce and answered, "No, Your Excellence, I'm not. I'm only attracted to men, but even though I was a less than willing participant in what was going on, my body still betrayed me and reacted to the stimulus of Mr. Cuffe having sex with me, which allowed me to perform with Chelsea, even if I don't find her or any other woman the slightest bit attractive."

"In your previous testimony, you talked about a severe beating," Aberforth said. "When did this occur and what prompted it?"

"It was about three weeks ago," Kolin answered. "I'd finally worked up the courage to try and end things with Mr. Cuffe, so I went into his office, drew my wand and told him that I was no longer willing to continue our activities. He laughed at me and before I could even think of a spell to use against him, he had disarmed me, thrown me to the floor and began kicking me in the ribs. When he was done, he pushed up my robe, tore off my underwear and proceeded to fuck me harder than he ever had before, while repeatedly punching me in the back. By the time it was over, I was covered in bruises and my ass was bleeding. This prompted him to kick me in the ribs a few more times and even a couple of times to the head, because apparently he didn't like seeing my blood smeared on his cock, even though it was his own fault that it was there to begin with."

"Did Mr. Cuffe help you with any of the injuries he'd inflicted on you?" Aberforth asked.

"No, he just told me to get dressed and get out," Kolin replied. "He also said that for my insubordination, he was going to delay my paycheck, so I couldn't afford to go see a healer. Coming out of Mr. Cuffe's office that day, I guess it was obvious that I was badly injured by the way I was clutching my ribs and not walking straight, because Jonas stood up from his desk and led me to the nearest bathroom. Once there, he told me to wash up as best as I could and that he'd be right back."

"What happened when he got back?"

"He brought his twin, Lukas Cuffe, with him," Kolin answered. "Lukas is a healer and he healed all of my injuries. I told him I couldn't afford to pay him, but he said it was on the house. Neither Jonas or Lukas said much else and when I was healed, Lukas left and Jonas told me to take the rest of the day off."

"Do you think they knew what happened?"

"I suspect Jonas knew, but whether he told Lukas or not I have no idea," Kolin replied. "As I said, they didn't say much while we were in the bathroom and I was in too much pain to really pay attention to their facial expressions. Considering the injuries, I'd think as a healer, Lukas would have to know what happened, but working at the Daily Prophet it's impossible to not realize that Jonas is afraid of his father and will do whatever he's told. I would assume that it's the same with Lukas, but until then I didn't even know that Jonas had a twin, so, I can't be sure about anything where Lukas is concerned."

Aberforth made his way back to the prosecutor's table at this point, but before he sat down, he seemed to have a thought and asked, "Mr. Mikaels are you skilled in Occlumency?"

"No sir," Kolin answered. "I've thought about learning it, but never found the time to do so."

Aberforth nodded and asked, "And is it possible that prior to drinking the Veritaserum before your previous testimony that you ate a large quantity of sweets?"

Kolin shook his head and said, "No, sir, it's not. If you look at my medical records you'll see that I'm a diabetic, so I only eat sugar-free sweets, and thus it would be impossible for me to have a high enough sugar content in my bloodstream to effect Veritaserum. And before you ask, I was not given the antidote prior to drinking it either."

"Very well then," Aberforth said. "I have no further questions for this witness, but I reserve the right to recall him later if necessary."

"Request granted," Harry said. "Your witness, Mr. McLaggen."

Standing up, Tiberius rounded the table and looked at Kolin for a moment. He wasn't going to enjoy this, but it was his job to do everything he could for his client, so he said, "Mr. Mikaels, isn't it true that you led Mr. Cuffe astray, pursuing him in your already stated attempt to secure a relationship with a mature man?"

"No," Kolin said.

As if he hadn't heard Kolin, Tiberius pressed on with, "And isn't it true that having caught him at a moment of weakness, you decided to continue pursuing him, throwing yourself at him and offering titillation to a more senior gentleman, all in your efforts to get his sponsorship of your permanent residency visa in Albion, while disregarding his established and loving family?"

Shaking his head, Kolin said, "No, none of that is true."

Once again ignoring Kolin, although it was becoming increasingly harder to do so, as his heart which felt for the kid was arguing with his head that was saying he had to do his job and that meant defending his client. "And isn't it true that when he refused to assist you with your visa efforts, that you concocted these ridiculous allegations that he forced himself upon you so that you could instead make yourself look like the injured party in an attempt to gain sympathy from someone who could assist you with your visa? Mr. Cuffe's employer, for example?"

"Objection!" Aberforth shouted. "Counsel is badgering the witness and engaging in speculation that the evidence does not support!"

"Sustained," Erik said, as he looked at Tiberius and said, "You will refrain from badgering the witness and stick to the facts of this case, Mr. McLaggen."

"I believe the alleged facts are misleading and I am simply trying to get to the truth," Tiberius stated, but before anyone else could say anything, he decided to try a different tactic, as he asked, "Mr. Mikaels, did you actually hear Mr. Cuffe making the arrangements for Miss Fawley to join your activities?"

"No, I didn't," Kolin said. "Chelsea told me..."

"Hearsay. You can't tell us what she told you," Tiberius said. "Is it possible that Miss Fawley's participation was orchestrated not by Mr. Cuffe, but by another party who wished to create a scandal that would make my client look bad?"

"I guess," Kolin said, "but I don't believe that's true."

"Beliefs are not facts, Mr. Mikaels," Tiberius said, "and in a court of law, facts are what matters. So the facts of your evidence are as follows: 1. You have admitted seeking an older gentleman for intimate companionship; 2. You found such companionship with Mr. Cuffe even though he was in a long-term committed relationship with his wife; 3. There was a disagreement between you and Mr. Cuffe; 4. You were not being sponsored by Mr. Cuffe, and you needed his sponsorship to get permanent residency in Albion. Are those facts all accurate Mr. Mikaels?"

"It's true that I'm interested in older men, yes," Kolin said. "And that I knew that Mr. Cuffe was married and had children. It's also true that Mr. Cuffe and I were intimate, but what I got with him is not the type of companionship that I was seeking. I wanted a loving and supportive relationship, not a violent and oppressive one. As for needing sponsorship on my visa, yes, I admit it would be nice to have, but I never brought up that subject with Mr. Cuffe because quite frankly he wasn't really interested in talking to me if you get my meaning."

Turning away from Kolin and heading back to the defense table, Tiberius thought, 'I need to be careful to limit the damage and hope that I can cast sufficient doubt from the testimony of the other witnesses, thus showing that more than one interpretation can be made of the facts.' Casting a quick look at his client, he added in his head, 'Question is, would the facts interpreted in a way that get him off be the truth?' Shaking his head, he said aloud, "That will be all for this witness, my Lords," before he resumed his seat.

"Auror Daniels, please escort Mr. Mikaels back to the witness rooms," Harry said, as the Auror who brought Kolin in nodded and led him out of the room. Turning back to Aberforth, Harry said, "Mr. Dumbledore, you can call your next witness now."

"The prosecution calls Miss Chelsea Fawley," Aberforth said, at which point she was led into the room and given the same vow as Kolin, followed by six drops of Veritaserum.

Over the next forty-five minutes, Chelsea was questioned by both Aberforth and Tiberius. She confirmed that everything Kolin had said was true and several of the lords appeared to be shocked at just how cavalier Mr. Cuffe had treated this young lady, especially considering that she was from an old pureblood family. The Fawleys weren't noble, but they were still pureblooded which mattered to at least some of the judges and thus they didn't like seeing a young lady from a good family treated in such a way.

Something else that came out during Chelsea's questioning was that it was Jonas who had told her to report to his father's office and that once there, she was told to strip and have sex with Kolin. She didn't resist because she fancied him, but she was quite upset when she found out that Kolin was gay. She hastened to point out however that it wasn't Kolin she'd been upset with, but Mr. Cuffe for forcing him to have sex with her when he knew that Kolin fancied men.

After Chelsea was taken back to the witness rooms, Aberforth said, "The prosecution calls Mr. Jonas Cuffe to the stand."

Before Jonas could be brought in, Harry who was starting to get hungry and wanted some time to stretch his legs said, "We'll take a one hour recess for lunch and the prosecution will resume with Mr. Jonas Cuffe when court is back in session."

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Part One of Chapter Ten. I hadn't intended to split this chapter, but as it was, it was getting quite long at nearly 27,000 words and thus decided to split it up into more manageable parts. The next section of the story contains material that I'm still working on, but I have a large chunk of it written, so there should be another update coming relatively soon. However, for now, I figured I'd give you this much to tide you over for the time being. I hope that you've enjoyed reading it and I welcome any comments, questions, suggestions, or speculations that you may have.


	13. Chapter Ten, Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex
> 
> Trigger Warning: This chapter contains material which involves graphic discussion and after-the-fact description of instances of rape (non-con), child abuse, both physical and sexual, and other dark and potentially disturbing topics. If this is something you would rather not read, I suggest that you do not read the below version of this chapter and instead head over to FFNet and read the much shorter summarized version of events which doesn't include the above mentioned descriptions. Reading that, you should have no difficulty in keeping up with the story from Chapter Eleven onwards. However, if you do opt to read the below, well, don't say that I didn't warn you.

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Ten  
Part Two

-o-0-o-

One hour later, the Tribunal was back in session and Jonas was sitting in the witness box, where Madam Bones had extracted his oath and then given him Veritaserum. If Barnabas was at all worried about what his son might say while under the influence of truth potion, it didn't show on his face, but then that's because he didn't want to make it look like he was guilty, when he didn't believe that he was guilty of any wrongdoing. He was smart enough to realize, however, that not everybody would see it that way.

Standing up, Aberforth opened with the standard direction that the witness state their full name, date and place of birth for the record. Once Jonas had done that, Aberforth began to ask questions to confirm Kolin's and Chelsea's testimony, which Jonas did as far as he was able. After a moment, Aberforth asked, "What, if anything, did you assume was happening in these meetings between your father, Kolin and Chelsea?"

"It was pretty obvious that he was having sex with both of them," Jonas stated, although after a moment of hesitation, he added, "Although my guess would be that he only ever penetrated Kolin."

"And what makes you think that?" Aberforth asked. By this point, all of the lords and heirs present in the room were watching with rapt attention, awaiting Jonas' response to the question.

"Because he wouldn't have wanted to risk getting Chelsea pregnant," Jonas replied, "as that would create the very real chance of my mother finding out that he was being unfaithful and while my father does rule our household with an iron fist, he's always been careful not to upset my mother too much, because she's not a pleasant woman to be around when she's angry, especially when it's you she's angry with." After a moment of silence, he added, "He's always been very careful to avoid any situation which could lead to mother finding out about his extra-marital affairs... which is why the vast majority of them have been with men."

"Are you saying that you know he's had other affairs?" Aberforth asked. "That Mr. Mikaels and Miss Fawley were not the first?"

Before Jonas could answer, Harry asked, "Were any of these other affairs with employees of the Daily Prophet?"

"Yes, my father has had more affairs over the years than I could count on the hands of everybody in this room," Jonas said as several eyes widened at that statement. Turning to look at Harry, Jonas continued, "And yes, Your Grace, several of them have been with both current and former employees of the Daily Prophet."

"Can you name any of the people that these other affairs were with?" Caractacus asked, wondering just how many names there would be and just what the hell was going on in Diagon Alley, because it was starting to sound like the Daily Prophet was a brothel instead of a newspaper and as the lord whose lands Diagon Alley was on, Caractacus was fully aware of the fact that the Prophet did not possess the necessary licenses to operate as a brothel or allowing for sex to occur on the premises.

At this, Jonas began listing several names of former Prophet employees, almost all of them male, and there were quite a few shocked expressions all around the room when several people recognized some of the names that were being listed. There were members of several old pureblood families, including a few that some of the lords recognized as being distant relations of theirs, descended from a grandaunt or great-grandaunt whose name had changed upon marriage. Another name that several recognized was Benjy Williams, the star seeker of Puddlemere United, who had apparently had an affair with Barnabas when working at the Prophet during the summer following graduation from school as a sports reporter before he became a seeker.

By this point, Harry could see that Jonas was clearly getting upset and agitated about something, so he said, "That's enough of the past employees for now. Are there any other current employees of the paper that your father has had an affair with?"

Harry had hoped that this would calm Jonas down, but instead it had the opposite effect, as he visibly paled and looked like he was about to throw up, as he gulped and whispered, "Jonas Cuffe."

Sure that he couldn't possibly have heard the witness correctly, because he thought he'd just named himself as one of the affairs that his father had had, Aberforth cleared his throat and asked, "Could you repeat that last name, please?"

Jonas looked sick, as he repeated, this time louder, "Jonas Cuffe."

Almost every eye in the room was now comically large and several mouths were hanging open in shock, as this revelation was just about the last thing that anybody had expected to hear. The only eyes in the room that weren't large were those of Barnabus Cuffe himself, whose eyes had narrowed to slits and he was looking directly at Jonas with a look on his face that could only be described as pure hatred.

Finding his voice, Aberforth said, "I'm sorry if this question further upsets you, my boy, but we need to be perfectly clear. Are you saying that your father forced you to have sex with him?"

In the silence that ensued, Harry was sure that you would have been able to hear a feather drop at a hundred yards, as everybody waited with baited breath for Jonas' answer to the question. Jonas, however, looked like he was going to be sick and didn't open his mouth to respond, perhaps out of fear that if he did, he might throw up on someone, and so instead he simply nodded his head up and down to indicate that, yes, that is what he'd meant.

No longer able to contain the fury that was boiling in every vein of his body, Barnabas jumped up at this and shouted, "You ungrateful runt, after everything that I've done for you, everything I've given to you, every advantage that my prestige has brought to you... just wait until I get you home!"

Jonas shrunk away from his father's yelling, shifting in his seat so that his legs were against his chest and wrapping his arms around them as he buried his face in his knees and began rocking back and forth in his seat, as he quivered in abject terror. Seeing a twenty-five-year-old man do this was definitely something that few people in the room ever thought they'd see, but after what they'd just heard and the previous statement from Kolin that Jonas was clearly afraid of his father, which was also confirmed by Chelsea, it was clear that Barnabas had not been a kind or loving father if his yelling could inspire this kind of reaction from his grown son.

Garrick pounded the table in front of him with his fist as he said, "Mr. McLaggen restrain your client." Turning his eyes on Barnabas, he said, in a tone that nobody in the room, including Nick, had ever heard from the elderly wandmaker, "You sicken me, Cuffe, and I suggest you sit down and shut your mouth now before I'm forced to hold you in contempt of this Tribunal."

Harry's eyes remained fixed on Jonas, as he watched him cowering in the witness box, regressing from the man he'd met at the Prophet to an obviously terrified child and it made him question just what Barnabas had done to Jonas, other than what had already been confirmed that is, that had made him so afraid of his father. It also brought back some very bad memories of his time at the Dursleys, although Harry had to give them credit because they had never laid a hand on him in a sexual way, which apparently Jonas couldn't say about his own father.

Almost afraid of the answer he might receive, Harry asked, "Jonas, do you know if your father has ever forced himself on any of your other siblings?"

At this question, Jonas shifted slightly, turning his head sideways on his knees in the general direction of the judges' table, and whispered, "Lukas." It looked like he wanted to say more, but in his current state of distress, he couldn't get the words out of his mouth.

As soft as it was, in the deathly quiet of the room, nobody had any difficulty in hearing it. Harry just could not understand how any father could so mistreat their children. As an orphan, he'd always wanted a mother and father as he grew up, and he'd assumed that most parents were loving. Even the Dursleys, despite their less than loving treatment of him, obviously loved Dudley quite a bit, but that a father could so abuse the trust of a child by forcing them to have sex with them and Gods only knew what else, left Harry struggling to comprehend the situation.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got and it wasn't long before Harry could honestly say that he was angrier in that moment then he had ever been in his entire life, thus he wasn't at all surprised when a surge of wild magic filled the Tribunal's courtroom. Nobody turned to Harry, however, as several of the other lords were feeling much the same way that Harry was and none of them were sure that they themselves hadn't been the cause of the outburst of wild magic. Even the normally emotion free face of Lucius Malfoy, was clearly angry as he thought about the situation, which he could not fathom. Of course, anybody who knew the Malfoy family's motto, La famille est primordiale, or The family is paramount in English, could understand why he was angry enough for his mask to slip.

Getting control of his anger, Harry turned and looked at his fellow judges, each of them wearing shocked, angry, or sad looks. Even Arcturus Lestrange was looking like it was taking everything in him not to pull out his wand and curse Barnabas into the next century. Harry felt a pang in his chest, as he saw a tear sliding down Neville's face, as he was also obviously struggling with the idea that a parent could ever treat their child in such a harsh and cruel manner to reduce them to what Jonas had been reduced to.

Clearing his throat, Harry said, "Given this new evidence, I'm calling a recess while I discuss the situation with the rest of the Tribunal. Everyone who is not a member of this body, with the exception of Madam Bones, will please leave the courtroom immediately. Auror Daniels, take that fiend to his cell."

Turning sad eyes on Jonas, who was still cowering on the stand, Harry said, "Nick, Dominick can you take Jonas somewhere and try to calm him down?"

Nick and Dominick nodded and stood with the rest of the heirs and approached the witness box. Jonas stiffened for a moment, prompting Harry to say, "It's okay, Jonas, you have my word that they won't hurt you."

Jonas nodded, as he stood up and headed out of the courtroom, flanked by Nick and Dominick. Before they could leave, however, Caractacus called out, "Dom."

"Yes, grandfather?" Dominick asked, surprised to hear his normally stoic grandfather call him that nickname in public, as he usually only used it in private. He had never particularly cared for it, preferring Nick, but his grandfather was head of the Burke family and thus could call Dominick anything he wanted.

"Take him to our quarters and give him a Calming Draught," Caractacus said, at which point Dominick nodded, and left the room with Nick and Jonas, leaving the eleven lords, Arcturus, Neville, and Madam Bones alone in the room.

-o-0-o-

The courtroom was silent for a few moments after everyone else left, before Bruce said, "Whatever I expected to hear today, I can safely say that what we just heard was not even remotely close to it. Tiberius and I have been friends with Barnabas for years and I've never had any inkling that he was anything but a fine and upstanding man. I was clearly very, very wrong about him."

"He's clearly fooled numerous people," Malcolm Flint spat out through a firm scowl.

"You know what I'm most afraid of?" Erik asked and after several of the lords indicated he should continue, "I'm afraid that if he could do that to Jonas and apparently Lukas as well, I can't help but wonder if he might not have also done it to Aaron and Kaleb." After a moment, he added, "Or Gods forbid, his only grandson, Ernie Macmillan."

"Ernie Macmillan?" Harry asked. "He's in my year at Hogwarts, in Hufflepuff. He's Cuffe's grandson?"

Erik nodded. "Yes, he is. Cuffe's eldest daughter, Evelyn, is Ernie's mother."

"I'm sorry I doubted you, Lord Potter," Bruce sighed before continuing. "I just couldn't believe that the man I've known for so many years could do any of the things that you charged him with, but now I find myself worrying that he may have hurt his own children in unspeakable ways. We know that he's obviously hurt Jonas and he mentioned his twin Lukas, but would he also harm his first-born, Aaron? Or Kaleb, his youngest son? I don't even want to imagine him doing anything to Ernie, as he's only fourteen. But if he has done anything to him, then we need to know, because he needs to be punished for it."

Nodding his head, Harry responded, "I agree, but let's not call Ernie unless we absolutely have to. We'll call Aaron, Lukas, and Kaleb and see if they can confirm what Jonas said and hopefully one of them will know whether or not anything has happened to Ernie."

"And if they don't?" Neville asked, afraid of the answer, because towards the end of last school year, he'd begun dating Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff and had spent quite a bit of time with her over the summer as a result. This also translated to Neville spending a fair amount of time with Ernie, since the Abbott and Macmillan families were neighbors and Hannah and Ernie had been best friends since they were old enough to walk.

"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," Lucius said. "But something I think we need to consider now is whether or not we should allow certain people to observe the testimony given by the other Cuffe children. While criminal cases tried by the Tribunal are normally sealed affairs and observers are not allowed, there is precedence for allowing them in certain circumstances. Certainly at least for allowing the wife of a person on trial to be an observer, so that she isn't completely caught off guard if her husband is sentenced to Azkaban or worse."

"My Lords," Neville timidly interjected, "given the nature of the allegations, do we think his wife would want to hear how he abused their children and she didn't notice?"

Harry nodded and added, "The same would apply to Evelyn Macmillan. Do we really think that she would want to hear what her father might have done to her son, assuming we end up questioning Ernie?"

Erik sighed, "I do understand what both of you are saying, but they will be wondering what in Merlin's name happened to their husband and father if we don't include them in the hearing."

Amos spoke next, "Whilst I understand the consideration you are trying to give Lord Potter, he's an animal that shouldn't be granted any impunity from the shame that he rightly deserves."

Considering recent events, Harry didn't think he'd ever find himself agreeing with Amos Diggory on anything, but in this case he did. "I agree he does appear to be a monster, Taleford, and even that word is probably woefully inadequate. However, it wasn't concern for Cuffe that prompted my statement but my wish to show compassion to the ladies concerned. I do realize, however, that it may well be very hard to explain to them what happened if they're not allowed to witness the trial with their own eyes."

Shaking his head, Callum summarized, "This is a difficult situation no matter how you look at it and I don't believe there is a right answer, but I think we should vote on whether to allow the ladies to attend as observers to the proceedings from here on. They may well need to hear the terrible things we believe have been done so that they can help their children and siblings respectively overcome what they've experienced, and there can be no healing from this without confronting it."

"Agreed," Garrick responded. "As much as it pains me, I vote aye."

"Nay," was Malcolm Flint’s vote.

"Nay," added Bruce McLaggen, as he just couldn't bring himself to bring that kind of pain upon a woman he'd thought of as a friend for so many years. He knew that she deserved to know, but he still couldn't bring himself to say that she should be present for the questioning as he felt it would be too difficult for her.

"You've all heard how I feel on this subject," Amos said, as he looked around at his fellow lords. "I have no choice but to vote aye."

"Aye," Erik voted, after a few moments of intense contemplation.

Bartemius nodded, "I quite agree with Lord Ollivander, it pains me to say this, but, aye."

"If it was my wife, I wouldn't want her hearing any of what we think we're going to hear," Lucius stated. "So I vote nay."

"I agree with Lucius," Caractacus said. "Nay."

Neville went next. "If these things had happened to me, I wouldn't want my mother to hear me talking about it, so I have to vote nay."

"Personally I hated my mother," Sirius surmised, "so I wouldn't care, but I have nothing but respect for Evelyn Macmillan, who I knew in school, and I have to say nay."

With a cold look in his eyes, that Harry couldn't say he was surprised to see considering whose son he was, Arcturus voted, "Aye."

All eyes now focused on Callum McKinnon. He could feel the building tension in the room, but he was not going to be rushed. He was one of the King's suitors after all and even if he wouldn't have chosen the King as a potential mate since he had no interest in men, that still had to give him some status and the right to keep the others waiting while he considered the question. Of course, he'd never been one to let people rush him anyway, so only when he felt he'd truly made up his mind did he speak. "Aye."

"Well then, if my math is correct, we have six ayes and six nays, which means the deciding vote goes to me... great, no pressure here then," surmised Harry. Neville smiled faintly at Harry despite the situation and a few of the other lords looked at Harry with sympathy as they awaited the youngest lord in the room to make up his mind. After seconds that seemed to draw out into hours, Harry took a deep breath and spoke, "I see no way around this, other than to vote aye, but I want us to ensure that all witnesses and observers have access to Calming Draughts if they need them."

"Well then the ayes have it," Garrick said. "Agatha Cuffe and Evelyn Macmillan will be allowed to observe the testimony given by their sons and brothers, respectively."

Harry nodded, "Yes, let us hope that we don't have to put them through watching Ernie giving testimony," as he picked up the list of witnesses that the defense had planned to call and began looking it over.

"What are you looking at, Harry?" Neville asked.

"This list of witnesses that Cuffe planned to call in his defense," Harry responded. "One of them is Benjy Williams, who Jonas named as one of his father's victims, so I suppose we'll have to question him for sure."

"Agreed," Caractacus agreed. "And Lukas Cuffe, obviously, along with Aaron and Kaleb Cuffe."

"You know, I'd forgotten about her until this moment," Erik said, "but someone else we need to consider is Aaron's wife, Madeleine. I can understand that he might not want her to hear that he was abused, out of fear she might look at him differently, but then again who better to comfort him and try to help him get past this pain but his wife?"

"Well, we don't know that Aaron has anything to get past yet," Callum pointed out. "Hopefully, he doesn't and Cuffe confined his disgusting activities to only Jonas and Lukas, but I fear we'll find out that's not the case."

"Something in my gut is telling me that if he abused Jonas and Lukas," Bruce growled, "that he probably did it to Aaron and Kaleb as well, as much as the thought sickens me. At which point I agree with Erik that Madeleine would be best equipped to help her husband through this difficult period. Who else is on that list, Lord Potter?"

Instead of answering Bruce's question, however, Harry had a thought that prompted a question of his own. "I know in the Muggle world they have a type of glass that allows you to look through it normally as if you were looking through a window, but on the other side it appears to be a mirror and thus looking at it you'd only see your reflection. Is there some way that we can create something similar with magic to prevent Aaron, Kaleb and the others from noticing their family members? It might make things easier on them if they don't know that their mother, sister, or wife are watching."

Speaking up for the first time, Madam Bones responded, "Actually, yes, Lord Potter, there are spells that are commonly used by the Aurors in my department that can create similar effects. They can also block out sound so any emotional outbursts from the people watching the testimony, which I'm sure there undoubtedly will be whether they've taken a Calming Draught or not, won't be heard in the courtroom itself."

"In that case," Harry said, "does anyone object to Madam Bones setting up an area in the courtroom in which the people we're allowing to observe the testimony can sit without being seen or heard by the people giving testimony?"

Nobody objected, which prompted Harry to instruct Madam Bones to set everything up before they went back into session, which she agreed she would do as soon as she knew who they were going to allow to sit in the area so that she knew how big an area she needed to cover.

"Now, as for the list," Harry continued, as he turned his eyes back to it, "Horace Slughorn, Cornelius Fudge and Rita Skeeter. I'd have to very strongly say no on that last one, because I don't trust that woman and her Quick-Quotes Quill as far as I could throw her. Besides I rather doubt she has anything useful to add to this case, since Jonas never mentioned her among the handful of female victims that he shared along with all the others. Now, I'm not saying he can't call her as a defense witness but I don't think she should be allowed to sit in for any of the other evidence."

"I would have to agree," Lucius responded, nodding his head. "She is a reporter, after all, and the details of Tribunal trials are sealed so the less evidence she hears the better. We may want to consider asking her to swear an Unbreakable Vow, however, as extra insurance that she won't try to report or any other way record anything that she's not supposed to. I know the ancient magic of the Tribunal is supposed to prevent people from talking about the meetings, but I'm uncertain if that includes written accounts, because I have read accounts of past Tribunal meetings in the journals of my family's past lords."

Caractacus nodded, "I would guess that since the journals you speak of are only accessible by the living Head of the family that might be why they could write down accounts of Tribunal meetings in them. However, I must confess that I am not positive on that, so the extra insurance of an Unbreakable Vow would probably be a good idea for someone like Rita Skeeter."

"Well, my lords," Madam Bones interrupted, "when I was told about the Tribunal upon becoming head of the DMLE, I read that all the witnesses swore on their magic or their lives not to reveal anything they saw or heard at the meeting outside of the Tribunal. So, is an Unbreakable Vow really necessary? Do you think Rita Skeeter is desperate enough for a story that she would risk losing her magic to get it?"

"You've obviously never met the woman, Amelia," Caractacus growled out forcefully. "I can say that I have had that displeasure and I can assure you that she's just about the most ruthless reporter I've ever met who is willing to break pretty much every rule in the book if it means getting a good story. So, I'm not sure that the possible risk of only losing her magic would be enough. Add the risk to her life, however, and I think even she'd think twice."

"Yeah I've had the displeasure of meeting her and her quill myself," Erik added. "So, I'd have to say that she wants to be rich and famous, although I do believe she would want to be alive to enjoy it, so she wouldn't risk her life to get fame and fortune, but her magic? I wouldn't be so sure and thus in her case, at least, I think an Unbreakable Vow is definitely necessary."

In the end, it was decided to allow Agatha, Evelyn, her husband Jonathan, Abigail, Horace, and Cornelius to witness all of the testimony given by Benjy, Aaron, Lukas, and Kaleb, and if it became necessary, Ernie. It was also decided that after each of the Cuffe sons and Benjy had testified that they would be allowed to go and sit with the other observers in the warded area and watch the others testify. This did, of course, mean that they'd become aware of the deception regarding who was actually listening to their testimony, but it was decided that since Jonas had only mentioned Lukas, it was possible that he didn't know if his father had done anything to his other brothers. If that was the case and Aaron, for example, didn't know that Barnabas had done anything to Jonas, Lukas, and Kaleb, then it was believed that knowing he wasn't alone in his suffering might help him.

“After Jonas and Lukas testify, I think we should give the Cuffe family some time to recover and regroup before calling Aaron and Kaleb, so perhaps we should listen to Benjy's testimony after Jonas and Lukas have finished,” suggested Neville. No one objected to this suggestion, so it was agreed Madam Bones would pass that message on to Aberforth.

“Clearly we are dealing with someone who has committed many more crimes than he is already facing charges for,” summarized Harry.

Lucius nodded and continued with, “I think, while it may be unusual, is it not unprecedented for the Tribunal to add additional charges during proceedings. It might be best after we've heard further testimony, say after Lukas and Benjy have added their evidence, we reconvene in recess and consider laying additional charges against Cuffe."

“I think that is probably going to be necessary,” volunteered Madam Bones. “As it stands now, he's only being charged with two counts of each crime, based upon what he did to Kolin and Chelsea, and we now know there's been many more crimes than that, but the charges don't reflect them, so the range of options open to you for Cuffe’s punishment will be limited and not sufficient for all of his criminal actions. It would be presumptuous to lay those charges right now, however, without confirming them by hearing more evidence from Jonas, Lukas, and Benjy.”

Erik nodded at his aunt, "Indeed, if we add the charges now, Tiberius could probably argue that we don't have enough evidence to add the extra charges, as even under Veritaserum, it would currently be Barnabas' word against Jonas'. And I think we can all agree that we don't want to give Tiberius any ammunition that he might be able to use to get his client off." 

The others all nodded in agreement, prompting Harry to ask, “Are we agreed then, that we will recess and discuss additional charges following the testimony of Benjy and Lukas?” All the lords of the Tribunal nodded their heads in assent.

After the decisions were made, it was nearly four in the afternoon and because Madam Bones advised it would probably take her at least two hours to setup all of the charms and spells necessary to create the warded area for the observers to watch testimony from, Neville suggested they stay in recess until tomorrow morning. The other lords agreed and so, before she began setting up the necessary magic, Madam Bones went around to tell the witnesses, barristers and the defendant that the Tribunal would be in recess until eight the following morning.

-o-0-o-

The next morning, the judges were seated at their table, the heirs were seated in their box off to one side of the room, and the barristers and the defendant had taken their places. The difference this morning, however, was the presence of a new seating area, currently empty, that hadn't been present during the previous day's proceedings. It was something that both barristers noticed, but didn't inquire about as they were sure that it would be explained in time.

Erik stood up, "By now I'm sure you've noticed the extra seating. The reason for it is because my fellow members of the Tribunal and I have reached the decision that we are going to allow select people to enter the courtroom and observe today's testimony. This is an allowance that has rarely been made in the past, but there is precedent for it and in this case, we felt it was necessary." He paused here for a moment, before he nodded to his aunt, "Bring in the observers."

The doors to the courtroom opened and two of the Aurors led the group of observers into the room. Barnabus Cuffe soon became quite agitated as the observers filed in and he recognized his wife and several of his intended character witnesses, including Horace Slughorn and Minister Fudge present amongst them. Tiberius had to restrain Barnabus from standing in protest at these observers attending his trial while others were giving testimony. He had to hiss at Barnabus to sit still and be quiet while he thought quickly how he should respond, for he'd had a very restless night trying to reconcile his duty as Cuffe's defense barrister, and his horror at what he'd heard in the previous day's testimony.

Before Tiberius could make any moves to object, however, Erik was speaking again and he knew now wasn't the time to object if it meant cutting off Lord Bones in what he was saying. Making sure he kept a hand on Barnabas' shoulder to prevent him from jumping up and interrupting the proceedings himself, Tiberius met his client's eyes and found him staring back at him murderously.

"Wait," Tiberius hissed quietly when he was sure he had Barnabus' full attention. "And don't argue with me or ignore my advice, because if you do I won't hesitate to remove myself as your barrister to let you fend for yourself and I think we both know how disastrous that would be."

Barnabus apparently decided to listen to his old friend and turned forward to listen to what Erik was saying with a sullen look on his face and a ferocious grip on the arms of his seat.

"You have been brought in only to observe these proceedings," Erik addressed the new arrivals. "In a few moments, magical barriers will be erected which allow you to see and hear the testimony to be given, but the people giving the testimony will be unable to see or hear you. There are pitchers of water, glasses, and Calming Draughts available on that table," as he pointed at a table next to their chairs, "should you feel you need them. There is also charmed parchment for you to communicate important information to the Prosecutor, Aberforth Dumbledore, and this panel of judges. What you write on that parchment will be visible to us. However, you will not under any circumstances interrupt these proceedings by trying to leave the warded area. Are we clear?"

All of the observers nodded silently, at which point Erik continued, "Very well, then. Aunt Amelia, please erect the wards."

Madam Bones nodded and raised her wand, muttering a silent incantation which caused the wards to shimmer into being, completely hiding the observers from view to the rest of the courtroom. Erik resumed his seat, at which point Harry resumed the proceedings, "Mr. Dumbledore you may call your first witness."

"The prosecution recalls Mr. Jonas Cuffe to the stand," Aberforth said, which prompted Tiberius to stand up, ready to object, but before he could even say a word, Harry raised his hand to silence him, "Objection overruled, Mr. McLaggen. The Tribunal, as I am sure you are becoming aware, is not subject to the same rules as other courts you may be familiar with. The decision was made after a vote, the majority of which voted in favor of these measures, so that is what it is. Now please sit down, we'll have more to say when we have finished our examination of this morning’s testimony."

Meanwhile, Madam Bones was reminding Jonas that he was still under oath, and then passed her wand over him, and determined that the dose of Veritaserum, whilst still above the effects of 3 drops administered under normal circumstances, needed another 2 drops to bring it back up to the effectiveness required at the Tribunal. She asked him to open his mouth and put out his tongue, then carefully added the 2 drops. Jonas felt the return of the full potency of Veritaserum as he'd experienced when he'd first sat in this chair yesterday afternoon.

Aberforth stood at this point and smiled at Jonas, "Before I begin my questioning, Jonas, as I understand this may be difficult for you, would you like a Calming Draught?"

Jonas nodded, "Yes, please," knowing that without one, there was no way he would ever get through this, not with his father in the room and staring daggers at him.

Madam Bones handed Jonas a Calming Draught, which he quickly downed, before handing the empty vial back to her. Waiting a moment for it to take effect, Aberforth then opened his questioning, "Now, Jonas, in your testimony yesterday, when I asked you if your father, Barnabus Cuffe, had ever forced himself upon you in a sexual manner, you nodded. For the record, could you please provide a verbal response?"

Jonas nodded and realizing his repetition of the action rather than the response requested stated, "Yes, my father has forced me to have sex with him and others on numerous occasions."

Filing that bit of information away for reference, Aberforth nodded and continued gently, "I understand that this is going to be difficult for you, but could you please describe for the court, in your own words, how and when his sexual abuse began?"

"It started after I'd come back home during my first Christmas break from Hogwarts," Jonas began. "Dad was unwell with the flu, he had been for a few days, and I went in to show him the Christmas cards I'd gotten from all the new friends I'd made. He was sitting up and pulled the covers back so I could climb into bed with him. I was so excited to be showing that I had made so many new friends, and as we looked through each card and I told him about the friend who’d given each card to me, I became aware that his hand was below the covers, and moving up and down the top of my inner thigh."

Jonas paused here for a moment and swallowed, before he continued with, "Dad said he was going to show me some special magic that was a secret and asked me if I was interested. This was the first time that he'd singled me out from my brothers, and even though it was making me feel a little uncomfortable, he told me that he only shared it with very special people. We'd never really been close before, and this, well ... I didn't want to push him away.

"After I nodded slowly, he moved his hand higher, and pushed down past the waistband on my pajamas and started massaging my penis. I was so ashamed that it was getting hard and bigger, but he whispered that I was letting the magic grow stronger in me ... then after a few minutes I felt hot and I was breathing faster and harder, and ... well, I'm sure I don't have to say what happened. I felt so good, and so ashamed, and angry and confused. That's when he told me that it was a special magic and I was not to tell anyone or show anyone, not even my brothers."

Aberforth waited a few seconds before asking, "And did he do this with you again?"

Jonas nodded, then remembering he was in a court, said "Yes. It happened every day that holiday. I didn't want to go into his room, I didn't want to do it with him, but he sent for me, ostensibly to read to him, but he insisted I sit in bed with him, and ... yeah, he got me to do that, and then do things like that with his penis. On the last day, he told me that he didn't believe I loved him, that I was holding back. I was so upset, I didn't want to do things like that with him, but he told me that some fathers shared this powerful magic with their sons, but many kept it secret, and if anyone spoke of it, then their magic would destroy them for breaking the sacred trust involved, like an Unbreakable Vow. I told him I did love him, and I think I did back then, so he told me to prove it. I went to stroke his penis again, but he told me to stop, and took hold of my head and brought my mouth down towards his penis. I struggled, and he said this was the next stage of initiation, and the magic released would be even more powerful."

"So he made you give him oral sex?" asked Aberforth after Jonas had paused for about fifteen seconds.

"Yes and the shame I felt after it ... I couldn't wait to get back to school the next day and forget all about it. I succeeded too, for a couple of weeks."

Jonas took a drink of water, both to refresh his mouth, but also to wash away the bitter after taste in his mouth that recounting some of the worst memories of his life had caused.

"A few weeks later, Dad was visiting the school to see the Headmaster about something, and he took Lukas and me to Hogsmeade for lunch. I thought it was strange at the time, but Lukas really didn't want to go with us, but I begged him to come so as not to make Dad angry, but really it was so that I wasn't alone with him.

"When we got back to school, Dad wanted to talk to Lukas, so he asked me to wait in the courtyard, and he went off with Lukas for about fifteen minutes. I was beginning to think he’d forgotten I was waiting for him, but I wasn’t going to slip away in case he came back. When he eventually did get back, he took me into a private meeting room that parents were allowed to use when visiting a teacher or their children, it's just inside the entrance hall. He closed and warded the door with a few spells. I couldn't help feeling very frightened about what was going to happen. He turned on me and the look on his face was terrifying. He told me that Lukas had told him that I had talked about the secret rituals he was teaching me. I started crying and saying that I hadn't, that I wouldn't talk as I didn't want my magic to destroy me."

Aberforth remained silent, although in his head he couldn't help but wonder if his idiot brother knew that something like this was going on right under his nose. He hoped that Albus didn't know about it, because if he did and did nothing, well, Aberforth's already low opinion of him would be plummeting even further.

Jonas paused to take a deep breath, before he continued. " He told me to prove it, if I wasn't lying, he would be able to tell if I took my clothes off, turned around and bent over the back of the sofa. I thought he was going to spank me, and I was crying, but I did what he said. But instead of standing off to the side like he would if he was going to spank me, he stood right behind me, and then I felt his penis pressing between my buttocks.

"He told me if I was telling the truth then the magic would welcome his penis into my backside, but if I was lying, it would really hurt and he would know. Of course it hurt, as he didn't prepare me, or lube me, and just pushed into me, but I refused to cry out as even though it was hurting, I wasn't going to confirm for him that I'd broken the vow, even though I knew I hadn't." Pausing, Jonas looked down at his lap for a moment, before he added, "That was the first time he'd done that to me, and he wasn't gentle, especially considering I was only twelve when he did that to me. It wasn't the last time either."

Jonas continued after catching his breath, having sorted through some more thoughts and painful memories. "I started withdrawing from the people around me, as I was ashamed and felt that everyone could see what had happened to me. I even tried to withdraw from Lukas, but he wasn't having any of that and kept fighting to be with me when all I wanted to do was disappear and not hurt anymore.

"During the following summer holidays, Mum was away and Lukas and I were at home. Dad was working in his study, but had told me he wanted to see me in there at three o'clock. I knocked on the door softly, hoping that he wouldn't hear me, but all I could hear was a muffled sound from inside. I thought it was Dad telling me to come in, but when I opened the door, I could see Dad fucking Lukas over the back of the sofa just like he did with me. Dad smiled when he saw me, and called out telling me to come in and strip."

"Lukas tried to struggle out from under Dad, but he couldn't move, and Dad grabbed a fistful of his hair and held him down snarling at him to keep still. I was stunned, and he yelled at me to strip or he'd make sure I suffered. When I was naked he told me to get in front of Lukas and get my penis in his mouth, and he told Lukas he was to suck me while Dad finished off."

Jonas had tears running down his cheeks, "Lukas did try clenching his teeth to stop my penis going in his mouth, but Dad gave him a kidney punch and told him if he didn't suck me that he'd make him into a girl by cutting off his balls. Lukas looked at me, tears streaming down his cheeks, and I was silently crying as well. I moved closer and felt Lukas' mouth around me for the first time.

"Dad finished in Lukas pretty quickly, I guess he was turned on by seeing his twin sons having sex. Then he told me it was my turn, and made Lukas and I swap places ... even now I have nights when nightmares of that day disturb my sleep. When Dad had finished in me, he made Lukas take his place, and Dad put his penis in my mouth and told me to lick him clean.

"When we'd finished, he made us stand before him, and sneered at us, telling us that we were not going to talk about this to anyone, for if we did, he was going to curse us so our magic would destroy us just like it would if we broke an unbreakable vow. Then he laughed at us as we were crying, and took us both over to his pensieve. There were memories already floating in it, and he told us to put our heads in and see what was going to happen to us."

The tears were flowing freely from Jonas' eyes and he was shaking, as he said, "I can't tell you every detail of the horrors I saw in those memories, and the many more he has forced us to watch over the years, as they've all blurred together, but there were boys having their genitals burned, crushed, their backs being whipped and their backsides being forced open with medical instruments, all for the pleasure of other men standing around. I can't separate them into which I saw when, they are so horrific and they get mixed up in my mind.

"He told us that he'd decide if we were to play together, or maybe that he'd make us bring friends over to watch us doing things together so that all our schoolmates would know what we were. That's when he told us to get out of his sight, so we both grabbed our clothes and ran out of the room, naked, to the bathroom to get clean, and to hold each other."

Aberforth, together with every person in the Tribunal Chamber with the exception of Barnabus Cuffe, was stunned and horrified by the testimony that they'd just heard. He drew a few deep breaths, using techniques he'd mastered over the years of mental discipline to calm himself, before asking, "Jonas, how long did this abuse continue?"

"The last time he had sex with me was just before we were summoned to this Tribunal. The last time he involved Lukas with me was two weeks before that."

Aberforth resisted the ever growing urge to pull out his wand and use an Unforgivable on Barnabas, because while he deserved it, he also wanted every single one of the wretched man's crimes to be known. "Did he ever involve any of your other brothers?"

Jonas shook his head from side to side in a negative gesture and said, "Not with Lukas and me... I don't know if he ever did anything with Aaron or Kaleb. I knew about the other people at the Prophet because I could recognize the signs, and dreaded them in case he would be after me, but then he'd get me to bring someone else to his office, and say he didn't want to see any visitors, and then the look on their faces when they left, and the evil smirks he'd send after them, it wasn't hard to tell. He'd usually ask me to clean up the mess from the furniture and floor, but he would want me to do it with my tongue."

"You knew long ago, of course, that no curse was used on you, and you must have realized that his statements about invoking ancient and secret magic were all false, so why did you continue submitting to his abuse?" asked Aberforth.

"I mentioned the pensieve memories, and the thought he might do some of those things to Lukas if I refused ... those were bad enough. Sometimes, after I'd seen a particularly graphic set of memories, he'd force me to drink the Antidote to Dreamless Sleep so that I could not escape from the horrors. But as we got older, he started using magical curses on us that were painful like the Hammer Curse to hit us, sometimes cracking ribs or to hit our testicles, or the Whipping Curse which he’d use to lash our backsides. Then on some occasions he would use the Cruciatus Curse on me to discipline Lukas, or on Lukas to get my obedience."

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, in the warded area of the courtroom, everyone present was staring at Jonas in complete and total shock. When the first question had come out of Aberforth's mouth, Agatha Cuffe couldn't believe her ears, because none of them had been warned beforehand about what they were going to be hearing. All they'd been told was that her husband was on trial before the Lords of the Thirteen Houses, who had called together an ancient court that was higher than the Wizengamot to try him for crimes that they refused to tell her about. Honestly she'd thought he'd been caught embezzling money or something, but certainly never in her wildest imagination could she have prepared herself for the truth.

When her son first started speaking, she was shaking her head, completely unable to believe what she was hearing. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd taken Veritaserum, she'd think for sure that he had to be lying because there was no possible way that the man she had loved since their Hogwarts days, the man she had married and built a life with, could possibly even think about having sex with one of their children, let alone two of them. As more and more details came to light, however, and especially after she'd seen the tears in Jonas' eyes, she knew, as much as it pained her, that it was all true and she felt a deep and abiding shame in the pit of her stomach as she realized that all of this was happening to her children and she hadn't done anything about it. The fact that she didn't know was not helpful, because she felt that as their mother she should have realized that something was dreadfully wrong.

Thinking back to when Jonas had said it first started, she remembered that she'd been busy, of course, with Barnabus being sick, she was having to get everything done in preparation for Christmas herself, and deal with the things that Barnabus had normally used the office staff to deal with, like buying presents for the people who socially mattered or were politically important, and writing greetings cards. She was also helping to plan several holiday charity functions, so most days she was either not in the house or so busy, with so many things on her mind that she probably wouldn't have noticed a herd of rampaging hippogriffs stampeding through her kitchen. That was no excuse, however, and she found herself experiencing a myriad of emotions at levels she had never experienced before.

Intense anger at her husband that caused her fists to ball up, an overwhelming urge to knock the living daylights out of him, and as Jonas continued in ever increasing detail, she was sobbing harder and harder, before she let out a wail that would have made a banshee jealous.

"I'm a terrible mother!" she screamed. "How could I not know that this was happening?!"

Evelyn and Abigail, both feeling many of the same emotions as their mother was feeling at the knowledge that their brothers had experienced such horrors at the hands of their father, who had never treated them like anything but pampered princesses, moved to either side of their mother and despite their own raw emotions, did the best they could do to comfort her and assure her that she wasn't a bad mother. That she couldn't blame herself for not putting a stop to something she didn't know was happening, something which none of them had known was happening.

Horace Slughorn, meanwhile, was nearly beside himself as he was having a very difficult time wrapping his head around the fact that one of his favorite members of the Slug Club could do something this horrible to their own children. In a deep, dark corner of his mind, he knew, of course, that the most feared Dark Lord of the last century had been one of his favorites as well, but he did his best not to think about it. You-Know-Who was dead and gone, after all, so it was better to keep his thoughts on the present. That did nothing, however, to console him, especially after he'd heard Jonas Cuffe talking about being given the Antidote to Dreamless Sleep, which was a potion that Horace himself had invented. Of course, he'd created it with the intention of it being used in a hospital setting to aid in cases of overdose, but never like this.

Horace was deeply concerned about the repeated exposure to the Dreamless Sleep Antidote as it was meant for once-off use, not repeated doses, and some of the ingredients, if allowed to build up in one's system as would happen if either the recommended dosage was exceeded by too much or after repeated doses were given to a patient, and it could possibly have a very negative effect, amplifying fearful situations and even making dreams more emotionally intense and vivid. It was this knowledge that had him jumping up from his seat and rushing over to the table, where he grabbed a Calming Draught and downed it as fast as he possibly could, as he was sure that if he didn't his anxiety and grief over the unwitting role he'd played in Barnabas' torture of his children would cause him to have a heart attack.

As the potion did its job and he calmed down, Horace felt the overwhelming need to help the Cuffe family in any way that he could, in an attempt to try to make up for his work being used against Jonas and Lukas in such a horrible and unthinkable way. Grabbing three more vials of Calming Draught, he brought them over to the Cuffe women. Evelyn and Abigail smiled at him gratefully and downed it, although it took quite a bit of convincing to get Agatha to drink it, because she was so hysterical that she was almost completely unaware of her surroundings.

Eventually, worried for their mother, Evelyn motioned to her husband, Jonathan, who was the only one among the observers, other than the Minister, that had been allowed to keep their wand since he worked at the Ministry as an Unspeakable. Jonathan nodded and pulling out his wand, he put his mother-in-law in a Full-Body Bind, at which point they laid her down and tilted her head back, as Evelyn poured the potion into her mouth and Abigail massaged her throat to ensure it went down.

The potion had the desired effect and Jonathan dispelled the Full-Body Bind on Agatha, as Evelyn and Abigail steered their now calmer mother back into her seat, before Jonathan handed them all glasses of cool water. Madeleine Cuffe, wife of eldest son Aaron, looked at her mother-in-law with wide eyes and asked, "Will she be okay?"

"After everything we've just heard," Abigail responded sadly, "I think it'll be a long time before any of us are truly okay."

Madeleine nodded, "That's certainly true. I can't believe Barnabas would do all of that," placing emphasis on the name because she had, following her marriage to Aaron until now, made a point of calling him father, but she certainly wasn't going to do that again.

Meanwhile, Cornelius Fudge was sitting a few seats away from the Cuffe family and going over strategies in his head for the best way for him to come out of this with his own reputation still intact. He'd gone to school with Barnabas, after all, and they'd both been members of the Slug Club, so they'd always been close friends. Cornelius, however, wasn't worried about Barnabas, because he'd made his bed and now he could lie in it, but he was worried about his own reputation, because he'd pretty publicly allied himself with Barnabus several times over the years. It was also through Barnabas that Cornelius made sure that certain stories about his political rivals that might not otherwise have been considered newsworthy found their way into the Daily Prophet.

Looking over at the Cuffe family, he couldn't help but be reminded of the fact that just as recently as the Quidditch World Cup, he'd associated with them, since Barnabas, Aaron, Jonas, Lukas, Kaleb, and Abigail Cuffe had sat with him in the Ministry's seats in the Top Box. True the reason had been because Barnabus called in a favor and thus Cornelius had rigged the raffle so that Barnabus would win enough seats for the members of his family that wanted to attend, but that didn't change facts. He'd still sat with them during a very public international event that has also been the first time in over twenty years that the King had opted to put in a public appearance.

Consumed with thoughts about how the King and the public at large might react to all this, completely forgetting what he'd been told about Tribunal cases being sealed affairs, he couldn't help looking over at Agatha Cuffe and saying in an acerbic tone, "If I had known what kind of man your husband truly was, I never would have associated with any of you people."

"Minister, with all due respect," Jonathan retorted, "none of us knew what kind of man my father-in-law is. If I had known, I never would have let him anywhere near my children."

The mention of their children caught Evelyn's attention, as her eyes widened in fear, "Jonathan, darling, since it seems that sick man that used to be my father likes little boys, you don't think..." she couldn't bring herself to finish that statement.

"I can promise you this, Eve," Jonathan replied with ice in his voice to his wife, "if that bastard even looked at our son inappropriately, he will rue the day he was born."

-o-0-o-

Aberforth felt that they’d heard enough of Jonas’ testimony by now, and he was aware of just how upset the observers must be behind the warded area. “Jonas, I want to thank you for telling us your testimony, we all know how very difficult it was for you to talk about these experiences. Mister McLaggen, do you have any questions for this witness?”

Tiberius had tears running down his cheeks. Never before had witness testimony affected him so deeply. He grabbed his silk handkerchief and dabbed away his tears, as he collected his thoughts. What could he possibly ask to counter the testimony he’d heard? Did he even want to continue defending his long-standing friend?

Realizing that the whole of the Tribunal was watching and waiting for a response from him, Tiberius stood and murmured, “No, no questions for this witness.” He sat back down, his mind in turmoil over what he should do.

“Jonas,” said Harry gently as he struggled to control his own emotional response to what he had heard. “We have set up a special observation area that is warded against people in this room being able to see or hear the observers. We’ve done this so that people can listen to testimony that would be too difficult to give if the witness could see them.”

“This isn’t done to embarrass any witness, but so that they can hear others who have similarly suffered and start the process of healing in a supportive, and understanding environment, where the details don’t need to be said again. Would you like to take a seat in the observation area so you can hear the other witnesses, or would you like to return to a private room in the witness area where you were before?”

“Please understand that if you take a seat in the observation area, you must not disrupt the evidence being given. If something you hear prompts you to want to pass information to the Tribunal, then there is a specially charmed parchment in the observation area where you can write information that will simultaneously appear on parchment in front of the prosecutor and all of us on the Tribunal.”

“You mean that others have heard me testify?” asked Jonas in a quiet voice.

“Yes, your mother and your sisters, together with your brother-in-law and your sister-in-law, Horace Slughorn and Minister Fudge are seated there,” responded Harry. He watched a deep blush spread over Jonas’ face and neck. “They needed to know what your father has done to help them understand what will happen and so that they could help you.”

Jonas nodded in understanding. “I think I will join them, Your Grace.”

Madam Bones came over to Jonas and lead him from the witness box to the warded Observation area, disappearing from view for about a minute, before returning and nodding discretely to the Tribunal panel.

Aberforth rose to his feet again, “The prosecution calls Lukas Cuffe to the stand.”

Once Lukas was situated in the witness box and given the oath and Veritaserum required, along with a Calming Draught, Aberforth began questioning him with an eye on confirming the details that Jonas had already shared. Lukas was able to confirm everything that Jonas had said about all the times that they'd been abused together and in turn gave additional details about the times in which Barnabas had abused him alone, including what had happened in the Hogwarts meeting room when they were twelve, while Jonas was waiting in the courtyard.

Not working at the Daily Prophet, since he was a healer on staff at St. Mungo's, Lukas wasn't able to confirm most of the names that Jonas had given to be among their father's numerous victims. He was able, however, to confirm a few of them, such as Kolin and Chelsea, both of whom had on occasion been injured badly enough that Jonas had called him over to heal them. It was also at this point that Lukas admitted to feeling guilty that Jonas was stuck working at the Prophet with their father on a daily basis.

When asked why, he explained that they'd both planned on becoming healers after Hogwarts and had been taking Medical Magic as a result. However, in the last week of school, the day before the Medical Magic final exam, Barnabas had visited Hogwarts and abused and injured Jonas extensively enough that he couldn't sit his exam the following day. Rather than going to Madam Pomfrey and trying to get a postponement due to illness, as that would have led the Matron to want to examine Jonas and then their father would find out and be furious with them for telling anybody. Lukas decided instead to attempt the old twin switch trick and take the exam for Jonas, made possible due to the fact that they were in different houses and Madam Pomfrey had split the exam times by house so that she could examine smaller groups at once. Unfortunately, Madam Pomfrey caught him and in her anger over the deception and attempted cheating, refused to allow Jonas to sit the exam, and thus he failed Medical Magic and couldn't become a healer.

Not long after this, Lukas finished his testimony and opted to join his family in the observation area. Like Jonas before him, he had been embarrassed to find out that his mother and sisters had heard everything he'd said, but he had to admit that it also felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders now that everything was out in the open and hopefully his father was going to end up paying for everything he'd done.

Before any of the judges could tell Aberforth to call his next witness, Tiberius stood up and asked, "My lords, permission to approach?"

Bruce must have seen something in his brother's eyes, as he nodded, "Granted."

Barnabas was looking suspiciously at Tiberius' back as he rounded the defense table and approached the judges' table, unsure what Tiberius was planning, but sure that he'd come up with some brilliant strategy that would get him out of this mess. Oh how wrong he was.

In a hushed tone that wouldn't be heard by anyone but the judges themselves, Tiberius said, "I cannot in good conscience continue to represent Barnabas and ask to be removed as his defense counsel."

"Are you sure of this, Mr. McLaggen?" Caractacus asked, although he couldn't blame him for feeling this way.

Tiberius nodded, "Yes, I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I've never turned my back on a client like this before, but then I've also never represented someone who has brutally abused my godsons before and I find that since hearing their testimony, I just can't bring myself to continue defending him."

Garrick nodded, "Very well, Mr. McLaggen, you are relieved from your post. Would you like to join your godsons in the observation area?"

"Yes, thank you," Tiberius replied, at which point Garrick motioned for Madam Bones to come over and escort Tiberius to the observation area, while he stood and addressed the room. "Mr. Tiberius McLaggen has decided to recuse himself from defending the accused, Mr. Barnabas Cuffe. No replacement counsel will be provided."

"You can't do that!" Barnabas exclaimed, as he jumped to his feet.

"Sit down and shut up, Mr. Cuffe," Garrick forcibly replied. "I assure you that the Tribunal can continue this trial without providing you with a defender, as it's happened several times in this body's past. There is absolutely no provision in our rules that states you must have a defender, it was simply a more modern accommodation that prompted us to provide you with one. Under the circumstances, I doubt that we could find anyone who would be willing to defend you and even if there was such a person, it would take time to find them and quite frankly, I would rather this trial end sooner rather than later."

Arcturus smiled at that and said in a soft, but gleeful voice that only those closest to him could hear, "Yes, the sooner this trial ends, the sooner we can get to the punishment."

"I know my rights and I still say you can't do that!" Barnabas yelled.

"What rights? Before this body, you don't have any rights, so, Barnabas Cuffe, I hereby hold you in contempt of this Tribunal," Garrick snapped back, at which point the same energy field he'd been held in when he'd first arrived consumed him, only this time, it also cut off his ability to speak. "Now, you will just stay there and be quiet, not that you have a choice, while we continue." Garrick sat down, and turning to Aberforth in a calmer voice said, "You may call your next witness, Mr. Dumbledore."

"The prosecution calls Mr. Benjy Williams to the stand," Aberforth said, deciding that while he still had every intention of questioning Aaron and Kaleb Cuffe, he would go with the Tribunal’s suggestion to give the Cuffe family some time to recover and regroup from what they'd already heard from Jonas and Lukas.

Once Benjy was led into the courtroom and Madam Bones had extracted his oath and given him Veritaserum, Aberforth asked him to confirm his name, date and place of birth for the court. Benjy was able to answer all of these questions clearly and concisely, but his gaze shifted over to Barnabas, being held in the magical vortex, several times and he couldn't help but feel very uneasy.

Aberforth drew his attention back to him by clearing his throat, "Mr. Williams, we have heard testimony today from two of Mr. Cuffe's sons, Jonas and Lukas. Jonas has told us that Mr. Cuffe has sexually abused you in the past."

Before Aberforth could continue, Benjy became quite agitated and said out loud, "I can't talk about anything like that. I'm sorry sir, but I can't."

Aberforth looked a little confused, before an idea came to him. "Mr. Williams, you can't talk about that? Would there be a reason you couldn't talk about what happened to Jonas?"

"No, I could talk about somethings I know about what's happened to Jonas, but you know about those already."

"So am I to understand that you can't talk about the same things if I asked about you?"

Benjy looked really conflicted at this point, not knowing how far he dared go to answer the question, but being faced with the influence of the Tribunal dose of Veritaserum, Benjy just nodded his head, not making a sound, and after a few seconds he took a gasping deep breath as what he'd feared hadn't happened to him.

Aberforth nodded, and turned to the Tribunal to address them. "My Lords, I suspect that some sort of magical oath may be preventing this witness from answering my questions about his experiences with the defendant. I know that in the past, there have been procedures documented that the Tribunal can invoke to address similar situations. Might I request that consideration be given to how we should proceed?"

After a few seconds contemplating what Aberforth had just said, realization dawned on Lord Caractacus Burke and he responded, "You are asking the Tribunal to invoke the magic that can remove oaths?"

This was met with gasps from several of the Tribunal's younger judges and some of the heirs who had always been lead to believe that Magical Oaths were truly immune to curse breaking. Meanwhile, Benjy's eyes went wide at even the prospect of being released from his Unbreakable Vow.

Aberforth bowed once towards Caractacus in acknowledgment that he had understood exactly what Aberforth was asking for. Most of the other Lords looked at Caractacus as though he was crazy, but Lord Burke explained, "There have been provisions made by those who established the Tribunal, centuries ago, that cater for the situation where a witness can't testify because they have been placed under an oath, such as the Unbreakable Vow, but their evidence is needed to progress the case."

Garrick, who along with Caractacus, was one of the oldest sitting members of the Tribunal, nodded his head and added, "The ritual that Grangemore is referring to can only be performed here in the chamber, and only with the participation of every member of the Tribunal. The details of this ritual can be summoned from the archives if you'll all give your consent to do so. This ritual has never been invoked in my time as Lord Ollivander, but I do recall my father telling me of it, and from what he told me I know that it must be a unanimous decision of the Tribunal to summon the details, and if we go ahead with this after reading them, all thirteen of us must participate."

The other members of the Tribunal were silent for a moment, before one by one, they all nodded their heads in assent, at which point, Garrick asked, "Would you care to do the honors, Grangemore?"

Caractacus nodded, as he pulled out his wand and cast the necessary spell to summon the details from the archives. After a few minutes, parchments came flying in through an opening high in the wall of the chamber that nobody was sure they had seen previously. After a piece of parchment landed in front of each Lord and he'd granted them all time to read it, Caractacus continued, "So my fellow Tribunal members, what say you?"

All were so intrigued by the fact that something they had held to be impossible, was in fact possible, that all agreed to conducting the ritual. Garrick stood and lead the Lords to the stone they had all stood around to call the Tribunal to session, and took their wands out.

"I will initiate the ritual and as you each in turn confirm that you consent to this ritual power being invoked you need to touch the tip of your wand to mine," explained Garrick, since the parchment indicated that only one of the three senior members of the nobility, those who held a Dukedom, could initiate the ritual. "Then, when you have all consented, and the last wand tip touches mine, I will complete speaking the invocation and then point my wand at Benjy Williams. Nobody should risk moving until the magical energy dissipates, as it could be dangerous for you to break away until it has."

All of the Lords nodded their understanding, and Garrick began the ritual by raising his wand and incanting in Latin "Join our power together with the ancient power of the Tribunal to dissolve that which cannot be broken." Harry stood next to him and raised his wand, and touching the tip to Garrick's felt a surge of energy from his core through his arm being met by a wild ribbon of energy coming from the surrounding rocks of the cavern. As each Lord in turn continued around the circle, more and more streamers of energy joined to the tips of their wands creating a blindingly bright focal point that none of them could look at.

Once the last wand tip had joined Garrick's, and its ribbon of magical energy had joined the intense maelstrom, Garrick spoke in Latin again, having to shout to be heard above the roaring and crackling of so much energy being unleashed into the cavern. "Channel our combined might and release this soul from the bonds of their Oath!" as he swung his wand in an arc away from the others, dragging the whipping, whirling vortex of intense energy and pointed it at Benjy Williams to whom it raced like a ravenous pack of dark beasts.

The energy enveloped Benjy from head to toe, and swirled angrily around him, pulsing in time with his magical core. Suddenly there was an explosion like a star going nova from Benjy, and as people blinked their eyes to clear their vision they were amazed to see calm had been restored to the chamber, and more importantly they had a conscious and unharmed witness sitting on the stand, trying to catch his breath.

The Lords of the Tribunal sheathed their wands and returned to their seats all shaken and exhausted following the expenditure of so much of their own magical reserves. To everyone's amazement, thirteen goblets passed through the window looking into the large cavern in which the spring and the Giant Oak tree were visible, and each goblet contained cool spring water that was clearly infused with magical energy.

At first everyone just watched in awe as they settled in front of each lord. Garrick was the first to drink from the Goblet in front of him, and as he finished, it vanished from his hand. "My lords, it's quite remarkable, I feel well rested and refreshed, and to be honest, more energized than I have felt in many a year."

Following Garrick's reassurance, each Lord drank from the Goblet in front of them, and as each finished, their goblets also vanished.

Clearing his throat once more, Aberforth bowed to the Tribunal and turned to face Benjy. "Now young man, can you answer questions regarding your sexual experiences with Mr. Cuffe?"

Benjy looked a little hesitant, but thought after what he'd just felt happen inside his body, he should trust the faith that the Lords had in their procedures. He tentatively responded, "Yes sir, I can talk about his abuse of me." He stopped as he realized that he'd spoken something that he'd been too terrified to do in several years. It was at this point, however, that he also realized that for the first time in so long, he couldn't feel the magic of the Unbreakable Vow he'd taken and knew that if he had said anything about himself being abused in the past, he would have felt the magical constriction of his core that served as the only warning to stop talking or his core would critically overload and burn him alive from the inside out.

"Very good, now perhaps you can tell the Tribunal how Mr. Cuffe started his abuse of you?"

"It all started when I became a Sports Reporter for the Daily Prophet when I finished in school. I'd wanted to become a professional Quidditch Player but you know how competitive it is to get the limited number of places that come open every year, even for the reserves. Then Mr. Cuffe took me into his office one day, and asked me if I would like to be given the opportunity to play professionally. I enthusiastically told him it was my lifelong dream and I'd do anything for the chance."

Benjy paused for a few seconds, blushing deeply before continuing. "He said that he could make it happen, but that he wanted something in return. He asked if I really meant what I had said, and I nodded, not suspecting what was about to happen. He said that he was going to be taking a great risk and asked me to swear an Unbreakable Vow not to speak to anyone about how I had managed to get my position. I guess I was still too young, naive and Quidditch obsessed, so I willingly did so.

"Jonas served as the binder and following the vow, Cuffe told Jonas to bring Matthew Thomas the owner of Puddlemere United in from the VIP waiting area and to remain in the room once he'd done so. Once Jonas had left to do as he was bid and closed the door, Cuffe then told me that I was going to be given a contract by Mr. Thomas, but only after I'd had sex in front of them both ... with Jonas. I protested that I wasn't interested in having sex with Jonas, but he made it clear that I was committed now because of the Vow I had taken. Honestly, I probably wasn't really paying as close attention as I should have been while taking the Vow and didn't recall that I had only agreed not to tell anyone about how I'd gotten my contract. It was only long afterwards that I remembered that the Vow had not included my swearing to actually do whatever Cuffe said was necessary to get the contract."

Benjy paused here to take a sip from the glass of water that had been provided for him, before he continued. "At this point, he told me to strip, which I reluctantly did, and then in walked Matthew Thomas, and he looked me over and raised an eyebrow at Cuffe. Jonas walked in behind Matthew, and closed the door. I guess Jonas had been told beforehand what to do, because almost as soon as his hand left the doorknob, he began taking off all his own clothes.

"Not long afterward, we were both standing there, being inspected by Cuffe and Thomas, who both had appreciative looks on their faces. It was then that Cuffe started barking out orders of what we were to do. At first he had me get inside Jonas, and told me to put on a good show. I did it, but I don't remember too much about how long it lasted. Then he got me to kneel in front of Jonas and made me suck him off. Finally, he got Jonas to enter me while I was laying on Cuffe's desk with my legs on Jonas' shoulders."

After a moment of silence, Benjy added, "Despite my initial disinterest in the idea of having sex with Jonas, once it was actually happening, I was enjoying myself and had closed my eyes, so that I didn't realize that Mr. Cuffe was taking photographs of the whole thing. It wasn't until Jonas had finished in me, and Cuffe got me to lick Jonas' penis clean that I noticed the flash going off and I saw the camera. I knew I was under their control from that point onwards, but at least Thomas did come through with the contract ... I suspect he'd have given me the contract without the sex, but I didn't know that at the time. Anyway, I had to serve out my notice at the Prophet, and there was about a month before training would begin, so Cuffe made sure he made good use of the time, either alone, or with Jonas, or sometimes with other young men who also worked at the Prophet. Each time, he took more photographs, and I was sinking deeper and deeper into this mess."

"You mentioned that you were enjoying having sex with Jonas," Aberforth said. "What about the others, was there any enjoyment there as well?"

Benjy shook his head, "Not really. To be honest, before all of this started, I had a bit of a crush on Jonas and the reason I'd said no to having sex with him that first time was because if I was going to be with him, that's not the way I wanted it to happen. Having sex in front of an audience is bad enough, but to have your partner's father standing there watching? Yeah, that was definitely not the ideal way to lose my virginity. On subsequent occasions, I'll admit that I still found it pleasurable with Jonas, but definitely not with his father or any of the other people that I was forced to do it with."

Aberforth nodded and said, "So, what, if anything, happened next?"

"On my last day at the Prophet, I was summoned once again to Cuffe's office, as usual leaving my wand behind, locked in a warded drawer in Jonas' desk. Cuffe usually insisted that all visitors deposit their wands with Jonas before entering his office. I expected to be told to strip, but when I entered the office there was a young boy in there already naked and shaking like he was really frightened. I guess he was probably around twelve, as I very vaguely recalled seeing him at Hogwarts the previous year, I think he was one of the incoming first years in what had been my seventh year. Cuffe then started barking orders as usual and I was sick to my stomach as I realized that he wanted me to have sex with the boy. I'd never been asked to do anything with anyone so young before and I almost threw up on Cuffe's shoes when he told me to take the active role and fuck the boy, especially after I looked at his face and saw that he appeared to be in a really bad way."

"So what did you do?" Aberforth prompted, after Benjy remained silent for several seconds.

"I told Cuffe hell no, that this was crossing a line and that I couldn't and wouldn't do that to a kid, at which point Cuffe pulled out his wand and immediately hit me with the Cruciatus Curse. He held me under it for what felt like ages, but I guess it was no more than fifteen or twenty seconds. I'd never felt so much pain before or since in my life. After he'd lifted it, he told me either I performed as he'd ordered me to or he'd cast the curse on the boy next and hold him under it until I agreed to do it."

Benjy's eyes began watering, as he remembered that horrific day, and it was with great difficulty that he continued speaking. "As I said my wand was locked in Jonas' desk as it always was. Cuffe told me once that he had Jonas confiscate and lock up the wands of all of his victims before they were brought into the office, because he wanted us to be incapable of defending ourselves with magic. After the first time, I did begin practicing with wandless magic, although I wasn't very good at it.

"Although with time and practicing during every free moment I could find, I did manage to get pretty good with some simpler spells and the evening before this I'd managed to stun one of the live rats that I keep on hand as food for my pet boa constrictor, but it only lasted like three seconds before wearing off. As much as I wanted to stun Cuffe, grab the kid and run out of that room and never look back, I knew I couldn't because my wandless Stunner would have worn off before I got even halfway across the office and there's no way that I could have gotten past any of the wards on the office doors without my wand. So I knew that I was trapped and previous experience had told me that Cuffe would do what he said he would do if I refused."

"So, what did you do when you realized that?" Aberforth asked.

"The only thing I could do. I hated myself with every fiber of my being but, after feeling the pain of the Cruciatus first hand, I couldn't let the boy experience that kind of pain. So, unnoticed by Cuffe, I managed to wandlessly cast a Numbing Charm on the boy's anus as I was lining up my penis, hoping that it would be enough to spare him the pain. I was totally sick with myself over what I was about to do, but I knew that it was either this or watch the boy writhing in pain under the Cruciatus. Cuffe had gotten the boy to lie flat on his desk, so I could see his face, which I think Cuffe did on purpose to make it that much harder for me to do what I was about to do, because he's a sick bastard who enjoys causing pain. The boy was looking up at me and it was clear that he was terrified and he was crying. My heart broke, but I knew I had no choice, so I pushed in as gently as I could, determined that if I had to do it, that I would make it as painless for the boy as I could, but obviously Cuffe wasn't happy with me for trying to be gentle, so he hit me with a Whipping Charm across my buttocks and the sting and shock made me fall towards the boy, rushing the last few inches into him."

Clearing his throat and taking another sip of water, Benjy said, "I performed, and then the boy was made to lick me clean, and then I was ordered to suck the boy off. I felt about as low as I could at that point. Cuffe showed me the photographs the next time I met him, there was no doubt that I was hurting a young boy sexually. It was only several months later I found out who the boy actually was." Benjy paused and took a deep breath, before he said, "It was Cuffe's grandson, Ernie Macmillan. When I found that out, I couldn't believe it, because I couldn't understand how he could he do that to his own grandson. I knew he made Jonas do things, along with several others, but Ernie was so young and innocent and he didn't deserve any of that. The only time that I ever saw him in person is that one time in Cuffe's office, but his face still haunts my dreams.

"Not only his face as it was that day, but I started also having flashes of him at Hogwarts, for example seeing his awed expression the first time he walked into the Great Hall during the Sorting Feast or seeing him smiling as McGonagall lifted the Sorting Hat from his head following his Sorting. Honestly, I think Cuffe must have done something to me to bring out those memories because I wasn't paying that much attention to the Sorting that year, certainly not enough to notice as many details as these flashes of memory contain, as it was my final year and I figured it wasn't likely that I'd be interacting much with any of these kids. Anyway, even to do this day, I often lie awake wondering if Cuffe could force me to do what he did that day, just what else might he have done with that poor boy?"

All of the judges looked at each other with varying degrees of shock and all of them were appalled as they realized that it was now going to be necessary to call Ernie to the stand to testify, as they would have to confirm what Benjy was saying and find out if there had been any other incidents of abuse involving him. They'd all feared it might come to that, but they'd all been hoping with everything in them that even Barnabas Cuffe was not so much of a monster as to inflict this kind of horror on his own grandson. Unfortunately, it seems their hopes were all in vain. Several of them also glanced at the warded area, as they could only imagine what the reaction to this was by the Cuffe family, especially by Jonathan and Evelyn Macmillan.

After a moment, Benjy cleared his throat and continued. "Since then, I have been forced to have sex many times, sometimes with Cuffe, sometimes with other men, and even with a group of boys, although thankfully they weren't as young as Ernie was. Of course, while he's never actually said anything about it to me, I think Cuffe must have found out about my wandless charm on Ernie that day, because every time after that, he's forced me to wear a magical suppression collar, so I was pretty much helpless to do anything against him. I tried punching him once, but all that got me was several Whipping Curses across my back, buttocks, and even once or twice on my penis and balls. He's never used the Cruciatus on me again, but I still remember the searing pain of it as if someone had pushed me into a vat of acid, while setting every nerve in my body on fire and causing all of my bones to start breaking simultaneously. Honestly, I don't think it's something that I'll ever be able to get out of my mind."

Aberforth remained quiet for a moment, before he asked, "Did you try to reason with the defendant about stopping this behavior?"

Benjy nodded his head. "I asked him to release me from his demands as it was affecting my performance as I was often unable to sleep, and I was likely to lose my position. He refused, and told me if I tried to tell anyone, the Unbreakable Vow I'd taken would destroy me, and if people found out by any other means, he'd release the photographs, and feign outrage at me sexually abusing his grandson.

"I got more and more depressed, and thought about killing myself. Eventually, I got to the point where I really didn't care anymore, and so I started doing all the dangerous stunts and maneuvers I'm famous for, hoping that I'd manage to kill myself or injure myself so badly that Cuffe would lose interest, and that it would be seen as an accident. But Cuffe wouldn't relent, and had me performing for groups of his friends. Then just two nights ago, Cuffe summoned me to another of these parties he holds for his friends and he brought in a group of boys, all of them younger than Ernie had been the first time, and ordered me to start sucking them off while Jonas paddled them and me. I didn't want to do this, but I couldn't see any way out of it. My magic was suppressed by the collar, none of the boys were old enough to even have wands, and Cuffe and all of his friends still had theirs and started flinging Stinging Hexes at me when I hesitated to do anything.

"I was so exhausted when I got home, that I fell into bed and slept for several hours, still wearing the clothes from the previous night, which is what I'm wearing now, in fact. When I got up, all the memories of the previous night and all the other horrors that I'd witnessed with Cuffe flooded my mind and I couldn't take it. I'd purchased a bottle of arsenic a week earlier, fully intending to drink it and kill myself, but I'd chickened out at the last minute. This, morning, however, I had the bottle open and only an inch from my lips when I was summoned to testify for this Tribunal."

"Thank you Mr. Williams, I know that what you had to say wasn't easy," began Aberforth. Benjy however interrupted him.

"No, thank you, all of you for releasing me from this living nightmare that I've been tormented in, and for all the other victims of this monster," he said pointing at Cuffe. "I know I must face punishment for what I have done, but please understand I had no choice."

The Tribunal was silent for a moment, before Harry cleared his throat and said, "We will postpone determining your fate, Mr. Williams, pending the conclusion of Mr. Cuffe's trial and sentencing. Then we will deliberate and decide what we feel should be done with you."

The other members of the Tribunal nodded in agreement with Harry's proposition, at which point Garrick said, "Auror Daniels, please take Mr. Williams back to the witness room."

"Mr. Dumbledore, before you call your next witness, I would like to suggest recess for lunch," stated Lucius, who was feeling the need to stop the assault on his sense of proprietary after hearing three young men describe how Cuffe had abused them.

"If my fellow Lords will indulge me, we also need to conclude our discussions as agreed following the testimony we've just heard. I'd also like to request Madam Bones is present, and Ernie's parents as well," interrupted Garrick. "I suggest we adjourn for lunch, but have a quick meeting with the people I've just named. How about we re-assemble in one and a half hours?"

There being no dissent from the other members of the Tribunal, Garrick spoke formally to the chamber, "This tribunal is in recess for lunch, you are all requested to return in one and a half hours. Madam Bones, if you could collect Ernie's parents and bring them forward, and remain yourself, the rest of the assembly is asked to clear the room."

The magical field that had been constraining Barnabus Cuffe dissipated, and he shouted out, "This trial is a travesty, I'll make sure every person in this land knows how their rights can be trampled by a bunch of unelected fools ..." before he could say anymore, a Silencing Charm was cast on him by one of the Aurors assigned to take him back to his cell.

Once the chamber had been cleared except for Jonathan, Evelyn and Madam Bones, Garrick turned to Ernie's parents, "You both heard Benjy William's testimony."

"Yes, and I want the book thrown at him," Jonathan snapped angrily.

"Mr. Macmillan," interrupted Harry. "Whilst your anger is understandable, and Mr. Williams will face judgment by this Tribunal, you must remember that he was also a victim of Barnabus Cuffe. I'm not saying that excuses everything, but please spare a thought for the situation from his perspective."

Jonathan nodded reluctantly, clearly not completely satisfied, but willing to hear what the other members of the Tribunal wished to say.

Bruce felt it best if he took up the lead on what he felt sure was going to be a hard thing to discuss. "I don't see how we can avoid calling Ernie as a witness after everything that has been said by Benjy. We'd understand if you didn't want to hear his testimony, and excused yourself from this afternoon's session, but it might be kinder to the boy if you heard it with everyone else so he didn't need to go through telling you about it again."

Evelyn looked at her husband and at the regret showing on Bruce's face. "I will attend this afternoon, and then do what I can to help my son."

Jonathan was obviously struggling with the sure knowledge that his father-in-law had abused his son, and whilst he felt certain that he wasn't going to like what he heard, he couldn't let Evelyn face it without his support. "So will I."

Bruce felt both sorrow and relief at their decisions, sorrow for the pain he was sure would be exposed, but relief that they were thinking of how to minimize Ernie's discomfort at having to tell this sorry testimony. "Thank you, please be back in time for this afternoon's session."

Once Jonathan and Evelyn had left the chamber, Garrick started the discussion that they had known they would have to face following this morning's evidence. "My Lords, we deferred discussing additional charges to be leveled at Barnabus Cuffe until we'd heard the testimony which has just concluded. We know that Cuffe has abused many young men in addition to the charges that Lord Potter first brought this Tribunal together to consider. We have also heard that he's used the Cruciatus Curse on at least three individuals, which is in itself unforgiveable."

The lords all looked very disturbed as they thought over the testimony they'd heard. "I move that we add charges for sexually abusing minors, being Jonas, Lukas, Ernie and others as yet not explicitly identified, sexual coercion for his abuse of Benjy, physical abuse of Jonas, Lukas, Benjy and others not yet explicitly identified, and finally three counts of the use of the Cruciatus curse, against Jonas, Lukas and Benjy. Do you all agree?" asked Erik.

"I think you could add charges of torture through the use of pensieve memories, my Lords, as well as a count of attempting to pervert the course of justice by means of the inappropriate use of the unbreakable vow to conceal evidence of criminal activity against Mr Benjy Williams," added Madam Bones.

"And use of controlled potions to affect the mental state of minors for his use of the Dreamless Sleep Antidote on Jonas and Lukas," added Sirius.

"Are there any objections or suggestions of other charges that should be brought?" asked Harry.

All of the Lords signaled their agreement to the additional charges to be brought at the beginning of the afternoon's session, and then they too left the chamber in search of their lunch. Although many of them were thinking they should probably take an Anti-Nausea Draft before eating, in order to hopefully avoid violently losing their lunch later.

-o-0-o-

At the beginning of the afternoons hearing, Madam Bones was asked to bring in the prisoner, and then to announce the additional charges that the Tribunal was to add to the case. Cuffe was asked how he pleaded, and he began a tirade against the legality of this meeting to consider his disciplining of his own family.

Garrick, feeling like he'd heard enough cast the Tribunal restraining magic on him again, silencing him despite his obviously agitated and continuing tirade within the magical field. "Let's assume he's going to plead not guilty to the additional charges as I really don't need to hear more of his insane diatribe."

Aberforth stood and bowed before the Tribunal panel and announced, "The prosecution calls Ernie Macmillan."

Ernie entered the Tribunal Chambers escorted by Madam Bones. The awe he felt was tempered by a deep unease as he saw his grandfather restrained behind a magical vortex, and he recognized many of the people sitting on the Tribunal as the highest members of the nobility.

Madam Bones administered the oath, and the dose of Veritaserum, and Aberforth was about to start his conversation with Ernie when Harry signaled him to wait. "Ernie, you are being called as a witness before this ancient court known as the Tribunal of the Thirteen. This is the highest court in the land after the Royal Court, but it doesn't call many cases to be heard, and the proceedings are sealed, which means no one can talk about anything they've heard here when the trial is over."

Ernie nodded his understanding to Harry.

"Ernie, the reason we are asking you to be a witness is that some things have come to light about your grandfather, how he has abused some young men. One of those other witnesses has explained to us that you may have been abused as well, and we just want you to answer Aberforth's questions without being afraid or embarrassed."

Ernie's eyes widened as if he was a startled wild animal. He stared over at his grandfather, and something felt uncomfortable in his mind, but he honestly had no recollection of any abuse.

Aberforth stood at Harry's nod to him, and began by asking Ernie to confirm his name, date and place of birth. Ernie answered without any hesitation.

"Now Ernie, we've heard from Benjy Williams that something happened in the office of the Daily Prophet a couple of years ago. Do you know what I am referring to?"

Ernie looked completely confused. "I'm sorry sir, I visited my Grandfather and uncle there quite often, but I don't know what you might be referring to."

Aberforth looked confused himself at this answer. Clearly Ernie had been given the correct dose of Veritaserum, as had all the witnesses, so how was it possible that Benjy was quite certain that the boy he'd abused was Ernie, yet Ernie had no recollection of any such event?

"My Lords, could we ask Mr. Williams to return to the chamber to confirm the identity of Ernie in case there has been a case of mistaken identity?"

Meanwhile Barnabus looked smug as he sat in his seat, certain that this was the first step towards getting this ridiculous case thrown out.

Garrick indicated to Madam Bones that she should fetch Benjy back and after a few minutes during which hushed conversations were exchanged between various members of the Tribunal, Benjy was escorted back to stand before the Lords.

"Benjy, can you identify this witness?" asked Aberforth.

Benjy looked at Ernie, and after a few seconds nodded, "Yes Sir, he's a few years older than when I saw him, but that is the boy I was told was Mr. Cuffe's grandson."

"And that is the boy you were forced to sexually abuse in Mr. Cuffe's office?" asked Aberforth to clear any doubts.

"Yes Sir, there's no doubt in my mind."

"But you couldn't have ... nobody has done anything sexual with me ... I'm ... ah ... I'm a virgin," Ernie blushed furiously at having to admit that in front of a room which contained a few of his school friends.

"Madam Bones, can you please verify the level of Veritaserum in both of their bloodstreams?" asked Sirius, who was wondering what in Merlin's name was going on.

A few seconds later, the blood levels of Veritaserum were confirmed. "Thank you Benjy, please return with the Auror to your room," requested Harry. As a hushed but heated debate began between the lords as to how these two contradictory testimonies could be reconciled, Harry noticed that writing was appearing on the parchment laid before him and each of the Lords. He remembered that this was the mechanism by which people in the observation area could communicate with the Tribunal.

Sirius noticed Harry reading the parchment and glanced at the copy appearing before himself. "My Lords, it seems we may have overlooked the use of some form of memory modification as a possible explanation for young Mr. Macmillan's differing recollection of events to what we've previously heard."

Everyone stopped talking looking at Sirius before reading what had been duplicated on their parchments.

Horace Slughorn, while being a long established member of the Wizarding world, did have contacts in the Muggle medical profession, and had become aware that for some operations, instead of using general anesthetics, they used a drug that created an effect called Twilight. This was done when they needed the patient to be coherent and responsive during the surgery, but they didn't want them to have any recollection of the experience. No magical potion had been developed to achieve a similar effect, so very occasionally the muggle Twilight drugs were used by Healers. No residue of the effect would be found by scanning which is why he suspected that it would be a good candidate for a technique to remove memories that a Memory Modification Charm would leave a signature to trace.

"What do we do now?" asked Arcturus who was also intrigued by the possible uses of these muggle drugs to cover up some of his less than public activities.

Sirius started writing on the charmed parchment before him, which was replicated on every linked parchment. After a few moments, a simple "might work" was written in response. This prompted Sirius to say, "My Lords, we need a very powerful Legilimens to try and help this witness re-assemble any memories that may have been blocked. Do any of you have such skills?"

All of the Tribunal panel shook their heads. "Then let me suggest that we summon my nephew Asterion. As a member of the House of Black, we can rely on his discretion regarding the proceedings and also on any experience he gains in tackling potential use of muggle drugs to hide memories."

Harry noticed that Barnabus Cuffe who had been sitting there looking very smug with the stalemate they had reached when Ernie had denied being abused, was now shouting angrily and beating at the magical field surrounding him, looking significantly disturbed by the emerging information.

"Does anyone have a different suggestion, or are we all agreed to try Asterion's skills to resolve this impasse?" he asked.

Reluctantly all the members of the panel agreed to try this. So much of their magical judicial system depended on Veritaserum, or Memory Charm Detection Spells to get at the truth, the thought that something that had not been considered when the Tribunal's magic was established and was potentially undetectable was very disturbing.

Within a couple of minutes, Asterion stood before the Tribunal. He was told of the theory of what had happened and asked if he would try to find any buried memories in Ernie's mind. Ernie looked very nervous as Asterion approached him, but Asterion smiled gently at him, and sat in a chair in front of him that had been charmed for him by Madam Bones.

Not long after he'd sat down in front of Ernie, words began appearing on the enchanted parchments in front of each lord. Neville was the first to notice and drew the other's attention to them. It seemed that Jonathan and Evelyn were doubting Asterion's ability to help their son, because they'd been expecting a qualified Legilimens, in other words someone much older, and not a teenager who was barely out of Hogwarts himself.

Picking up his quill, Sirius wrote back, "I assure you, Mr. and Mrs. Macmillan, my nephew is more than qualified to help your son, despite the fact that he is only seventeen."

Garrick wrote at this point, "Indeed, I've seen the boy's academic records and while he was home-schooled, he did receive an Outstanding grade on all of the subjects currently taught at Hogwarts. I would also point out that these were not on his NEWTs, but on the International Confederation of Wizards Aptitude Tests, which, Mr. Macmillan, as you work at the Ministry, I'm sure you know are much harder to pass than the NEWTs, due to them being an internationally recognized test."

Harry then added, which came as a surprise to some of the Lords who had not been present in the Potter tent during the attack on the World Cup, "He's also a fully trained mage - at the Magister level on the power scale."

After a moment, the Macmillans wrote back that perhaps they'd underestimated Asterion, based upon his age. This prompted Harry to smile and write back, "Yes, looks can be deceiving, or so I've been told anyway. It's also possible that Asterion being close to his own age will be of benefit, however, as Ernie might feel more at ease with someone close to his own age, rather than somebody that's twice or more his age."

Asterion spoke very quietly to Ernie, and little by little Ernie seemed to relax. In fact, Asterion was using a form of hypnosis that he had learned while he was travelling with his father. He'd studied it as he was very interested in how different theories of the mind existed in different societies and cultures, none of which provided a comprehensive model that worked in all circumstances, but by considering many different viewpoints, he saw techniques that could cross boundaries to help in new situations.

Asterion next cast the Legilimens spell on Ernie, and using his altered mental state, and his own combing through the mental mesh inside Ernie's mind, he gradually found threads that he could re-attach so that Ernie could access memories that were completely isolated from his other cognitive functions. Some of what he saw was highly disturbing to his own mental state, and on several occasions he'd had to pull back to compose himself as tears ran down his face. After around thirty minutes, he sat back, ready to release his own hold on Ernie's mind, though keeping him under hypnosis to control the emotional shock that he was sure Ernie would suffer if he was brought back to full consciousness without some careful preparation.

Asterion stood and returned to stand in front of the waiting Tribunal members. "You were right My Lords, there were many memories in his mind that were floating freely, without anchors to his mental mesh, I have been able to reattach a sufficient number of them to allow him to be asked to provide sufficient testimony for your purposes. However, because the emotional shock would be extremely dangerous for his mind, I have kept him in a mental state known as a hypnotic trance.

"He will be able to answer direct questions, but I would strongly urge you not to ask him too much about his emotional state. When he has finished his testimony I will suppress memories for him again, and recommend that he consults a trusted Legilimens to help him recover and integrate the events that he has been forced to dissociate from in his mind. It won't be a quick process, and it must be handled very, very carefully, as immense harm to his emotional wellbeing might result if this is rushed or handled inappropriately."

"Do you need to be near him to monitor his state?" asked Bruce with concern for the young man.

"That would be best, my lords, if it isn't going to disrupt your hearing."

Asterion was lead back to the witness stand and the chair he'd previously been sitting on was placed to the side of Ernie's.

Aberforth began calmly, "Ernie, I have been told that you were made to have sex with Benjy Williams. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Could you tell us what happened leading up to you having sex?"

Ernie paused for a few seconds, then responded, "I was visiting Grandfather in his office. Uncle Jonas had been really kind to me, but kept on looking at the door to Grandfather's office. He seemed to be nervous, and trying to get me to go home, but Grandfather always seemed to be glad to see me, so I didn’t do as he suggested. Then the door to Grandfather's office opened and Grandfather looked at Uncle Jonas strangely, almost like he was angry with him. He smiled at me and invited me in, but stayed at the door and murmured something to Uncle Jonas, before coming in all smiles at me.

"Anyway, Grandfather poured me a beaker of Pumpkin juice- it was really cold, and I wasn't able to taste it properly at first, but it did have a slight bitterness to it. When I commented he told me that was nonsense, he'd drunk some it just a short while ago and it was fine, it was probably just because it was a little colder than I was used to. I felt a little dizzy and he told me to sit down on his sofa. But I quickly got over that. He then told me that I should take my clothes off which I thought was really odd, but he insisted and I couldn't think of a reason why he wanted me to do that, but it just seemed like I had to do it."

Ernie paused for a moment, before continuing. "He then told me that I was going to be inducted into a secret society that each of my uncles was a member of, and to do that I was going to have sex with Benjy Williams. I thought Benjy was a great looking bloke when I saw him playing Quidditch in school, but I couldn't see why Benjy was going to have sex with me. Next thing I know, Benjy was there and made to take his clothes off. Grandfather shouted at him a lot, telling him he was going to do what he told him to do. I was getting frightened. I hadn't had sex before, but I knew from what I'd heard from boys in school that when it was between two boys it would hurt a lot. I started crying, and Grandfather shouted at me, then Benjy was screaming and rolling on the floor.

"After grandfather stopped hurting him, he stood up and said that he would do the same to me unless Benjy pushed his penis into my backside. He said he'd keep on hurting me until Benjy agreed. Benjy looked very upset, but stood between my legs as I lay back on Grandfather's desk. Grandfather told him to lift my legs up and start fucking me. Benjy did something that made my bottom a bit numb, and then he started pushing into me. At first it felt like he was pressing on me, but then it really started to hurt, and I was crying. Benjy seemed to be going too slow for Grandfather, so he hit him with some curse and Benjy pushed the rest of the way into me really quickly. That hurt so much."

Ernie was silent for a moment, prompting Asterion to do a check to insure he was still under. He nodded to the lords to indicate everything was fine, when Ernie continued. "Grandfather was taking lots of pictures of Benjy doing things to me. he made me do things with Benjy as well. He rubbed some cool ointment on me when Benjy left, and it stopped hurting, but for the next few days it hurt every time I went to the toilet. I don't remember the next few days, but I don't think anything much happened. Oh ... I almost forgot, Grandfather asked me why I hadn't cried as much when Benjy first went into me. I told him Benjy had been nice and done something so it didn't hurt as much as later."

"Thank you Ernie," spoke Aberforth with a degree of gentleness and calm that was in direct conflict with his inner turmoil at listening to this testimony. "Did you have sex with other men for your Grandfather?"

"Yes, Grandfather had sex with me a couple of times, and he also made Uncle Kaleb do the same things to me that Benjy had done. Grandfather didn't take pictures that time. He also made me do things with Uncle Jonas, but he refused to push his penis in me, and Grandfather got very angry and hurt Jonas really bad. I think Uncle Lukas had to help him. Grandfather did things to me himself that time, and he was really angry and it hurt me a lot more than with others."

There was a short pause and then, "Um, we didn't see each other for a while after that. He then offered to take me on a trip with him last summer. The Daily Prophet, that's Grandfather's newspaper, was going to expand overseas to the North American continent, and Mum and Dad were so happy that I could go and see the colonial holdings of not only the Empire of Camelot, but also the Spanish-Portuguese and French Empires and the Tsardom of Russia."

"So we went away, but I don't really remember too many places we visited. It's all a bit confused. I remember Grandfather took me to some meetings with people he said were very important, as they could place lots of ads in the paper, but those people weren't very nice. Grandfather left me alone with most of them, and they did things to me, and usually they hurt me. I remember seeing one or two of them passing money pouches to Grandfather, which I thought strange, unless they were paying for advertisements in advance."

"Did you go on other trips with your Grandfather?" asked Aberforth.

"Yes, the expansion of the newspaper didn't happen, Grandfather was quite upset, blaming some financial backers pulling out. However, this year he'd lined up other backers and said we'd do a trip to Egypt, Babylon, India, China and Japan this summer. Mum and Dad were glad to see me being kept busy by Grandfather as they didn't have to keep me occupied. So in the first week after school finished, we Apparated to Egypt. We saw all sorts of exotic places, and went out into the desert to meet some sheiks, and even rode on camels.

"Then we went to some cities in Babylon, and there we met with people who were not very nice. Some of them had slaves that they made dance, and made fun of them. Grandfather left me with some of them, and again they gave Grandfather money pouches. I overheard one of them negotiating with grandfather in the next room after he'd ordered me to get dressed in the bedroom. He wanted to buy me from Grandfather, and offered him a thousand bars of gold. Grandfather said he couldn't and the man offered twelve hundred bars of gold. He said he had boys from most places but that he really, really wanted me."

Ernie took a breath, before saying, "Anyway, Grandfather was in a very bad mood as we left that man's house. I didn't like that man very much because of what he'd done to the slave boys when we were eating dinner, and he'd been very harsh with me, hitting me hard ... you know ... down there ... when I didn't respond fast enough for him. When we got back to our hotel, Grandfather had sex with me and also hit me hard. I was so upset, because I didn't understand what I did wrong.

"We visited other countries I think, but I don't remember very much. I know we were supposed to visit India and China and Japan. I know we saw lots of men, and there was one big party we went to where I was made to walk around naked, as were many of the boys there. There was some sort of game where each of us boys were made to stand up on a block, and then turn around as someone called out numbers. Then they would hit a block of wood with a small hammer, and the boy would get down and go off with a man. I played that as well, and a man I didn't know lead me away after I looked at Grandfather who looked very pleased and nodded at me."

Pausing briefly, perhaps to gather his thoughts, Ernie then added, "The next day Grandfather was waiting for me and seemed happier than I'd seen him for a while on the trip. The man talked quietly with grandfather who shook his head, but didn't seem to be angry this time. Anyway, we came home a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't seen Grandfather since."

"Thank you so much for telling us about your holidays Ernie, you've done very well," said Aberforth very gently. He turned to the silent, shocked Tribunal panel and bowed. "My Lords, I don't see any point in trying to take this testimony any further."

Harry nodded, "Asterion, would you please do what you need to do to Ernie to make sure he's alright. We don't need to exacerbate any harm he's already been exposed to."

Asterion leaned closely to Ernie, and spoke very quietly to him again. After five minutes he pulled back and counted back from ten to one and Ernie's face became a little confused, but not overly distressed.

Asterion stood and addressed the Tribunal, "My Lords, perhaps it would be best for Ernie to leave the chamber now, and perhaps rest ?"

Neville nodded. "Agreed. Madam Bones, if you could take him to a private room in the witness area to rest?"

"Of course," Madam Bones replied, as she led Ernie out of the courtroom.

After Ernie and Madam Bones were gone, Asterion said, "My Lords, in examining young Mr. Macmillan, it is my belief that while you may be correct that he was given a muggle drug to suppress his memory, you should also know that I found evidence of a high concentration of a known magical potion, which if I'm to believe my potions training, would appear to be the Memory Suppression Potion. Although for it to be still evident in his system to the degree that I detected, I'm afraid it's been used quite extensively and in doses that far exceed the recommended dose."

“I believe that it was administered around the end of each of the trips that Ernie described to you, which explains why some of his recollections are so vague. Given time, a Legilimens will be able to help him recover those memories, but I fear the level of doses he’s been exposed to might give him some difficulty going forward in learning and retaining information. The exact extent of the harm will only emerge over time as he works with his Legilimens.”

As Asterion was speaking, a message appeared on the parchment before the Tribunal lords. Harry looked as the message as it was completed, and addressing Auror Daniels said, “Auror Daniels, please collect Jonathan and Evelyn Macmillan from the observation area.”

Asterion was somewhat surprised when Ernie’s parents emerged from behind the wards. He had not been told that Ernie’s parents were observing Ernie’s testimony as Ernie would have heard that information being given to him.

Evelyn and Jonathan both bowed before the Tribunal, both having shed many tears as they heard Ernie’s testimony, both for him, but also in shame having been only too keen to push Ernie into Barnabus Cuffe’s care over the school holidays. They felt that they were to blame for putting Ernie in harms way because it was easier than keeping a teenage boy occupied.

Jonathan cleared his throat and asked, “Would it be permitted for Evelyn and I to be excused from the rest of these hearings. We feel we should be with Ernie at this time.”

Asterion interjected before any of the lords could reply, “My lords, and Mr and Mrs. Macmillan … whilst I can understand his parents wanting to be with Ernie at this time, I would point out that he has no recollection of what he told us in his testimony. I carefully disconnected his memories once again after he’d been released so that he would not experience any mental anguish or harm until you were able to engage a Legilimens to work with him. If you go in to comfort him now, you will only confuse him and may lead to some of the random memories emerging in horrific nightmares that he’ll suppress because he won’t understand the context.”

“Sir, you have shown a great deal of gentleness and care for our son, and you do seem to understand a lot about his condition, would you consider being his Legilimens to at least get him started on the path to recovery?” asked Jonathan.

Asterion looked carefully at Harry and Sirius, and a silent conversation was completed between them. Asterion turned back to Jonathan, but before he could say anything Harry spoke, “Mr and Mrs. Macmillan, if Asterion agrees, then the Potter estates will pay his fees for however long is necessary to help your son recover. After all, his injuries occurred while Barnabus Cuffe was the editor of the Daily Prophet and started in our premises, and continued whilst on Prophet funded business trips.”

“Additionally, I see no reason for Ernie to remain here at the Tribunal site should one or both of you wish to accompany him and return home at this time. However, should you leave, you will be unable to return, either for the remainder of this hearing or to observe our consideration of the Benjy Williams situation. If one of you wishes to remain to see the balance of the hearing, that will be possible. It is your choice.”

Jonathan looked at Evelyn, and that was sufficient for them to agree on a course of action. “Thank you Lord Potter … I think that it would be best if Evelyn took Ernie home, as it is nearly time for him to return to school. As to your very generous offer, I can’t begin to thank you, but …”

“The offer is non-negotiable Mr. Macmillan, I will pay for Ernie’s treatment, whether with Asterion, or any other healer.”

Asterion stepped in and bowing to Harry, “I will, of course, take on the process of helping Ernie recover from this situation. Thank you Lord Potter, we will discuss my fees later if that is satisfactory?”

Harry smiled at Asterion, and nodded his agreement.

“In that case, we will ask Madam Bones to administer the sealing oath to both Evelyn and Ernie, and then arrange your return to your home,” stated Bruce.

-o-0-o-

Not long after Jonathan returned to the observation area, while his wife prepared to leave with Ernie, the lords were about to tell Aberforth to call his next witness, when writing again began appearing on their parchments, this time apparently from Horace Slughorn, who was begging to be allowed to address the Tribunal. The lords all looked at each other for a moment, wondering what the Potions Master could possibly want to say, but deciding that there was only way to find out for sure, they had Auror Daniels collect him from the observation area.

Standing before the Tribunal, Horace wrung his hands, looking thoroughly upset, as he said, "My lords, I beg you to punish me to the fullest extent of wizarding law."

"Punish you?" Lucius asked, as he raised an eyebrow at his former Potions professor. "Whatever for, Professor Slughorn?"

"I don't deserve that honorific, Lord Malfoy," Horace said, with a sad shake of his head. "I only deserve the most severe punishment you can dish out."

"Punishment for what?" Arcturus asked. "Stop dancing around the issue and tell us what you did already."

"I invented the Dreamless Sleep Antidote and the Memory Suppression Potion," Horace said. "If it wasn't for me, Jonas, Lukas, and everyone else that Cuffe has fed those potions to would have been spared the suffering they've had to endure. Viscount Langleeford is correct about what he said about the Memory Suppression Potion, if it was indeed given in doses larger than the recommended dose, or over a prolonged period, it could have severe negative effects on young Mr. Macmillan and if he was ever given the Dreamless Sleep Antidote, the ingredients of the two potions could negatively react with one another."

"There is no evidence to suggest that young Mr. Macmillan was given both potions," Sirius pointed out. "If I had to guess, I'd say that Cuffe used Dreamless Sleep Antidote as a method to control his sons and the Memory Suppression Potion to make his grandson forget the abuse he was suffering while he was in the care of his parents."

Horace shook his head, despondently, as he said, "You also don't have any proof that he didn't give them both potions. Regardless of whether he did or not, however, I still created them, so if it wasn't for me, everyone involved would have been spared a lot of suffering."

"Professor, I would argue that you didn't create the potions to harm people," Bruce said. "You created them to help people, did you not?"

Horace looked even more shame-faced as he said, "Actually, my primary reason was to make a few galleons. I knew they'd be useful, but helping people wasn't what motivated me to complete my research and the creation of them - it was all the money that I stood to make once they were successfully marketed."

"Even then, you can't argue that they haven't been used to help numerous people," Caractacus said. "Yes, Cuffe may have used them for nefarious purposes, and there may well be others who have used them for less than altruistic reasons, but that is not your fault, Professor Slughorn. If we threw every Potions Master who had invented a useful potion in prison just because a handful of people used it in a way that wasn't intended then we wouldn't have any Potions Masters who would be willing to invent new potions."

Malcolm Flint nodded his head. "Indeed, I must agree with my colleagues, Professor. You are not responsible for the actions of others. Yes, you created the potions, but once they've left your lab and are available to the public on the open market, the only people responsible for how they're used are the people who used them."

"You may not agree," Harry added. "But it's still the truth. Now, if you still feel you're responsible, despite our arguments, then there's nothing we can do to change your mind. However, if you still feel the need to be punished by this body, then assuming my fellow Lords agree, it will be the decision of this Tribunal that you will offer your services, free of charge, to assist in the recoveries of Ernie Macmillan, Jonas and Lukas Cuffe, and anyone else we determine was given your creations by Barnabas Cuffe in the perpetration of his crimes. As the inventor of the potions, I'm sure your insights into their ingredients and general make-up will be most useful in helping the victims recover from whatever issues arise from the potions being used on them."

"That sounds fair to me," Erik agreed. "We will not be sending you to prison, Professor Slughorn, as you've done nothing to warrant it." Horace looked like he wanted to object, but Erik cut him off with, "It's irrelevant whether you agree or not, Professor. We are not sending you to prison for the crimes of someone else, so you can stop asking. Now, my fellow members of the Tribunal, what say you on Lord Potter's proposal?"

One by one, the other lords nodded in assent that Harry had come up with a fair compromise, as it provided a punishment for Slughorn, which he seemed to think he deserved, and still helped the victims involved. When they had reached a unanimous decision, Harry said, "Very well, Professor Horace Slughorn, you will do as I have said and that and nothing more will be your punishment. Understood?"

Horace was silent for a moment, before he nodded and said, "Understood, Lord Potter."

Neville spoke up to say, "Very well then. Auror Daniels, please take the professor back to the observation area." Once that was done, he added, "Now, Mr. Dumbledore, you may call your next witness."

Aberforth nodded as he stood and said, "The prosecution calls Kaleb Cuffe to the stand."

Over the next half hour, what had become the standard line of questioning for Aberforth was applied to Kaleb, as the youngest of the Cuffe sons was asked to confirm the testimony already given by those who'd come before him that he'd been mentioned as a part of. It was true that he had been forced to have sex with his father on numerous occasions, under much the same circumstances as Jonas and Lukas. He'd also been given the Dreamless Sleep Antidote and forced to watch horrific pensieve memories of boys being tortured in truly gruesome ways and told that would be him if he didn't do everything his father told him to do.

Kaleb also revealed that his father had used the Cruciatus Curse on him, along with Whipping Curses, Stinging Hexes, and at various times even the Imperius Curse, when Kaleb refused to comply with his father's orders. The first time that he'd been subjected to the Imperius was when he was fourteen and his father had ordered him to allow Jonas and Lukas to double-penetrate him. Having already been forced on several occasions by that point to have one penis in his ass and knowing how much it hurt since his father never allowed for lubrication and always made sure that the one doing the penetrating was as rough as possible, the thought of having two penises in his ass at the same time had terrified Kaleb enough that he was able to resist all of the normal methods his father had used previously, which is what then led to Barnabas putting him under the Imperius and making him comply that way.

One other tidbit of information he added after this was he thought that his father must have used some kind of magic on him that prevented Jonas and Lukas from recognizing him for who he was, because even while looking directly at them, he could see no recognition in their eyes. This obviously answered the question that many had in their heads about why Kaleb was saying that he'd had sex with Jonas and Lukas, when neither of them had mentioned Kaleb, and Jonas had made it clear that Lukas was his only sibling that he'd had sex with.

After Kaleb, the next person to be brought forward to testify was the eldest of the Cuffe children, Aaron, whose testimony was much the same. Mental and physical torture from almost as young as he could remember, and sexual abuse starting shortly after he turned eleven, by which point Aaron was so terrified of his father that he did anything he was told. He also revealed that he'd never told anyone about the abuse because Barnabas had told him that if anyone found out, he would kill Agatha and make Aaron watch. Barnabas had even gone so far as to implant false memories in Aaron's head, showing his mother dying in varied, painful ways, all at the hands of Barnabus himself, so that Aaron would have no trouble imagining that his father could and would go that far.

Once Aaron was excused, Aberforth stood and said, "While there are many, many more victims that we could question, as named by Mr. Jonas Cuffe and confirmed by some of the other witnesses, including Mr. Benjy Williams, I think the case against Barnabas Cuffe is strong enough that we can forego calling these other victims and forcing them to relive what are undoubtedly horrific memories for them. I also think by now it is beyond obvious that Barnabus Cuffe is, as I said in my opening statements, the most vile and reprehensible predator to ever walk the face of the Earth and I beg the Tribunal to find him guilty and punish him as he so richly deserves. And with that request, the prosecution rests."

As Aberforth sat down, Harry nodded and said, "Madam Bones, lower the wards on the observation area." Once this was done, Harry looked at the people sitting there and asked, "Many of you were summoned here because Mr. Barnabas Cuffe requested your presence to act as character witnesses on his behalf. I ask now if any of you wish to fulfill this role and testify in his defense."

Unsurprisingly, every single one of the people who had been allowed to observe refused to testify on Barnabas' behalf. Finally, Agatha stood. "My Lords, I refuse to testify for my husband, but I would request that you lower the vortex holding him in place, as I have something that I'd like to say to him, without anything coming between us."

The lords conferred for a moment, before Garrick said, "We will not completely lower it, Madam Cuffe, however, we are willing to lower the vortex to his shoulders, if that is acceptable to you."

Agatha nodded and said, "That's more than sufficient, Your Grace," as she walked over to her husband and the vortex was lowered.

"Agatha, darling..." Cuffe began.

He was cut off. "Don't. You lost the right to call me 'darling' when you abused all of our sons. I'd ask why you never tortured Evelyn and Abigail the same way, but I'm sure the reason was because you knew they would never be able to make respectable pureblood marriages if they were not virgins."

Agatha paused here and then, "You disgust me, Barnabas. I don't know where the man I married disappeared to, but I'd like to think that the boy I knew at Hogwarts, the boy I fell in love with, would never be capable of doing everything that you've done. If I'm wrong and you really are that good at deceiving people, well then it would seem that I'm the biggest fool of all. And if you know me at all, Barnabus, then you should know that I detest being made a fool of."

A resounding whack filled the courtroom at this, as Agatha raised her hand and slapped her husband across the face, hard enough for his entire head to turn to the side. When he turned back to look at his wife, he growled, angry as he said, "You bitch, you dare raise a hand to me? I'm your husband."

"Not anymore," Agatha said, as she turned to the Tribunal and Lord Burke in particular, as she said, "Your Excellence, Lord Burke, as a denizen of your lands, I respectfully request that you immediately dissolve my marriage to this... this... fiend, as I no longer wish to have anything to do with him."

Caractacus was silent for a moment, before he nodded and said, "Your request is granted Mrs. Cuffe and your marriage to Barnabas Cuffe is hereby dissolved. Do you wish to revert to your maiden name?"

Agatha smiled. "Thank you, Lord Burke. Do you mind if I think on that decision, and discuss it with my children?" Caractacus nodded in understanding. Turning back to her now ex-husband, Agatha said, "I'm sure you remember, Barnabas, the pre-nuptial agreement that my father insisted you sign before our marriage? The one that stated that should we ever be divorced, you had to pay back all the money that he's loaned you over the years with interest? Well, my father may be dead, but it's still a legal agreement that you signed, so as executor of his estate, I'm telling you now, pay up you bastard!"

"I don't have that kind of money," Barnabas growled.

"Not my problem," Agatha returned. "Now, Barnabas, I hope the Lords of this Tribunal punish you in the harshest manner available to them because you deserve it. You are not the man I married or the man I would ever have chosen to be the father of my children. You are lower than scum and if I ever see your face again it will be too soon."

At this point, Agatha did what was probably the most unladylike thing she could possibly do and spat in Barnabas' face, before turning on her heel and marching out of the courtroom.

-o-0-o-

The next session of the Tribunal was awaiting the verdict of the Lords to be agreed, together with the resulting sentence. There was no question of Barnabus Cuffe’s guilt, but there was considerable difference of opinion of how to punish him. There were, of course, several options, ranging from Azkaban all the way to execution by Dementor's Kiss. Of course, the Tribunal also had another means of execution open to them that the lower courts did not and that was passing the convicted person through the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries. Those weren't their only options, however, and many alternatives were suggested.

Some, like Arcturus, wanted Cuffe to be given the Dementor’s Kiss, or for him to be hung, drawn and quartered, the latter because he’d never seen anyone executed that way and thought it might be fun to witness. Of course, he'd also pointed out that at several times over the years, the use of Unforgivables was legal in certain instances and he suggested holding Cuffe under the Cruciatus Curse until his mind broke. Unsurprising, Neville reacted very badly to that scenario, and Harry railed against such barbarity. He also felt quite strongly that any punishment they gave him should make Cuffe understand the magnitude of the suffering he had caused.

It was during one of the lulls in the debate, that an idea came to Sirius. “My Lords, perhaps Lord Potter has hit the nail on the head in what he has said. I tend to agree that any punishment we give Cuffe is quite useless if he doesn't understand the gravity of his crimes, because based on his statements in the courtroom, he doesn't believe that he's done anything wrong. I definitely think we need to change that and indeed Cuffe has given us the clearest hint of how we might accomplish that.” That certainly got the attention of the other members of the Tribunal.

“Go on Sirius,” stated Harry, watching his godfather who alone amongst the members of the Tribunal was familiar with some of the more common punishments inflicted by the wizarding courts.

“Well, he has made a specialty of using a pensieve and memories to punish and control his sons, and the Dreamless Sleep Antidote to stop them escaping from the horrors. I was just thinking that perhaps we should draw the memories of his abuse from his victims and force him to watch them from their perspectives, so that perhaps he can get a feel for the fear, shame, pain, and self-loathing that his actions have inflicted not only on his employees, but also on those he was meant to protect and nurture.”

Malcolm nodded. “Yes, that could be a workable solution. Then, after a sufficient time, we can give him the opportunity to make peace with each of his sons, and his other victims. Assuming, of course, that they wish to do so." After a pause, he added, "I also suggest that we should consider withdrawing from his mind all the details we’d need to prosecute his associates who were present during the abuse of the victims, and all the identities of the victims so we have a complete idea of who will need help going forward.”

“I can agree with all of that,” said Lucius, “although we do need to face the fact that we won't be able to prosecute all of his associates who were involved in the abuse, as many of them are outside of Albion's jurisdiction. For example, the abuse suffered by Mr. Macmillan in Babylon. We can certainly turn over the relevant evidence to the appropriate authorities, but it will be up to them whether they wish to prosecute the people involved. Back on the matter of Cuffe, however, do we think simply making him relive the pain he's inflicted via pensieve to be a sufficient punishment?”

“I certainly don’t,” responded Arcturus and he was supported by Amos, in a very unexpected show of alignment. “He must be removed from our society as the cancer he is,” added Amos.

The ensuing silence was broken by Garrick, “I certainly agree that he shouldn't he be allowed to walk the streets as a free man, so Azkaban would normally be the method one would use for that, but it'd be difficult to carry out Charlton's suggestion of using a pensieve against him with the Dementors around. As for giving him the Dementor's Kiss, we'd have to take Cuffe somewhere else for that, as we can’t bring a Dementor to the Tribunal Chambers, as I know for a fact it has been tried in the past. The Dementor was killed by the underlying magic of the Tribunal, presumably because it viewed the Dementor as such a dark creature that it had no business in this place.”

"I also think the Veil of Death would also be hard to implement," Caractacus said. "Not only because that particular punishment hasn't been chosen since the 1670 act establishing the Wizengamot as the normal court system, but also because it would require taking Cuffe to the Ministry and down to the Department of Mysteries, which would open up the possibility of questions being asked as to why and on whose authority he was being executed. The Unspeakables likely wouldn't talk, but the Ministry is too full of spies and gossips for me to be comfortable with taking him anywhere near there."

“And I think we can eliminate having him hung, drawn and quartered,” said Erik Bones, with an obvious note of distaste in his voice. “Not only is it totally barbaric, but it's a Muggle means of execution, so quite frankly I'm surprised that you even suggested it, Arcturus, as I rather doubt your parents would ever suggest using Muggle anything.”

Neville surprised everyone in the debate as he spoke for the first time. “I think extracting all we can from his head about his victims and associates is a good idea. And I also like the idea of using his victim's memories against him, as that might be the only way to get him to see that he actually has done something wrong. However, perhaps, we could look to some of his other methods for inspiration?"

"What exactly are you suggesting, Neville?" Harry asked.

"Well, he did place Benjy Williams under an Unbreakable Vow," Neville suggested. "Could we not do something similar?"

Arcturus snarled in contempt at Neville, "And do what foolish boy? Make him swear never to do it again?"

"Viscount Cumberworth, I strongly suggest you remember who you're addressing before you open your mouth," Garrick rebuked Arcturus. "Now, I suggest you apologize to Marquis Claverton, immediately."

Arcturus looked mutinous, as if it was the last thing he wanted to do, but under the clearly angry gaze of The Duke of Whitehaven, he said, "I apologize for my uncalled for insult, Most Honorable sir."

"I don't think it really matters what we make him swear," Neville said. "Make him swear that the sky is pink with purple polka dots for all I care. The reason I suggested it was because I thought if this Tribunal has the power to remove Unbreakable Vows, certainly we have the power to simulate the punishment for breaking one?"

"Are you suggesting that we overload his core?" Erik asked. "I know that in some instances we've ordered someone's core to be blocked and then banished them from the Wizarding World, but I don't think we've ever intentionally overloaded someone's core before."

“Unleashing someone such as Cuffe on the Muggle world isn’t right,” stated Harry. “They have enough deviants preying on their children without throwing our problem into their unsuspecting laps.”

"Yes deliberately overloading his magical core is what I'm suggesting," Neville clarified. "Lord Burke's concerns on the possibility of a leak if we took him to the Ministry is what got me thinking about it. Whatever punishment we prescribe to Cuffe, we need to also come up with a means to explain why he's gone. After all, how can these proceedings remain sealed if it's announced that he's been charged and imprisoned, or however else we chose to punish him? For such a public figure like Cuffe, you better believe the public would be demanding that the Wizengamot release the transcript of his trial and what he was charged with. Obviously they couldn't do that, which would mean revealing the continued existence of the Tribunal to the world at large and I think we all agree that's not an option."

The others were silent for a moment and nobody moved as they considered Neville's words. Everyone however, even Arcturus, looked impressed that Neville had thought out his suggestion so well. Reaching over and patting his friend on the back, Harry grinned. "Good job, mate."

Neville smiled and nodded, as Bruce addressed everyone. "He definitely has a valid point, that I think none of us had totally considered. In the past, it perhaps wasn't as necessary as the Tribunal usually hasn't tried people that are as publicly recognizable as Barnabus Cuffe. So, of course people would wonder if he suddenly disappeared without a trace."

Caractacus nodded. "Well, in that event, I suggest that we order him imprisoned for a time, either at Seacliff or Sutton Grange, and carry out the pensieve punishment. As he has taken business trips out of the country in past, we can just leak the story that he's taken another one and that should keep people from becoming too suspicious. Meanwhile, that will also give Lord Potter and his seneschal time to discreetly search for a replacement as the Editor-in-Chief of the Prophet."

Garrick stroked his chin, before nodding his assent. "Yes, that could certainly work. And then once a sufficient amount of time has passed and a replacement has been found, then we can move to his ultimate punishment and overload his core. It can then be announced that he broke an Unbreakable Vow and that will nicely explain things with very few people questioning it, as the specifics of such vows, such as precisely what was vowed, are rarely released to the public anyway."

"I can live with this idea," Harry said. "So, shall we vote on the proposed punishment? My vote is aye."

They then went around the table and each lord voted. Some took a bit longer than others to cast their vote, as they needed a moment to contemplate the proposal, but in the end they reached a unanimous decision. With Barnabus Cuffe's punishment decided upon, they then turned their discussion towards what should be done in terms of Benjy Williams. He had sexually abused children, after all, although Harry argued that as a victim himself, who clearly hadn't wanted to do it, but felt he had no other choice, he didn't deserve as strict of a punishment as Cuffe did. It took some discussion, but in time, they reached a consensus that they could all agree on.

-o-0-o-

When the announcement came that the Tribunal had reached a verdict and that everyone was to return to the courtroom, several people, especially the Cuffe family, were unsure how they should feel. Obviously it seemed as though the Tribunal agreed that Cuffe was as guilty as sin, but until they actually rendered their decision, they wouldn't know for sure. Of course, Barnabus Cuffe ended up being put under another Silencing Charm by the Aurors escorting him, as he was complaining quite loudly that he hadn't been given a sufficient amount of time to defend himself.

Once everyone was assembled and Cuffe was held inside the vortex up to his neck, still under a Silencing Charm, however, Harry stood up.

"The Tribunal has reached a verdict," he began. "I think everyone in this room, with the possible exception of the accused, will not find our decision surprising." Turning to Barnabas Cuffe and staring at him with cold, and hard look on his face, he continued, "Barnabas Cuffe, you stand charged with multiple counts of rape, sexual harassment, coercion, physical assault, the use of Unforgivables, child abuse, misuse of controlled substances, perverting the course of justice and torture. It is the unanimous decision of this Tribunal that you are guilty on all charges. Do you have anything to say for yourself before we pass sentence?"

Raising his wand, Harry removed the Silencing Charm and braced himself for what he was sure was going to be another long-winded and vitriolic rant. He was not disappointed.

"You can't do this to me!" Cuffe shouted. "I haven't done anything wrong! Is it a crime now to discipline one's family? When I get out of here I will make sure that the populace of Albion finds out about this illegal kangaroo court that you've subjected an upstanding member of the community to without any justifiable cause and how you totally ignored all of my rights. This so-called guilty verdict you've passed will not stand. I have dossiers on all of you, detailing all the illegal and shady activities you've all engaged in over the years and I will see to it that they're published in the Prophet for everyone to read."

Jonathan Macmillan wasn't the only observer who hadn't been deprived of their wand, as Madam Bones and the Aurors didn't dare to attempt to confiscate the Minister's wand. Still, it was with some surprise to everyone in the room when Cornelius stood up, raised his wand at Cuffe and said, "Oh do us all a favor and shut up, you sickening fool," before shooting off a Silencing Charm at the man. Turning to the Tribunal, he said, "Whatever punishment you prescribe, the Ministry is behind you one hundred percent, My Lords."

"Your endorsement of our actions is appreciated, Cornelius, although unnecessary as we would have gone ahead with or without your consent," Harry replied. "Now please put away your wand and resume your seat." As the Minister sat down, Harry added, "I do thank you for shutting him up, however."

Turning back to Barnabas, Harry scowled and said, "Barnabas Cuffe, you have been found guilty of numerous crimes against numerous people. Many of us have sat in this courtroom and listened to the graphic details as your victims described those many crimes and yet you do not seem to believe that you've done anything wrong. We the Tribunal mean to change that and it is our decision that over the course of the next two months, you will be imprisoned for one month each in the lowest dungeons, reserved for the most vile of common prisoners, of Seacliff Castle and Sutton Grange. During this imprisonment, you will be forced to watch via a pensieve your victim's memories of your abuse of them, so that you may see for yourself, through their eyes, the pain that you've inflicted upon them. We will also extract your memories of your collaborators and other victims such that justice can be fully served wherever possible."

While many people seemed to like that Barnabas was going to have one of his own methods of torture used against him, several people were also quite visibly disturbed at the short sentence of only two months imprisonment. Before anyone could protest, however, Harry continued. "After your two months of imprisonment, it is the unanimous decision of this Tribunal that your magical core will be overloaded until you burn to death from the inside out."

Garrick stood up at this and raised the wand he'd sold Barnabas many years earlier. "I don't think you'll be needing this anymore," before he grasped it in both hands and snapped it in half.

Through the vortex, everyone in the courtroom could see the look on Barnabas' face as Garrick snapped his wand. He'd continued to look angry and defiant, even as he was being sentenced to death, but seeing his wand snapped in half, all traces of anger left his face, as tears came to his eyes and he began sobbing silently. Nobody in the room could bring themselves to feel sorry for him, however.

Turning to the contingent of Aurors, Harry instructed, "Auror Daniels, you will escort the prisoner back to the holdings cells and remain there with him until Rolf, my Captain of the Guard at Seacliff, arrives to oversee his transfer."

Auror Daniels nodded as the vortex was lowered and he led a still sobbing Barnabas out of the courtroom. Harry next turned to where Madam Bones was standing off to the side of the room, along with Benjy Williams, who had been kept a safe distance away from the others, especially Jonathan Macmillan who was still quite angry with the seeker.

"Mr. Benjy Williams, please step forward," Harry instructed. "The Tribunal has also reached a verdict in your regard which we will now render."

Once Benjy had moved to stand before the Tribunal, Harry said, "Mr. Williams you have admitted under Veritaserum to the sexual assault of several minors, including Mr. Ernie Macmillan. However, this Tribunal feels that you would not have done this if it wasn't for Mr. Barnabus Cuffe forcing you to do so and as such we believe that you are just as much a victim as several others in this room."

Jonathan Macmillan looked like he was about to say something, but Harry raised his hand to silence him. "However, in the interest of providing some punishment that certain parties in this room feel you deserve, it is the unanimous decision of this Tribunal that you will be placed on two-years probation and house arrest, being released only to carry out your duties as Seeker for Puddlemere United and to carry out 10,000 hours of community service. You are further ordered not to initiate any form of contact with any person under the age of seventeen for one year, after which we mandate that all such contact will be supervised for a period of a further five years."

"Not good enough!" Jonathan yelled angrily. "He raped my son! I demand that he be punished the same way that you punished Barnabas Cuffe!"

Bartemius looked surprised as he asked, "You would have us put Mr. Williams to death for one instance of sexual abuse of your son that he made quite clear that he didn't want to engage in, in the first place?"

"Yes!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"I believe you've let your anger get the best of you, Mr. Macmillan," Bruce said. "I don't see you calling for you brothers-in-law, Jonas, Lukas, and Kaleb, to be put to death and they've all also participated in acts of sexual abuse against your son at the behest of your father-in-law. In fact they've all done so on multiple occasions, so why do you believe it's fair for them to go unpunished, but for Mr. Williams to be put to death?"

Jonathan was stunned into silence as the truth of the situation sank in. He was focused on the man who'd been the first abuser of his son, forgetting that he'd only just left school himself at the time.

"Mr. Macmillan," began Benjy, "I really do understand how angry you are. If I could have done anything to have saved your son from experiencing what he did with me I'd have willingly done it, but would you have wanted him to experience the Cruciatus Curse from Mr. Cuffe, for he would most definitely have used it on Ernie if I hadn't submitted."

Jonathan took a deep breath, he was feeling so angry, but also so unbearably guilty that he'd been too busy to see what was happening to Ernie.

"He is right, Jon," Abigail piped up. "From everything I've heard in this courtroom, I don't doubt for a minute that Barnabas," she refused to call him father, "would have used the Cruciatus on Ernie and Benjy did attempt to make it as painless as possible for him. It isn't his fault that Barnabas is a sick and twisted sadist."

"Very well, but stay away from my son and my family from now on." Jonathan responded sourly. "If I ever come across any evidence that you've done anything inappropriate with anyone else, keep watching over your shoulder, for I will come and find you."

"I would be careful of your words, Mr. Macmillan," Garrick warned. "Whether you feel justified or not, if you do anything to harm Mr. Williams in the future, Unspeakable or not, you will be charged for taking the law into your own hands."

Noting that everyone seemed to be satisfied with how this had been resolved, Harry stood and announced, "This meeting of the Tribunal of the Thirteen is now adjourned. As you leave, you will all submit to the Sealing Oath, and you would do well to remember not to attempt to divulge or discuss any part of the proceedings with anyone, whether now present or not."

As people started filing out of the chamber, Harry walked over to Draco Malfoy. Lucius noting his approach to his son, walked over to intercept them.

"Draco, I have something to say to you."

Draco stopped and bowed politely to Harry, "Your Grace?"

Draco was actually shocked that Harry had stood and declared the sentence of death on Cuffe. He knew that someone who was prepared to do that was not someone to trifle with in future, and had decided that for better or worse he would try not to get on Harry's bad side.

Lucius stepped up and made a formal bow to Harry, but didn't speak.

"I have decided to suspend your return to Seacliff and am going to parole you to your father's care. It's almost time to go back to school, and I am sure you have preparations to make, so I shall see you back at Hogwarts."

Draco was a little surprised, "Thank you Lord Potter for your consideration. I did want to apologize again for the mistake I made which lead to me being your guest. I assure you I shall do my best not to repeat it."

"I'm sure you'll try, and no doubt you would not welcome a return to the dungeons should you not keep your behavior polite."

Lucius chose this point to speak, "Lord Potter, I can assure you that Draco has indeed learned his lesson this time, and if he should pose a problem, you can be assured that I will support whatever course of action you feel is appropriate."

Harry nodded and turned away, noticing that Cedric Diggory was hovering a polite distance away, obviously hoping to attract Harry's attention. Amos was still talking to Caractacus and Erik, and so didn't see Cedric trying to talk to Harry.

Harry walked over to him, and spoke quietly to him, "Cedric, I hope that you didn't find the proceedings too distressing?"

"No Harry, I just wanted to say that I was very impressed by the way you handled the whole thing. It can't have been easy given you'd not known about being a Duke, let alone how to conduct trials only a few weeks ago."

"It was harder for those Cuffe boys to talk about what their father put them through, than it was for me to hear about it. I can't believe how he mistreated his sons. How any father could do that, or any grandfather, I will die before I understand it."

"Just remember he was doing it as an abuse of power, I don't want you to think that it was overtly sexual." Cedric said carefully dropping his voice so no one else could hear him.

Harry looked at Cedric, a little confused by what he'd just said, when he suddenly remembered the wedding between Charlie and Noah only a few days before. "I understand the difference," he smiled discretely.

At that moment Amos walked up to Harry and Cedric. "Your Grace, may I compliment you on the way you dealt with that pervert and how you ran a very well organized hearing of the Tribunal?"

Harry bit his lip, he understood in a way that Amos would almost certainly never understand following Cedric's reminder that there was no comparison to what Cuffe had done, and Amos' son Noah, nor other gay men. There was no point in trying to correct him this time, and Cedric's eyes indicated that he understood.

"Come on then Ced, it's time to be getting home ... you've got school supplies to collect and then it's off on the Express back to Hogwarts. Lord Potter," he bowed once more and steered Cedric to have the oaths administered by Madam Bones.

The final person who seemed to be a bit at a loss in the rapidly emptying chamber was Kolin. Chelsea had already left, but Kolin didn't know what he was supposed to do as he was staying at Seacliff at the moment. Harry walked over to him and saw him looking through the large windows overlooking the spring and the oak tree. It looked so peaceful, and there were tear tracks running down his cheeks.

"Kolin?" asked Harry gently, not wishing to intrude but needing to speak to him.

Kolin started, but smiled as he pulled out his handkerchief to wipe his tears away. "It's so peaceful and beautiful. I ... I wanted to thank you for believing in me, and in helping me, Your Grace."

Harry felt a strong urge to reassure Kolin. "If you want, you can go back to work tomorrow. Or if you wanted to go to work somewhere else, I'd understand, and write a good reference for you. I don't mind if you need a couple of days to decide either, you can stay at the castle until you decide what you want, though I do have to go back to school."

"While I appreciate the offer, Your Grace," Kolin said, "I think it's time I got back to living as normal a life as possible and that means going back to my flat. I can think there as well as I can at Seacliff. It might not be anywhere near as luxurious, but it suits my needs for now and honestly, I think a part of me kind of misses it."

Harry nodded. "Of course, whatever you think is best for you, Kolin. Don't be a stranger though, okay? And maybe during my winter break from Hogwarts you can come over and spend a few nights with me."

"I'd like that, Your Grace, I never thought I would get justice for what happened to me, you've shown me so much kindness and faith. I want to thank you before we can't talk about it anymore after we leave here." 

Harry smiled, as he decided not to remind Kolin that the Sealing Oath would not prevent him from talking about it with anyone who was present for the trial, only with or around those who weren't. He could, however, understand why Kolin would wish to put this chapter of his life behind him and thus opted only to pull Kolin into a hug. "Let's go back to Seacliff, and have a nice meal and a couple of drinks. As I said, take your time to decide, and I will help you in any way I can."

They were the last to leave the tribunal chamber, and having had the oaths administered on them by Madam Bones, and then Harry having administered the oath on Madam Bones, all three Apparated leaving a still peace to settle over the caverns until they would be needed again.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Part Two of Chapter Ten of The Journey Begins. This was a very hard chapter to write, but this is where the muses led me. I hope you all enjoyed it, well, as much as one can enjoy something with this dark and disturbing of a theme. I promise that Chapter Eleven will be much happier and not contain any dark or disturbing imagery. To give you something to look forward to, next chapter will contain a return to Mage Training, as the Blood Ritual will be performed, with some unexpected, though not unpleasant, results...


	14. Chapter Eleven, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Eleven  
Part One

-o-0-o-

Following the end of the Tribunal meeting, Harry went to Seacliff and had dinner with Kolin, before seeing him off, at which point Athena arrived to awaken his double and take Harry back to the cottage, while Rose did the same with Cedric. Arriving back at Forest Cottage quite late in the evening, the trainers allowed Harry and Cedric to go directly to bed, as they were both clearly tired from the ordeal they'd just endured. As quiet settled over the house, as more and more occupants retired for the night, Athena and Eudora sat in the kitchen, sipping hot chocolate and chatting idly about random things, as they waited for the biscuits they had in the oven to finish baking.

Normally, Barin did most of the cooking and baking at Forest Cottage and he was agreed by all who tasted his labors to be very good at it. However, both Athena and Eudora enjoyed occasionally getting their hands dirty and engaging in some baking of their own. Some witches and wizards would scoff at that, figuring that they should just let the house-elf do it or that they shouldn't actually use their hands to mix the batter like a muggle would and instead use magic to make a spoon mix everything up by itself. But, Athena and Eudora weren't most witches and they enjoyed bonding over baking, as they experimented with a variety of different recipes using fresh ingredients that Eudora grew in one of the two greenhouses on the property.

While they had mage students, especially in the early stages of their training, they didn't get as many opportunities as they might like to bake, often having to do it late at night after their students had gone to bed. For tonight's batch, they'd made six baker's dozen of a variety of digestive biscuits, some with raisins, some with fresh blackberries, and a few plain ones that they intended to coat one side of with milk chocolate once they came out of the oven.

Athena and Eudora were just discussing the upcoming ritual, when Athena glanced through the archway into the ground floor parlor and noticed a pajama-clad Harry coming down the stairs. "Mr. Potter? I thought you were going to bed."

"I was, but I couldn't sleep," Harry answered. "Every time I closed my eyes I saw visions of some of the more disturbing testimony that came out at the Tribunal." Harry paused and sniffed the air, before asking, "What's that marvelous smell?"

Eudora smiled. "Athena and I were just doing some baking. Why don't you come over, sit down, and have a cup of hot chocolate? And maybe you can have a biscuit or two when they come out of the oven."

Crossing into the kitchen, Harry sat down on one of the benches at the kitchen table, as Eudora waved her wand at the tea kettle on the stove, which was currently full of hot milk instead of water, which lifted up and proceeded to pour into a nearby mug. With another flick of her wand, a small chunk of Honeyduke's chocolate fudge moved to hover over the mug, where it soon melted in mid-air, before joining the milk already in the mug, as a spoon lifted off the counter to stir the two together. Harry couldn't help but watch in fascination as the mug then lifted off the counter and came over to rest on the table before him. Before he could take a sip, however, Eudora waved her wand again and whipped cream and a few shavings of Honeyduke's chocolate appeared on top of the hot chocolate.

Taking a sip and getting a whipped cream mustache in the process, Harry grinned. "This is delicious."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Eudora said with a smile, as she raised a finger and motioned towards her upper lip, causing Harry to get the point and use his own finger to wipe the whipped cream off his lip, before licking it off. No point in letting it go to waste after all.

After a moment of silence, Athena asked in a concerned voice, "Just what kind of disturbing testimony came out that it's affecting your ability to sleep?"

Harry was silent for a moment, before answering, "I'm not sure how much the Tribunal's Sealing Oath will actually allow me to tell you."

"Well, I must admit I don't know much about the Tribunal," Athena commented. "However, I would imagine that you should be able to discuss a few of the details, so long as you don't mention any names of the people involved. Eudora and I can assume that Barnabas Cuffe was involved, since we know he's the reason you called the Tribunal in the first place."

"You may very well think that, but I couldn't possibly comment," was Harry's cryptic reply, as he could feel a small wave of magic washing over him. After a moment, he said, "I could feel a wave of magic as I said that, so, I imagine that was the Sealing Oath at work."

"That's certainly possible," Eudora agreed. "So, why don't you see if you can describe some of the details without naming names. The worst that can happen is that the oath won't let you, but it might help to ease your mind if you talk about it."

Harry was silent for a moment, as he sorted his thoughts, wondering just what he could say and what he couldn't. "There were several mentions of the Cruciatus Curse being used, along with the Imperius Curse. Several other curses, as well, along with pensieve memories of horrific physical and sexual torture of underage boys."

Both Athena and Eudora shuddered. Harry hadn't felt any magic stopping him from talking, so he assumed that if he kept it generic enough and refrained from mentioning any names, he might be able to give a few more details. "There were also mentions of the Dreamless Sleep Antidote and Memory Suppression Potion, being used in what was likely either excessive doses or too much over a prolonged period of time."

Athena shook her head. "Rose is the Potions Master in this house, but I'm versed enough in potions that I know that can't possibly have been good for the mental or physical well-being of the people drinking them."

With a nod, Harry said, "Yeah, the potions' inventor said as much." Harry did feel a slight tug on his magic at this, as if perhaps it was veering a little too close to protected details, but the oath hadn't stopped him from saying it. He assumed it may have been due to the fact that it was pretty common knowledge who invented those particular potions.

In the silence that followed, he added, "We were particularly concerned that one witness might have difficulties remembering information when they return to Hogwarts... they're in my year, in Hufflepuff." Harry closed his eyes and quivered a bit, as that admission caused a stronger reaction, prompting him to say, "I think I should stop talking now. The oath didn't like that last bit."

"Of course," Eudora nodded, although the concern in her eyes was evident when Harry had mentioned Hogwarts and Hufflepuff. Only Athena saw this, however, as Harry's eyes were closed at the time.

Athena nodded, as well, as she discreetly laid a comforting hand on Eudora's knee under the table. "Just drink your cocoa and try to relax, Mr. Potter."

Unseen by anyone, Cedric crept down the stairs, also unable to sleep. As he spied Harry in the kitchen with Athena and Eudora, however, he quietly sat down on the stairs and tried to stay out of sight. He wasn't usually one to eavesdrop, but he was very curious about Harry, who he felt so drawn to for some reason he couldn't explain. Thus, he saw this as an opportunity to learn more about the boy.

Taking a few sips of his hot chocolate, Harry remained silent for a few minutes, before he asked, "Lord Diggory seems very hostile towards people like his son who are in same-sex relationships, and while I know some of the lords seem to be okay with it, I'm wondering just how commonplace Lord Diggory's views are?"

"I'm afraid to say there are a fair number of people like Mr. Diggory in the wizarding world," Athena responded. "Well, at least here in Albion and Iwernia, anyway, as I think you already have some idea that opinions are different in other parts of the world."

"Yes, Regulus mentioned that," Harry said. "He also said that there's a method involving transfiguration and use of a surrogate that would allow two blokes, like Charlie and Noah, to have children together."

"Yes, that's true," Eudora agreed. "As you might guess from our trips to Egypt, your other trainers and I are a bit more well-traveled than your average witch or wizard from Albion. You may also remember that Emma mentioned having her staff made by a master in France and that Rose's was made in Greece. Truth is, we've all been to numerous countries outside of Albion, and not just in Europe, but also the Far East."

"I'd like to travel some day," Harry revealed. "Until we ventured to Egypt, I'd never left Albion. My relatives went on a few vacations out of the country as I was growing up, but they always left me with Mrs. Figg while they were gone."

"Would it shock you to know that Arabella knows about magic?" Athena asked.

Harry looked confused as he asked, "Who?"

"Mrs. Figg," Athena clarified. "Her first name is Arabella, although I imagine she might not have told you that, right along with the fact that she's a squib."

"A squib, you mean like Mr. Filch?" Harry asked.

Nodding, Eudora answered, "Yes, like Mr. Filch. I imagine Albus instructed her not to tell you, but she's been assigned to keep an eye on you and report back to him ever since you were a baby."

"Yes, I've been present for a few of those meetings with her," Athena said. "It's how we knew that the Dursleys weren't treating you very well and why I disliked Albus for not getting you out of there. Honestly, I'd wanted to get you out of there sooner, but I couldn't do anything until the other trainers and I finished up with the batch of students we had before you, as we generally don't bring two different groups of students into the house at the same time, as it gets harder to keep track of where each group is in the training, not to mention it being dangerous for two different groups in vastly disparate points in their training to be together."

"We also try not to train anyone much under the age of fourteen," Eudora added. "Any younger and their attention spans just aren't long enough to learn the more complicated aspects of the training."

"The spell to create the double also can't be cast on someone who doesn't have a wand," Athena revealed, "or I would have gotten you out of there and brought you here even if you weren't being trained. We did allow Regulus to bring Asterion here when he was only two years old, after all, although that caused an uproar in and of itself, since the still living McKinnons were quite vocal in their questions about where Asterion was and why his body had never been found."

Everyone was quiet again, for a moment, as they all took sips of their hot chocolate. Normally, Athena or Eudora might have gotten up to check on the biscuits, but they had no worries about them burning, as that was a distinct advantage that magical bakers had over muggles - all stoves and ovens were charmed to make it impossible to burn anything being made with them. Well, at least the stoves and ovens of the people who knew the necessary spells or were wealthy enough to pay someone to place them were so charmed.

"Forgive me if this is too personal, Mr. Potter," Athena said, "but is there any particular reason you're so interested in the reaction to same-sex relationships in Albion? Just wondering because of Charlie and Noah or is there another reason?"

Harry delayed answering by taking another sip of his drink, before he said, "I don't understand why anybody would be so upset about it. I mean, if they love each other, they should be together and nobody should say anything about it."

"That's true, Mr. Potter," Eudora said, "although as I'm sure you're aware from the muggle world, many people don't see it that way. They also come up with the ridiculous arguments that allowing same-sex marriage will lead to other things, like incest, polygamy, and bestiality. Most witches and wizards don't really care in terms of polygamy as there are many places in the wizarding world where it's legal, Egypt for example, but bestiality, well that takes on a different tract in the magical world due to magical creatures like centaurs who many view as being half human to begin with."

"Polygamy is legal in Egypt?" Harry asked.

Athena nodded. "Indeed. You met Queen Meritites in Nick's shop, I believe?" Harry nodded. "Well, she is what would be referred to as Pharaoh Seti's Great Royal Wife, as in, she's his first and the one that was crowned as Queen of Egypt. However, he does have six other wives who carry the title of Princess-Consort and Merlin only knows how many concubines that he hasn't married but still beds."

"Yes, I believe Seti has over a hundred legitimate children by his seven wives," Eudora added. "I have no idea how many illegitimate ones he might have, as that generally isn't talked about."

"Why so many?" Harry asked, obviously shocked. One man having seven wives and over a hundred legitimate children, not to mention other women on the side and Gods only knew how many other illegitimate children was hard for him to wrap his mind around.

Athena smiled. "I know it seems more than a little excessive, although I imagine part of it is that Egyptian culture sees the Pharaoh as a living god. They don't believe that they ascend to full godhood until they die, thus allowing for the fact that they can die and any mistakes they make to be explained away by saying that they haven't come into their full godly powers yet, but if you know anything about mythology, Mr. Potter, then you'll know that many gods are known to be quite promiscuous and have more affairs with mortals than most people would ever dream of being possible."

"I think the shock of what happened with the Pendragons also comes into play," Eudora speculated. "In the years since all but Edward were murdered, there's been a population explosion of new royals on the continent and beyond, as the other royal families have all tried to expand to a degree that it would be very hard to kill them all off. For example, I can tell you that King Francis VI of the House of Bourbon in France has 10 legitimate children - 7 sons and 3 daughters - while Tsar Nicolas IX of the House of Romanov in Russia has 17 legitimate children, 8 of them are sons, with the rest being daughters."

"Pharaoh Seti has all the royals beat, of course," Athena said. "Simply because most of the European monarchs do not practice polygamy. Although there was some talk a few years back that Emperor Justinian XI of the Byzantine Empire was considering marrying a second time, while staying married to the current Empress, Theodora. As far as I know, it never happened, but rumor has it that it wasn't a second wife that Justinian wanted, but a husband who would rule under him as a King."

In the silence that followed, the three occupants of the room quietly sipped their hot chocolate for a few moments, before finally Athena stood and made her way over to the oven to check on the biscuits. Finding them done, she began pulling the trays out of the magically expanded oven and transferring them to cooling racks.

Lily, meanwhile, had been listening to the conversation from the painting above the fireplace and finally decided to make her presence known by saying, "Harry, just so you know, your father and I wouldn't have any problems with it, if you were."

Harry was startled by the sudden sound of his mother's voice, as he hadn't realized she was even in the room. Setting his mug on the table and turning on the bench so that he could see her, he asked, "If I was what?"

Lily smiled. "If you like boys, instead of girls. So long as you're happy, your father and I are happy."

"I never said that I liked boys," Harry said, as he blushed bright red.

Lily nodded. "No, you didn't, but your blushing tells me that the thought has crossed your mind."

Harry was silent for a moment, unsure of how he should respond to that statement. He wasn't used to having his mother around to talk to, so even now after almost an entire month, he wasn't always sure how he should act around her. Finally, he wrangled his Gryffindor courage and said, "Okay, the thought has crossed my mind, as I've noticed a few guys lately that I thought were quite fit and nice-looking. But I'm still attracted to girls. The Veelas affected me at the World Cup and despite the way I met her, I did think that Abigail Cuffe was very pretty and could see why Erik dated her."

"Harry, sorting out your feelings and desires is a painful process for everyone, you're only 14 after all. Don't rush it, but don't force yourself to live by other people's expectations. If you fall in love with a man, then know that your dad and I will still love you, as will all of your true friends."

"Thanks," Harry said, even as Athena turned back towards the table with a plate of biscuits in her hand, which she'd magically cooled enough so that they weren't fresh out of the oven hot, but were still warm.

It was as she was setting the plate down that she glanced towards the stairs and said, "Would you care to join us, Mr. Diggory, or where you just going to sit there all night?"

Harry looked up at this and asked, "Cedric?"

"Hullo Harry," as he walked into the room, looking a bit shame-faced at being caught eavesdropping. "You couldn't sleep either?"

Harry shook his head, "No. Tribunal?"

Cedric nodded. "Yeah, I think everything I heard today is going to haunt me for awhile."

"Same here," Harry agreed.

"Well, for now, have some hot chocolate," Eudora said, as she produced another cup of the hot beverage for Cedric. "And have a biscuit or two, you too, Harry."

"Yes, sit down and enjoy," Athena said. "After you're finished, I'll get you both a dose of Dreamless Sleep so that you can get a good night's sleep tonight, without any memories or nightmares plaguing you."

With a nod, Eudora said, "And I'll let Emma know to show you in class tomorrow an Occlumency technique that allows you to section off memories in your minds and lock them away so that they don't bother you in the future. Dreamless Sleep can be addictive, after all, so it's best that you not take too much of it."

Both Harry and Cedric were a bit leery about the idea of using Dreamless Sleep, due to the testimony at the Tribunal concerning Cuffe using the antidote to the potion to torture his sons, but they both knew that the trainers were not Cuffe. They knew that the trainers wouldn't do anything to hurt them and they also knew that they needed to get some sleep so that they were well rested, awake, and alert for their class in the morning.

They had Emma first thing, after all, and she'd made it quite clear that she wouldn't stand for anyone dozing off in her class. Harry could still remember how his hand ached for a day or so after the incident in mid-August when he'd fallen asleep and Emma rapped his knuckles with her wand, before making him write 'I will not sleep in Ms. Baldwin's class' one thousand times. Apparently even being one of the highest lords in the country wasn't enough to save him from the wrath of his eldest trainer.

-o-0-o-

The following Saturday, the third of September, Harry took his final nutrient potion with breakfast and was quite glad to be done with them, as they tasted foul and he hoped to never taste anything so bad again. Of course, he knew that he'd likely end up drinking several more foul tasting potions over the course of his life, but that didn't mean he couldn't be thrilled with finishing this particular regimen. Despite the taste, however, he was very happy with the results, as he'd definitely filled out a bit to a clearly more healthy weight and he'd gained several inches in height, placing him on par with many of the other boys in his year.

After breakfast, he went down to the infirmary in the basement so that Rose could run some tests on him, just to confirm that everything was in order. He was quite pleased when half-an-hour later Rose was giving him a clean bill of health and pronouncing him fit to undergo the Blood Ritual the following day.

Finishing up in the infirmary, Harry headed upstairs and outside. The weather was still relatively nice, after all, so Regulus had told them to meet him outside by the pond at 10AM for the casting of the Temporal Sight spell. Obviously Harry was looking forward to the spell, as he was curious how powerful he'd actually be, although a part of him also couldn't help but be a little worried about what else might be seen in his future.

Arriving outside, Harry walked over to the pond to find that all of his fellow students had already arrived. Athena was also present and had obviously conjured up a pair of picnic tables, because Harry couldn't remember them being present before today. Oliver was seated on the tabletop of one of them, his feet on the bench, with Terrence seated on the bench between his legs. Gavin was also seated at that table, while Roger and Cedric were sitting at the other one. Athena, meanwhile, was standing nearby with her hands clenched behind her back and looking stern as usual.

"Hey Harry," Cedric greeted, who was wearing a sleeveless yellow shirt with a magically animated badger on it. "Everything go okay in the infirmary?"

Harry nodded, as he tried not to look at the muscles of Cedric's arms too much and instead look at his face, as he answered, "Yeah, Rose gave me a clean bill of health and said I'm ready for the ritual tomorrow."

Roger smiled. "That's great news, Harry."

"Yes, it is," Harry said as he looked at his watch, which said 9:55AM. "So, you think Regulus will arrive at exactly 10AM?"

"No idea," Oliver said, obviously a bit frustrated at sitting around outside doing nothing on a nice day like this, when he could instead be playing Quidditch. "All I know is that he isn't here yet."

"Duh," Gavin said with a grin, as he playfully slapped his brother's knee. "I think we all noticed that, Will."

"Are you two trying to catch up for lost time or something?" Harry asked, as he looked between Oliver and Gavin.

"What do you mean, Harry?"

"Your clothes. Ever since Rose said you were actually twins, you seem to be dressing alike more and more often." Of course, as Harry said this, he realized that Rose had revealed to Oliver and Gavin that they were twins on the same day that Harry had met Gavin for the first time and thus he realized that he didn't actually know if they'd dressed alike in the past or not. All he knew for sure was that they hadn't been dressed alike the day that he met them.

Gavin grinned. "This is nothing new, actually. Will and I don't always dress alike, but we do have similar tastes in clothes. And even before we knew that we were twins, we dressed alike on a fairly regular basis, simply because it was fun to try and confuse people. Of course, that has had a few side effects that I have not enjoyed."

"Like what?" Roger asked.

"People mistaking me for my gay brother, mainly," Gavin said. "Terence never has, thank Merlin, but plenty of other people have. I'm straight, so I don't exactly enjoy guys flirting with me. After Will was signed to Puddlemere United, I've even had male fans asking me for autographs and pictures, cause they think I'm him. A couple times I just went with it and ended up getting my ass pinched."

"Yes, well, I did tell the press about you in that interview, remember," Oliver pointed out.

Gavin nodded. "Yes and I appreciate it, but trust me, it hasn't stopped some of your more overzealous fans. Sometimes I think I could wear a shirt that says, 'No I'm not Oliver' and some of them would still think I'm you, because they're zeroing in on my face, my crotch, or my ass. The one time I went out on a date with a girl, I even had a male fan come over and accuse me of betraying all the gay people of Albion by trying to deny my sexuality by dating a girl."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a soft pop from the nearby Apparition point, as Regulus appeared. Harry looked at this watch and saw that it was, indeed, exactly 10AM. Walking over to the group, Regulus, who had spent the night on his island helping Asterion research in their library a few ways that the younger Black might help Ernie Macmillan, asked, as he rubbed his hands together in obvious anticipation, "Are we all ready for the casting of Temporal Sight?"

All six students either nodded or said, "Yes," leading Regulus to grin with a look of youthful excitement on his face, as he was about to gain additional evidence towards backing up his theory. Obviously he wouldn't be gaining any new information from Terence or Oliver, as they'd already had their inheritances, but the others hadn't. Although, Regulus would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about what he might see if he did cast the spell on Terence or Oliver, although he doubted that he'd get the chance as they were probably present only to support Gavin and their other friends.

"Well, let's begin then, shall we?" Regulus asked, as his staff appeared in his hand and he said, "Cedric is closest to having his inheritance, so, we'll start with him. Then Roger, Gavin, and finally Harry."

"Before you start," Athena said, "I just want to remind all of you that Temporal Sight cast by a Magister has a 25% chance of showing incorrect information. Also, please remember that the future is fluid, so even the 100% accuracy of the Magus range doesn't guarantee that the future will unfold exactly as it was seen. A single choice or action could completely invalidate everything that even a Magus saw."

Harry looked confused as he asked, "If a single choice or action could change everything that was seen, then how can a Magus be said to have 100% accuracy?"

"Because everything they see is accurate as of the moment they cast the spell," Athena explained. "That doesn't mean that it will still be accurate five minutes later. The future hasn't happened yet, after all, so any action or choice that you make can completely change your future. All Temporal Sight does is show you the threads of what will happen in your future as of the exact moment that it's cast, but choices and actions made afterward can change the threads."

"Yes, the future is not immutable," Regulus said. "Shall we proceed now?"

Athena nodded, as Cedric stood up and came over to stand in front of Regulus, as he raised his staff and silently said the necessary incantation, as the large gem on top of his staff lit up and Cedric was soon surrounded by a ghostly nimbus of light. Seconds later it was gone, as Regulus' eyes fluttered closed, as he began seeing several images from Cedric's future. One in particular that caught Regulus' attention was of Cedric playing with a young child that was clearly his, even if the child's eye color was completely different from Cedric's. Regulus grinned inwardly at that, but didn't dwell on it as he searched the threads to find the information he really wanted.

After a few moments, Regulus opened his eyes and said, "Cedric, I saw you gaining three levels in your inheritance, which without the Blood Ritual, would place you at level 15 on the scale or Archsorcerer. With the four level increase from the Ritual, you'll be a level 19 on the scale or a Grand Mage."

Cedric smiled. "Cool." After a moment of hesitation, he added, "Did you seeing anything else?"

Regulus grinned and said, "I saw you playing with a young child that was clearly yours, although I'm afraid I can't say exactly who the child's other parent is." After a moment, he added, "I could also see your parents in the background, watching you play with your child and from the expressions on their faces, they were quite happy and proud."

Cedric nodded, as he resumed his seat, even as his thoughts and emotions were in turmoil. For a long time now, he'd suspected that he was interested in boys, as he'd never felt sexually attracted to any girls, but had to several boys. Obviously, this would suggest that he was gay, but he was absolutely terrified by that thought, afraid that he'd get disowned by his parents, like Noah had been, and that they'd raise his little sister to hate him. 'Obviously it's just a phase,' Cedric thought. 'If my parents are happy about me having a child, I'm clearly not gay, because they wouldn't be proud grandparents if the other parent was male.'

"You're next, Roger," Regulus said, as the Ravenclaw nodded and stood.

Repeating the process with Roger, Regulus sorted through the images he was seeing and was shocked when he saw an x-rated image of Roger kneeling on the ground on all fours, as he was fucked doggy style by what was clearly a male. Regulus couldn't see the person's face, so he didn't know who it was that Roger was having sex with, but he did notice that there were several intricate runes on the ground beneath them, along with a circle of lit candles. Considering the fact that Roger insisted that he was straight, this was just about the last thing that Regulus expected to see.

Moving past the x-rated image, Regulus found the information he was after and said, "Roger, I saw you gaining 2 levels in your inheritance, which would place you at level 14 on the power scale or Grand Sorcerer, which is the same as Terence is currently. With the blood ritual you'd end up being a Master Mage."

"I see," Roger said and it had to be said that he looked a bit disappointed, although that was probably because as a Master Mage, he would only be able to learn one mage specialization and none of the higher arcana that had sounded so interesting in class. "Did you see anything else?"

Regulus hoped he managed not to blush, as he said, "I saw you participating in some sort of obscure magical ritual with another person. I'm afraid I can't tell you exactly what the purpose of the ritual was, as some of the runes I saw are ancient enough that they're not even covered in the Hogwarts Ancient Runes coursework. All I can say for sure, is that it wasn't the blood ritual that I saw you participating in."

Wanting to move on before Roger's Ravenclaw inquisitiveness prompted him to ask more questions, Regulus pointed at Gavin and said, "Your turn, Gavin."

Roger returned to his seat, as Gavin stood up and stepped forward and Regulus cast the spell on the younger Wood. Moments later, images began forming and as he sorted through them, Regulus noticed one that would undoubtedly make Gavin happy, as it showed Gavin, Oliver, Bryce, and Cameron Wood in matching robes standing at the front of a large room, as they watched a woman being walked down the aisle. With the veil over her face, Regulus couldn't see who it was, but it was a clearly a woman and Gavin was clearly the groom.

After another moment, Regulus opened his eyes and said, "Gavin, as you know, you're already at level seventeen on the power scale, making you a Mage. I saw you gaining one additional power level in your inheritance, which would move you up to Master Mage. Assuming you decide to go through with the blood ritual tomorrow, you would end up at the Magister level."

"After years of thinking I was a hedgewizard, that's very welcome news," Gavin said, the smile on his face being nearly blinding. After a moment, he asked, "Did you see anything else?"

Regulus grinned and said, "I saw your wedding day. It appeared that Oliver was your best man and Bryce and Cameron were also standing up for you as groomsmen."

"Did you get a look at Gav's future husband?" Oliver asked, prompting Gavin to turn and scowl at Oliver.

"I did, actually," Regulus said as Gavin whirled around to face Regulus, a look of pure shock on his face, as that statement suggested that he was marrying a man, which simply was not possible. Regulus chuckled at the look on Gavin's face, before he put him out of his misery by saying, "Relax, Gavin. Unless your intended was an extremely shapely cross-dresser, it was definitely a woman. I'm afraid I couldn't see a face through the veil, however."

"Well, that was obviously the 25% incorrect chance at work," Oliver piped up, as Terence nudged his boyfriend in the stomach with the back of his head, as Gavin came over and hit Oliver in the arm, as he yelled, "WILL!! Damn it, I know you've probably been hit in the head by too many quaffles that you missed saving from going through the hoops, but get it through your bloody head that I'm not gay, will you?"

The insult to his keeping skills had Oliver and Gavin bickering back and forth, as both brothers were clearly upset. Oliver hated it when anybody implied that he wasn't a good Quidditch player and of course Gavin was frustrated by his brother's continued jokes about him being gay, which had only increased in frequency after it was revealed that Gavin was essentially Oliver's clone. Gavin, obviously, preferred to think of him and Oliver as identical twin brothers, who just had a freakishly long amount of time separating their births, even if it was likely to be medically impossible.

"That's quite enough bickering, you two," Athena said in a stern voice that shut them both up quite quickly. "Now, Mr. Potter, I believe it's your turn."

Coming over to stand where the others had stood, Harry looked slightly apprehensive, as Regulus raised his staff and cast the spell again.

As had happened the previous three times, Regulus' eyes drifted closed as dream-like visions of Harry's future began dancing through his head. Unlike with the others, however, Regulus found it very hard to concentrate on any of the images well enough to make out many details, as everything was blurred, as if he was watching the images from underwater. Thus, while he did make out Harry doing something particularly reckless that seemed like the right thing to do and turned out not to be, Regulus couldn't make out any real details that would give Harry context that he could use to avoid it.

He did, at least, manage to get the information he was most after, as he opened his eyes and said, "I saw you gaining four levels in your inheritance, Harry, which would place you at the Mage level on the power scale. With the added power from the blood ritual, you'll end up being a Magister."

Harry nodded and asked, "Did you see anything else?"

"It was actually very hard to tell," Regulus answered. "I don't know why, but all the images I saw of your future were very blurry and obscured, almost as if I was watching them play out from under water. So, I couldn't really make out much in the way of details, although I did see you doing something reckless that you thought was the right action, but it later turned out not to be. I'm afraid, however, that I can't give you any context of what exactly it is you did or what the consequences were. I can only warn you that perhaps you should temper your Gryffindor desire to jump in and act without a plan before it gets you into serious trouble in the future."

-o-0-o-

The next day, in the basement of Forest Cottage, Athena looked at the boys for a moment, before she said, "Its time, time to perform the blood ritual and for your training as mages to begin in earnest. Before now, we've laid the groundwork, teaching you some of the theory involved, as well as other important skills, such as Occlumency and Wandless Magic. However, you should know that once we perform the blood ritual, your real training will begin and you will not be allowed to leave this property unless your other trainers and I are confident that you will be able to control yourselves in public."

"You will be more powerful than you are currently," Emma said. "And sometimes that extra power can prove to be hard to control as your body tries to adjust to it. You may be prone to bouts of accidental magic and because your cores will be more powerful, the results of that magic may be more extreme than any bouts you may have had in the past. Do you all understand?"

Harry, Cedric, Terence, Roger, Gavin, and Oliver nodded their heads. It was at this point that Eudora spoke up. "Gavin, now is the time for you to make a choice. You need to decide now whether you will undergo the ritual with the others or if you will forego it. You are already a mage in your own right, so, unlike the others you don't actually need to undergo the ritual to become one."

"You still can do so," Rose continued. "If you do, you will be move up on the scale from Mage to Apprentice Magister. You also still have your inheritance to go through, come January, and if you gain five or six levels at that time, you could find yourself in the Magus range. As you'll all remember from your lessons, there hasn't been a recorded instance of someone entering the Magus range in many years and it's been over a millennium since anyone reached the level of Archmagus."

"You will not reach that level, of course," Athena said. "The maximum level you'd reach would be level twenty-seven or Magus. Three levels below the pinnacle, but still very powerful - more powerful than me and your other trainers. We will still be able to guide you, should that happen, as the teaching remains the same regardless of a student's power level, but you must remember, Gavin, that with great power comes great responsibility."

Athena paused here and then fixed all six of them with a stern look, as she added, "All of you need to remember that, even if you never reach the levels of power that Gavin may reach. There are many who would seek to abuse such power for their own selfish gains, but you must resist that temptation. Because if you give in to the lust for power, you will quickly find that you'll always want more and that no matter how much you acquire it won't feel like enough. It is the trap that many before you have fallen into - Voldemort and Grindelwald, just to name two of the most recent and memorable."

"Were they mages?" Harry asked.

"There are rumors about Voldemort," Rose answered. "Rumors that some people have seen him fly without the aid of a broom. The only way that I know of to perform such a feat is through the spells and skills learned by becoming a Force Mage. We've told you about a few of the mage specializations in the past and we'll cover them more when it's time for you to select one, but in a nutshell Force Mages work with the power of unseen force. They can create invisible barriers which will stop any object that hits it, push things or even people aside with a wave of their hand, and fly without a broom. Observe."

Rose lifted off the ground at this and moved her body into a position as if lying on her stomach and then flew a circle around the students and other trainers. The trainers weren't impressed, as they'd seen this ability several times over the years, but the looks of awe on the students faces was clearly visible. After a moment, Rose righted herself and gently touched down onto the floor in the same position she'd been in before her demonstration. "So, if the rumors are true then Voldemort is at least a level seventeen on the power scale and has received mage training, as there is no magic outside of the Force Mage specialization that would allow a person to do what I just did."

"As for Grindelwald," Athena said, "I've never heard any rumors that might suggest that he's a mage, but that doesn't mean that he isn't. It may be that he is, in fact, a mage and was simply very careful never to show it in public, so as to keep the upper hand."

"You're talking as if he's still alive," Oliver said. "I thought Grindelwald was dead."

"A very common misconception," Eudora stated. "It's widely known that Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald in a great duel in 1945, which was said by witnesses to have been by far the most impressive duel they'd ever seen. Many people who were not there however incorrectly take defeated to mean that Grindelwald died at the end of that duel, but he didn't. As far as I know, he's still very much alive today. You see after the duel, which ended in Grindelwald being disarmed, Dumbledore claimed his wand for himself and still uses it to this day. As for Grindelwald, he was taken into custody and in a rather ironic twist was imprisoned in the topmost tower cell of Nurmengard Prison - the prison that he built to house his own enemies."

"Didn't the Medjai officer in Nick's shop mention something about Grindelwald's wand?" Roger asked.

"Ah yes," Athena said. "Eudora told us about your encounter with the Egyptian royal bodyguards. What he'd mentioned was that Grindelwald was believed to possess what's known as the Elder Wand, the very same wand created by Death himself and given to Antioch Peverell, the eldest of three brothers. To those of you raised here in the wizarding world, that may sound familiar as the tale was the inspiration for The Tale of the Three Brothers by Beadle the Bard."

"I'll get you a copy of the book so you can read it, Harry," Emma said. "But suffice it to say, the Peverell brothers managed to cheat death by using their magic to pass a raging stream that nobody else had ever managed to cross alive. So, Death appeared to the brothers and granted them each a single boon. Antioch Peverell requested a wand more powerful than any wand in existence. According to the tale, Death fashioned a wand made from the branch of a nearby elder tree and gave it to Antioch, who soon afterward used it to kill another wizard with whom he'd had a quarrel. He then checked into an inn and consumed too much alcohol, all while bragging loudly about his new wand and how it made him invincible. After he passed out drunk, someone slit his throat and stole the wand."

"The wand has been known by many names over the years," Rose continued. "The Deathstick or the Wand of Destiny being just two of them, but all agree that it is the most powerful wand in existence, but that it's also very temperamental in who it will work for. It must be won in order for it to give its loyalty to anyone and a person who tried to use it without gaining its loyalty will find less than desirable results. After Antioch's killer the wand is said to have changed hands several times over its long history, until finally it wound up in the possession of famed wandmaker Wilhelm Gregorovitch, who wanted to study it so that he could learn its secrets and perhaps produce more like it."

Picking up the tale, Eudora said, "For many years it had been believed that the core of the Elder Wand was the tail hair of a thestral, as many believed that would make the most sense, since it was reportedly created by Death himself. However, after a few years of careful study, Gregorovitch released a statement that some have tried to bury over the years because they were afraid of the possible complications if it was true. You see he'd come to believe that the core was not from a thestral, as he'd fashioned several wands made from elder with thestral cores and none of them were as powerful as the Elder Wand. This led Gregorovitch to believe that there had been a misinterpretation and that the core was not thestral hair, but was in fact Thanatos hair."

"Thanatos hair?" Terence asked. "You mean Thanatos as in the Greek God of Death?"

"Indeed," Athena stated. "Gregorovitch, long famed as one of the most skilled wandmakers alive, believed that was the reason why he never managed to create a wand with the same power as the Elder Wand, even though he was allegedly using the same raw materials that had been used in the creation of the original. Whether his belief was true, however, I doubt any of us will ever know." Athena was silent for a moment, before shaking her head and adding, "Anyway, we've gone off on a tangent long enough. Mr. Wood - Gavin - your decision, please?"

Gavin looked a bit like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car for a moment, probably from being put on the spot, before he shook his head and said, "I want to do the blood ritual. I've thought about it and after not being able to do magic beyond first year for so long, I want to be able to learn and use as much of it as I can. It's not power that I'm after, but knowledge. Knowledge I want to use to protect my friends and family."

Athena nodded. "Very well, Mr. Wood, we will include you in the ritual. Now, this ritual is quite simple to actually perform, as the difficulty comes in preparing it, which your trainers and I have already done beforehand." Opening a box, Athena pulled out an ornate silver goblet and said, "This goblet has been specially charmed for use in this ritual and you'll actually be drinking from it. There's already a mix of various potions ingredients in it, but there are additional ingredients needed. Those ingredients couldn't be obtained without your presence, however, as they are seven drops of fresh blood from each of you, as well as seven drops of blood from myself and the other trainers."

"And since there's six of you," Emma said, "it's actually a good thing that Regulus and Asterion are here, as they'll be able to add their own blood to the goblet and we only have to perform the ritual once. The student to trainer blood ratio has to be equal and thus in years past when we trained groups larger than four, we had to prepare and perform the ritual multiple times in groups of four at a time."

Regulus and Asterion nodded, before Regulus said, "All right, one at a time, we're going to have you step forward and add your blood to the goblet. Your trainers, Asterion, and I will add our blood after you've all added yours. There's a chanted incantation said over the goblet once all the blood is in it and then you'll each be taking a small drink of the contents of the goblet. One of the charms on the goblet is one that will make sure you don't drink too much of it that there isn't enough left for the other students participating in the ritual, so, the cup will let you know when it's time for you to stop drinking."

"Another aspect of this ritual," Asterion said, as he spoke up for the first time, "is that once we've all added our blood to the goblet, the six of us - that is your trainers, my Dad, and I - will be chanting an incantation over the goblet with our staffs. The incantation is in Romanian, because the creators of the ritual were a group of very proud Romanian mages, who weaved magic into the ritual to prevent it from working if the incantation was said in anything but Romanian. In English, the incantation is roughly translated to, 'Spirits of Earth, Fire, Air and Water, we call on you! We ask that you please increase the magical power of those who drink this potion and bless them with the knowledge to judge correctly how to use their powers for the benefit of all.'"

Emma nodded and smiled at Asterion, before she said, "Now, when we call you forward, you will be given a specially charmed silver needle, which you will use to prick the pad of your wand hand's index finger. A drop of blood will appear on it, but you must keep your finger pad facing towards the ceiling, until such time you say the words, 'Sângele meu cu voie dat.' Roughly translated from Romanian that means, 'My blood willingly given.' You can then turn your finger over and let the drop of blood fall into the goblet. The charms on the needle you used to prick your finger will insure that exactly seven drops of blood will fall and then your finger will be healed."

"Blood magic is a very difficult and a sometimes dangerous branch of magic," Regulus explained. "It recognizes a clear difference between blood willingly given and blood that is forcibly taken. It varies by the ritual being performed which of those is required, but this particular ritual requires that the blood be willingly given, which is why you must state that you are willingly giving your blood. If you didn't, the ritual would assume that your blood was being forcibly taken and would do the exact opposite of what this ritual is meant to do. That is instead of increasing your power by four levels, it would decrease it, which would mean that you would never be able to train as mages, because the ritual can only be performed once either way."

"You might wonder why it can only be done once," Athena said, "and the answer to that is that the ritual will place a permanent mark on you. Now, this mark is invisible to the eye, but its effect is one that will prevent the ritual from ever working a second time. If you tried to perform it again after the first time, you would be knocked unconscious for twenty-four hours. That serves as your only warning to never attempt it again, because if you attempted it a third time, the ritual will give you irreversible amnesia and permanently block your magical core, thus essentially turning you into a muggle who won't remember anything about their life prior to the third attempt. Do you all understand?"

The six boys nodded their heads to indicate that they did understand, at which point Emma added, "According to the notes compiled by the creators of this ritual, three of them felt that the punishment for performing the ritual a third time should be death. That it would make your core go into critical overload and kill you by burning you alive from the inside out, similar to what happens if you break an Unbreakable Vow. However, as there were seven mages working on it, the other four overruled the three and in the end they worked out this compromise as the alternative."

"Now, before we proceed, I want all of you to practice saying what you need to say," Athena said, at which point the six students began to practice saying 'Sângele meu cu voie dat,' a few times over until the trainers, Regulus, and Asterion were confident that they were saying it correctly.

"Now, Mr. Potter, you're first," Eudora said, as Harry stepped forward and accepted the needle from her. Pricking his index finger, pad up, he held it over the goblet before he said in a clear voice, "Sângele meu cu voie dat," before he turned his finger over and watched as seven drops of blood fell into the clear liquid already in the goblet. Thin trails of red were visible for a moment, before there was a small burst of white light and the liquid resumed its previously clear appearance.

"You're next, Mr. Diggory," Eudora said, having already used a charm to clean the needle, before handing it over to Cedric, as he stepped forward and repeated what Harry had just done. Everything happened exactly as it had before, except seconds after the small burst of white light, there was a second larger burst of white light, as the entire goblet glowed bright white and then twin streams of white light shot out of it and straight into the hearts of Harry and Cedric, who suddenly felt themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. Unbeknownst to each other, of course, both of them had felt this feeling for awhile, but never to the degree that they did currently.

Moments later, the light died down, but Harry's and Cedric's arms and legs were locked together in a full-body hug that neither of them seemed to be capable of ending, no matter how much they tried. It was Cedric that managed to speak first as he asked, "What just happened?" Shortly after, Harry added, "Is this part of the ritual?"

Athena, Rose, Emma, and Eudora, however remained silent as they just stood there, their mouths agape. Never in the thirty plus years that they'd been training mages had they ever witnessed something even remotely similar to this and thus they had no idea what could have caused it. After a moment of silence, however, Regulus grinned and said, "No, this isn't a normal part of the ritual, but I suspect I know why it happened."

"Why?" Athena asked, as she turned to her former student, a clearly curious look on her face.

All eyes in the room were on Regulus as he said, "I suspect that Harry and Cedric are soul mates and that their blood intermingling in the ritual potion caused a reaction to reveal that fact."

"Soul mates?" Oliver asked. "What does that even mean?"

"There will be time for that explanation later," Asterion said. "Dad and I have books in our library on our island that will be useful in explaining it. So, we'll take you all there to explain, but first, let's continue with the ritual."

Emma nodded and said, "Well, then, let us continue. Eudora?"

With a nod of her own, Eudora said, "Mr. Wood - Oliver, you're next."

Stepping forward, Oliver pricked his finger and added his own blood to the goblet, before Gavin did the same thing, followed by Roger. It was then Terence's turn, as he took the needle, pricked his finger and said, "Sângele meu cu voie dat," before turning his finger over and allowing seven drops of blood to fall into the goblet. As had happened before, swirls of red appeared in the liquid inside of the goblet for a moment, before the now familiar small burst of white light turned it clear.

As Terence was stepping backward away from the goblet, however, there was a second bright burst of white light, as twin beams of light shot out of the goblet for the second time, only this time it was directly into the hearts of Terence and Roger, as the two of them soon found themselves in the same position as Harry and Cedric, locked together in a full-body hug that neither of them could extricate themselves from. It was if some powerful force was holding the two pairs of young men flush together so that as much as much of their bodies as possible were touching.

Oliver looked furious at this and turned around, obviously intent on storming out of the room, but before he could take more than a few steps, Athena raised her staff at him and said, "Locomotor mortis!" Still within arms' length of his brother, Gavin placed a steadying hand on Oliver's shoulder so that his legs suddenly locking together wouldn't cause him to fall flat on his face.

"Oliver, I understand that you are upset," Regulus said. "However, you've started the ritual and you must complete it. Also without going into too many details at the moment, as I said I'll explain later on the island, being soul mates does not necessarily denote a romantic connection. There are some soul mates who choose to remain friends only."

Oliver's clearly angry countenance deflated at that and he nodded, at which point Athena ended the Leg-Locker Jinx she'd placed on him and he came back over to the group. He couldn't, however, resist saying, "Roger, could you please let go of my boyfriend?"

"I would if I could, Oliver," Roger said. "Believe me I've tried but I can't seem to move my arms or legs - it's like they're frozen in place."

"Yeah, same here," Terence said. "I can't even move my head," which was currently turned to the side, so that one entire side of his face was flush against the side of Roger's face. Harry and Cedric, were in the same position and reported that they had the same problem.

Looking at Regulus, Emma asked, "Will this wear off naturally? Or can we use a spell to separate them?"

Regulus sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. As I said, I suspect that this is because they're soul mates, as it only happened after Cedric's blood was added to the goblet along with Harry's. And then again when Terence's was added, after Roger's. The fact that the twin beams of light hit them and they're now locked in embraces certainly means something and that's the only thing I can think of. Asterion?"

Asterion nodded and said, "I'd have to agree, as it's the only thing that I can think of that would make any sense. I do not, however, know if it will wear off naturally or if it'll require magic."

"Well, could you try magic?" Roger asked. "Because I like Terence and all, but only as a friend, and this forced hugging thing is getting old very quickly." Of course, what he didn't say, because as a straight guy, it both confused and scared him, but he could feel Terence's hard on pressing against him and knew that despite the fact that he'd never looked at Terence or any guy in a sexual way, he was also painfully hard.

Raising his staff, Regulus pointed it at Roger and Terence and said, "Finite Incantatum."

"That didn't work," Terence said, as he tried once again and failed to move away from Roger.

"Alright, something a bit more powerful then," Regulus said, as he placed both hands on his staff and hit the floor with the bottom end of it as he said, "Negatio Agri!" Almost immediately, waves of magic began pouring off of Regulus, moving around the room in waves and washing over every person present. The four trainers quickly turned away from their students and pulled the hoods of their cloaks over their heads which cast dark shadows over their faces as they felt the Glamour Charms they'd applied wearing off as they were negated by Regulus' spell.

Regulus had the grace to look sheepish as he said, "Sorry, I forgot about your glamours."

"Obviously," Eudora said, before she clamped a hand over her mouth, realizing too late that it wasn't only her glamours that had been negated but also the spell that she'd used to change her voice.

As the two hugging pairs finally found themselves able to let go of each other, Cedric said, "I recognize that voice," as all of the others, except for Gavin, Asterion, and the trainers, nodded to indicate that they did as well. With a grin, Cedric added, "Eudora Douglas, or should I say Pomona Sprout?"

With a sigh, Eudora lowered her hood to reveal that she was, in fact, the head of Hufflepuff House and Professor of Herbology, Pomona Sprout. "You've caught me. Not exactly the way I planned on revealing myself, but I suppose it's too late to do anything about it now." Turning to Regulus, she said, "Now that they've let go of each other, don't you think it's time you stopped the negation field?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Regulus said as he stopped the spell and the three trainers whose faces were still covered by hoods quickly and silently recast the glamours they'd been wearing, along with the spells to change their voices, before lowering their hoods and turning back to face their students.

Giving Regulus a stern look, Emma said, "You know Regulus, you're lucky that the negation field you just cast only dispels magical effects on living beings, and not inanimate objects, such as the ritual goblet, or I'd have to be very cross with you right now. And I think you know that you wouldn't enjoy that."

Regulus gulped, as he nodded in agreement, but otherwise remained quiet in an attempt to not earn the ire of his former trainer. He had firsthand experience with it and it was something that he never wanted to experience ever again if he could help it.

"Now, for our blood," Athena said, as she pricked her own finger and repeated what each of her students had done. Emma, Rose, Pomona, Regulus, and finally Asterion went next, before the six of them held the tops of their staffs over the goblet and incanted, "Spirite ale Pământului, Focului, Aerului și Apei, facem apel la voi! Vă rugăm frumos să măriți puterea magică a celor care beau această poțiune și să-i binecuvântați cu cunoștințe de a judeca corect cum să își folosească puterile pentru beneficiul tuturor."

The stones at the top of the six mage staffs glowed brightly, as magic streamed from them and into the goblet beneath them. A moment later, the whole goblet was surrounded in auras of earthy brown, fiery red, misty grey, and watery blue which got progressively brighter for a few seconds, before disappearing. As the trainers, Regulus, and Asterion turned back to the students, Athena said, "Mr. Higgs, take the goblet and drink from it. You will know when it's time to stop, at which point you will hand it to Mr. Davies to drink from. I ask that all of you drink from the goblet in the opposite order you put your blood in it."

Terence nodded and took a deep breath before he stepped forward and grasped the goblet in his hands, before raising it to his lips and drinking the liquid inside. He was pleasantly surprised to note that this potion didn't taste as horridly bad as most potions he was used to. In fact, it tasted like the purest and most refreshing water he'd ever drank and he almost hated to take the goblet away from his lips when he felt the sensation that it was time for him to stop drinking. Handing the goblet over to Roger, the Ravenclaw brought it up to his own lips, only for him, instead of tasting like the purest and most refreshing water he'd ever tasted, it tasted like he was drinking in the cleanest air that he could remember coming into contact with.

When Oliver drank from the goblet, it tasted the same as it had for Roger, since their magic both resonated with the Air element, while for Gavin it tasted the same as it had for Terence. Feeling it was time to stop drinking, Gavin handed the goblet over to Cedric who brought it to his lips. Cedric immediately felt like he was drinking liquid dirt, but surprisingly it didn't taste as bad as he would have thought it would. Handing the goblet off to Harry after a few moments, the Gryffindor brought the goblet up to his lips and drank the last few swallows of liquid that remained inside it. For Harry, it was like he was drinking liquid fire and his whole body was overcome with a pleasantly warm feeling unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

Athena took the empty goblet from Harry when he'd finished and within seconds all six of the student mages were enveloped in a bright aura, the color of which corresponded to the element that their magic resonated with. The auras got increasingly more brilliant, eventually forcing everyone to shield their eyes, until finally they began to die down and finally disappear. Each of them could feel the power coursing through their veins to a greater degree than they ever had in the past. Terence and Oliver, already having gone through their magical inheritances, were immediately familiar with the sensation having experienced something similar shortly after their inheritances had ended.

Cedric was just about to comment on the feeling, when suddenly Harry swayed on his feet for a moment before collapsing in a dead faint. He simply lay there motionless for a few moments, before suddenly his whole body began shaking. It was more like shivering at first, but it was getting progressively stronger, as the students looked on with concerned looks on their faces. Cedric asked, "What's wrong with him?"

Athena's eyes widened as she recognized what was happening at the same time that Regulus, Asterion, and the other trainers did. "Bind his legs and arms and cast the charm to make sure he doesn't bite his tongue," as all the trainers jumped into action to follow Athena's orders. Turning to the other students, Athena said, "This seems to be a day of firsts that I've never seen while performing this ritual. First there was the apparent soul mate pairings and now this."

"What's now this?" Gavin asked.

"It would appear that the ritual has triggered Harry's inheritance," Regulus said, in a clearly awestruck tone. "Three years early."

As Regulus spoke, Harry's whole body arched up from the floor, as his head rolled violently from side to side. With his arms and legs bound, they weren't swinging around, but they were still shaking quite a bit, as the raven-haired teenager's entire body was wracked with extremely powerful convulsions. Pomona kneeled next to Harry's head and conjured a pillow which she managed to slip under his head as it momentarily lifted up from the stone floor of the classroom that they'd performed the ritual in.

Cedric, Gavin, and Roger, who had yet to undergo their own inheritances looked on with varying degrees of shock and a bit of fear for the future as Harry continued to shake violently. After nearly twenty minutes, Harry's convulsions finally started to slow, although it was another ten minutes before he lay perfectly still. His eyes, however, did not open, although he was clearly still alive, as he was gasping in large mouthfuls of air, obviously having been very tired out from the strain his body had just undergone.

When it appeared he'd finally gotten enough air back into his system for it to function properly, Harry's eyes fluttered open, although they shut quickly, at which point Athena mumbled "Nox!" as all the lights in the room turned off. Regulus then summoned a ball of soft white light with his staff which was significantly duller in brightness than the lights in the classroom previously had been. Apparently sensing the change in brightness, Harry risked opening his eyes a second time and this time they remained open, as he simply blinked a few times, before he asked in a soft and shaky voice, "What happened?"

"I've never seen the like of it in my over sixty years of training mages," Emma said. "So, I'm unsure how or why it happened, Mr. Potter, but the ritual seems to have triggered your magical inheritance three years ahead of schedule."

"How do you feel, Harry?" Cedric asked. He was very curious how Harry felt following that, because in exactly thirteen days it would be Cedric's seventeenth birthday, which meant he'd be undergoing his own magical inheritance.

Harry groaned and said, "I feel like I was just hit by the Hogwarts Express and thrown a hundred feet through the air only to land on a bed of red hot coals."

Placing a hand on Harry's forehead, Pomona said, "He's burning up," which spurred Rose into action, as she cast a fever-reducing charm on Harry and began monitoring his vital signs.

"I suspect the reason for the fever is twofold," Rose said after a moment. "For one, Harry's magic resonates with fire and secondly, on top of the blood ritual increase of four levels, he's just had the maximum inheritance."

"The maximum inheritance?" Roger asked. "That's six levels, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is, Roger," Asterion said. "Which means that Harry has just gone up ten levels on the power scale from Master Sorcerer to Master Magister."

Unnoticed by anyone else in the room, as their eyes were focused on Harry, Asterion shared a look with his father at this. Regulus nodded his head at his son, as they had a silent conversation with no words spoken between them. They both knew what this could end up meaning and it was something that neither of them had expected to happen going into the ritual. It was, in fact, something that neither of them had ever expected to happen in their lifetimes, let alone something that they'd witness firsthand.

A minute or so later, Athena cleared her throat and said, "Let's get Mr. Potter up to his room so that he can rest for a few hours. I know you're all curious about the explanation regarding soul mates, but after this most recent unexpected turn of events, I think it would be for the best if we gave Mr. Potter some time to rest before journeying to Regulus and Asterion's island."

"Why do we even have to go to their island?" Oliver asked. "I don't see why they can't just explain everything right here."

"The reason, Oliver," Regulus answered, "is because we have a book on soul mate bonds in the library of our island home which will be extremely useful in explaining everything to you. However, I would be very uncomfortable with the idea of removing the book from the library, even if it was to transport it here to Forest Cottage."

"Why?" Gavin asked.

It was Asterion who answered. "Because the book in question is one that Dad and I have mentioned before. It's the book we found on our trip down to the Falkland Islands, the one that was jointly written by King Arthur and Merlin. Being that it's the only copy in existence, barring the possibility of the original being locked up in either the Pendragon or Emrys vaults at Gringotts, we take protecting that particular volume and its contents very seriously."

Regulus nodded and added, "Indeed it is easily the rarest and most expensive tome in our collection. It hasn't left the confines of the protection wards around our library since the day we brought it home, just over six years ago now and I see no reason to change that."

-o-0-o-

As per usual since the fourth of June, 1945, one of the jailers at Nurmengard Prison made the once a month long trek up to the topmost tower cell, with four large trays of magically preserved food levitating behind him, with each tray piled high with enough food and drink to last one week each. Tying a scarf around his face to cover his nose, he unlocked and opened the cell door and quickly vanished the contents of the chamber pot, before casting a few air freshening charms. Walking further into the room, he noticed that once again half the food that had been brought up last month was untouched.

Kicking the foot of the prisoner, the jailer said, "Wake up you old fool."

When the prisoner awoke, the jailer motioned towards the uneaten food delivered last month and asked, "Why haven't you been eating all your food?"

Coughing and wheezing, the prisoner struggled to speak, his voice tired from disuse, as he said, "I'm allergic to..." cough "...what I haven't..." cough "...eaten," the last word being choked out with obvious difficulty.

The jailer just shook his head and said, "Going senile in your old age are you? We supply you with all your established favorite foods - probably more of a courtesy than a person like you deserves - and now you don't eat half of it and say you're allergic? An ungrateful bastard is what you are. If it were up to me, we'd stop bringing any food up here until you'd eaten everything we brought you, but luckily for you it isn't up to me."

"I'm the King!" the prisoner exclaimed, with some difficulty, although the chance to rest his tired and disused voice during the jailer's tirade had helped.

The jailer rolled his eyes at this and said, "Oh not that again, you senile old fool. I know you liked to say you were the King during your reign of terror over Europe, but get this through that thick, old head of yours: you were defeated, Grindelwald, and you were never a King, no matter what your delusions of grandeur made you believe."

With that, the jailer turned on his heel and strode to the door. Just before he closed the door, he said, "Do everybody here a favor and be dead when I come up here next month. The fact that you're still alive after all these years is a sick joke to those of us whose relatives you ruthlessly murdered, you old jackass."

The man on the floor whimpered and cried out, "I'm the King!" as the cell door slammed shut and he could hear the tumblers moving back into place. In years past, he might have gone over to the door and pounded upon it, screaming at the top of his lungs and begging to be let out, but he knew from experience that it wouldn't do any good. The prisoner sighed in resignation, wondering if this torturous existence that he was forced to endure would ever come to an end.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Part One of Chapter Eleven of 'The Journey Begins'. I hope you've enjoyed this return to Forest Cottage and the mage training in the form of the Blood Ritual. So, any thoughts on the chapter as a whole? For example, what do you think of the possibility of Soul Mate pairings? Not to mention Harry's inheritance being triggered early? Something caused it, but what? And of course, we have the scene at the end of this part of the chapter... Stay tuned for Part Two, in which at least some of these issues will be covered further, as the trainers and students accompany Regulus and Asterion to Black Island.
> 
> Questions, comments, suggestions? Feel free to contact me via review, email, my Yahoo group, or Twitter. I love hearing from my readers. Also, if you're reading this on FFNet, don't ask me questions you want an answer to in anonymous guest reviews or signed reviews when you've turned off the private messaging feature, because I can't respond to anonymous reviews or to people who I can't PM. I know some authors put review responses in the text of their chapters, but that is one of my biggest pet peeves and I will never, ever even consider doing it, as I've actually stopped reading stories that I otherwise enjoyed because of it.


	15. Chapter 11, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Eleven  
Part Two

-o-0-o-

A few hours later, after Rose deemed Harry rested enough from his inheritance that he could safely travel, the six mage students, the four trainers, and Regulus and Asterion arrived on the beach of an island. Harry wasn't exactly sure what he'd been expecting the island to look like, but due to its location several miles northwest of Azkaban in the far northern seas, he had not expected the white sand beach, dense jungle, or tropical temperature. Seeing the look on not only Harry's face but on several of the other's, Asterion grinned and said, "What can I say? Magic can do some truly wonderful things, especially when its mage level. Including making a normally freezing and desolate rock into a tropical paradise."

Ushering everyone to follow his father, who had started walking inland, Asterion brought up the rear as the group left the beach and entered the jungle. The foliage was dense and there was only the narrowest of paths for them to walk on, so they were walking single file, many of them with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them simply because the ground wasn't perfectly flat. Finally, after about five minutes of walking, they reached a small clearing, but there was still no sign of any sort of habitation. Just more plants and a large rock. Thus everyone was more than a little curious when Regulus summoned his staff and drove the bladed end of it into the rock at a forty-five degree angle.

"What's he doing?" Cedric asked.

"You'll see," Asterion said. "Everyone please move as close to the edge of the clearing as you can.

Once everyone had done as the younger Black asked, he nodded to his father and Regulus in turn grasped the center of his staff and much to everyone's shock moved it in the rock as if it was a giant lever. Not long after this, there was a rumble of what sounded like gears turning and finally four small holes opened in the ground, as jets of steam shot upward. Before anyone could comment on that, however, copper-colored metal tracks rose up from the holes the steam had come out of and began moving upwards. Harry and the others tried to track their progress as they moved higher and higher, but soon lost sight of them in the thick jungle canopy.

When the tracks finally stopped moving, Regulus removed his staff from the rock and inserted the blade into a slot on the track nearest the rock and once again moved it like it was a lever. More gears could be heard rumbling to life, as well as the calls of some of the jungle wildlife who had decided to protest the sudden racket with some of their own. Not long after this, everyone heard rustling in the leaves above them and they looked up, shocked when moments later they saw a large copper-colored platform descending from above. As it continued its descent it soon become evident it wasn't a platform, but a box. Harry and Roger, being familiar with the muggle world, recognized its shape immediately. Cedric also recognized it for what it was once it got far enough down for him to see the scrollwork gate.

"A lift?" Harry asked. "Where does it go?"

"To our house, of course," Asterion answered.

"Your house?" Cedric asked. "You mean up there in the trees?"

Regulus nodded, as he opened the scrollwork gate. "Indeed, Cedric. It's a tree house - a very large tree house, as you'll see." Ushering with his hand, he added, "Everyone in please."

Unsurprisingly, the inside of the lift was larger than its outward appearance would suggest and thus the group had no trouble fitting inside of it nor did they feel like they were packed in like sardines. Once everyone was in, Regulus pulled the gate shut and Asterion summoned his staff, placing it in a slot in the floor and moving it like a lever just like his father had.

"Interesting uses of your staffs," Athena commented.

Regulus grinned. "Well, it's our security system. Even though the entire island is under the Fidelius, Unplottable, and just about every other security spell one can think of, we've opted for further security by using these staff slots. They obviously act as levers to activate the gear mechanisms that control the lift and other things on the island. And as further security, the slots will only work for Asterion's and my staffs. So, even those of you who have staffs, unless we keyed you into the security system, your staffs wouldn't even fit in the slots."

As the lift began its ascent, Oliver asked, "So, this entire island is powered by mage-level magic?"

Asterion shook his head. "Actually no, it isn't. There is plenty of magic weaved into the security systems, but the most basic systems like the gears that operate the lift are actually powered by pressurized steam. The muggles would call it steampunk technology. They never seriously used such technology on a wide scale, but it is a fairly popular element in some muggle fiction stories. Steampunk is basically a means of achieving the modern-day technological advances of their world, with steam as the power source and is usually set in the Victorian era."

"The Victorian era?" Gavin asked.

"1837 to 1901," Regulus answered. "Which were the years between which the muggle Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire, which of course includes the muggle sections of Albion. Of course, what the muggles called the British Empire is called the Empire of Camelot in the wizarding world and is actually still intact, unlike its muggle counterpart."

Having attended a muggle primary school until he started at Hogwarts, Harry had done some reading on the British Empire in history class and thus found himself asking, "Still intact?"

Asterion nodded. "Indeed. The muggle British Empire transformed into the British Commonwealth years ago, but that was not repeated in the wizarding world. I suppose one could also consider it further justification for King Edward to have an imperial title, because as King of Albion and Iwernia, he's also the Emperor of the Empire of Camelot. Which includes part of northern France, India, several island chains all over the globe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and even the original thirteen British colonies in America."

"America?" Harry asked. "The United States doesn't have their own magical government?"

Regulus shook his head in a negative gesture. "No, Harry, they don't. The United States is an entirely Muggle creation. The wizarding populace of the continent continue to recognize much older borders, so, it's split up between The Empire of Camelot, the French Empire, the Spanish and Portuguese Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia. Camelot is, of course, ruled by the Pendragon Dynasty, where as magical branches of the Bourbon, Hapsburg, and Romanov families rule in France, Spain-Portugal, and Russia."

Nothing more was said as the lift came to a stop and Regulus pulled the gate open. As everyone disembarked from the lift, they found themselves standing on a platform high up in the trees and thus were surrounded on all sides by leaves and branches dense enough that the ground was no longer visible. Straight ahead was a two story Queen Anne Victorian styled building, with a three-story turret in one corner and surrounded by a verandah. The building itself was covered in white clapboard siding, with green scalloped siding in the eaves of the building. The verandah was surrounded by a green and white railing, with numerous burnished copper accents, which were repeated throughout in the house's trim and decorative detailing.

As the group moved closer, it became apparent that there were no traces of the corrosion one might expect to see on copper that had been exposed to the elements for any length of time, particularly this close to the sea. Athena commented on this fact, which prompted Regulus to nod and say, "Yes, the copper is all protected by a stasis field which prevents corrosion and keeps it looking just as pristine and new as it was when I first built this place."

Arriving at the front door, everyone immediately noticed that there were two key holes on the door and Harry couldn't help but think that it reminded him of the door into the dungeons at Seacliff. Thus, he really wasn't surprised when both Regulus and Asterion pulled a key ring out of their pockets and inserted keys into the two locks at the same time. Noticing the confused looks on some faces, but not on Harry's, Asterion grinned and said, "I suppose Harry has seen this type of lock at Seacliff, but for the rest of you who haven't, its charmed so that two keys have to be inserted and turned at the same time in order for the tumblers to move and unlock the door. If only one key is used the lock freezes up and won't open for at least an hour."

Regulus nodded and said, "Yes, that's just one of the many security features that we've employed here. Some of the higher-security doors are operated much the same way as the lift we used to get up here, with only Asterion's and my mage staff being able to open them. The compound is also spread out across ten different platforms, with various rooms contained in separate houses. Some of the platforms are connected via escalators which are charmed so that they won't allow a person who isn't keyed into the wards to even step onto them, while others are connected with lifts similar to the one we just got off of, and still some others are connected via small monorail-style cars. All powered by pressurized steam, of course."

"We also have Anti-Apparition wards surrounding the entire compound," Asterion explained. "Along with Anti-Portkey wards, and Anti-Flashing wards which prevent certain magical creatures, like phoenixes, who have an inborn teleportation ability from entering the warded areas. We've even managed to prevent shadow travel as you will notice that every area is lit in a way that prevents the creation of shadows. That does mean, of course, that one has to wear a blindfold at night in order to sleep, because none of the rooms ever get dark enough to allow shadows to form."

"An ingenious method," Emma said. "I've never thought of preventing shadows from forming in order to block shadow travel. Of course, as a Shadow Mage myself, I'm in tune with the shadows and tend to have enough advance warning of a person attempting to shadow travel near me that I can manipulate the shadows to prevent it."

Asterion nodded and said, "I'm a Shadow Mage too, but I haven't mastered that ability yet."

Emma laughed. "I'm not surprised, young man. It took me fifteen years to successfully do it the first time and then another twenty before I could do it reliably. I'd be quite shocked and jealous if a seventeen-year-old had already mastered it."

The conversation about the compound's security had delayed Regulus from opening the front door, but now he did so, before standing aside and ushering everyone inside. Entering the house, the group found themselves in a large room with rich cherry wood floors, covered in exquisitely detailed Oriental rugs. The walls had cherry wood wainscoting from the floor up to a burnished copper chair rail. Above that were alternating sections containing gleaming copper plate, windows covered in green and silver floral-print draperies, and large painted murals depicting numerous famous landmarks from around the world - the Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, the Hanging Gardens, and the Taj Mahal, just to name a few.

The furniture was all in the Victorian style with the sofas and chairs featuring richly detailed green brocade cushions and rich mahogany wood. The coffee table, end tables, and a large desk in one corner were all made of cherry wood, with copper accents, and a pair of rosewood bookcases flanked a large fireplace with a rosewood mantle, with a large mirror above it. Copper lamps with intricate stained glass shades insured that the entire room was bathed in a rich almost golden light which prevented the formation of shadows anywhere in the room. There were also numerous exotic plants in planters throughout the room, along with a rosewood gramophone with a burnished copper horn, a large globe, and a few white marble busts of famous wizards on mahogany pedestals.

Directly across from the fireplace there was also a wall of solid copper which had water cascading down from the ceiling into a basin on the floor, providing a soft, tranquil background noise. Two archways of copper-banded cherry wood led off this main room to other rooms, although only Regulus and Asterion knew where they actually went. All in all, the room was a truly spectacular place that spoke of a level of wealth and privilege comparable to what could be seen at many of the noble estates around Albion and Iwernia. However, the room also had a distinctly homey feeling to it, which suggested people actually lived there - something that some of the noble estates lacked, as they looked more like museums.

Breaking the silence, Cedric said, "This place is amazing."

Several heads nodded in agreement at this, as Regulus and Asterion smiled and the former said, "Thank you. Anyway, I suppose we should be getting to the library where that book is kept as I'm sure you're all quite interested to learn more about soul mate bonds. If you'll just follow me?"

At this, Regulus led the group through one of the archways into a hallway, the floors and walls of which looked much the same as the room they'd just left. Golden wall sconces with stained-glass shades were placed at equal distances down the length of the hallway, with wizard portraits lining the walls between them. There were also a few doors that led off the hallway and a large pair of double doors at the end, which seemed to be where Regulus was leading them. Gesturing towards the portraits, Asterion said, "The ones on the right wall are some of my McKinnon ancestors and the ones on the left are the more tolerable members of the Black family, who were not pureblood fanatics."

Reaching the double doors at the end of the hallway, Asterion joined his father as they once again placed two keys in the dual locks on the door, before pushing the double doors open and ushering everyone into the small square room beyond. This room, while brightly lit, was lacking in the decor of the main room and the hallway, but it quickly became apparent why that was when Regulus summoned his staff and inserted it into a slot on the floor near the doors. Large gears and pistons on the wall opposite the doors came to life at this point and a moment later the other two walls in the room slid open to reveal a view of the outside, as burnished copper tracks rose up out of the floor.

A moment later, a whistle blew and a steam-powered monorail-style train car became visible as it turned a corner outside and entered the room, coming to a stop in the center of the room a few moments later. As the doors slid open with a hiss of steam, Asterion grinned and said, "All aboard. The library is on a different platform than this section of the house. It's one of the highest security rooms we have and thus requires my dad's or my mage staffs be used in order to open the way to it."

Once everyone was on board, Regulus inserted his staff into a slot in the floor of the train car, which caused the doors to slide closed. Pushing a couple of buttons on a console near where his staff was standing upright in the floor, the whistle blew again and everyone spread out a bit, gripping the copper handrails which lined the walls of the car. Assuming correctly that the car would be going outside, however, they faced the walls, which were all made of glass. The car was soon on the move again, exiting the room through the opposite wall it had entered through, the walls sliding closed again once the car had left the room.

Looking out the windows of the car as it moved along the glowing copper tracks, there was quite a bit of green foliage to see and not much else. However, after a few moments, Harry did catch sight of a few brilliantly colored parrots which he pointed out to Cedric. On the other side of the car, Gavin and Oliver spotted some monkeys sitting on a tree limb, as another swung from one tree to another on a large vine. Watching the group watch the animals, Asterion smiled and said, "Some of the species that call this island home don't exist anywhere else in the world, as they've been driven into extinction. Through magic and potions, however, we've managed to bring some of them back. We have a flock of dodo birds for example, which have been extinct since the early 1660's."

"And before anyone asks," Regulus said, "no, we haven't brought any dinosaurs back from extinction, so this island isn't a real-world Jurassic Park. None of the animals here are native to this region of the world, but with magic we have created suitable habitats for them. We chose not to populate the island with dangerous animals that would eat people, however, hence no carnivorous dinosaurs. Asterion and I have considered possibly attempting to bring some of the smaller herbivorous dinosaurs out of extinction, just to see if we could do it, but we haven't gotten around to doing that yet."

"Jurassic Park?" Cedric asked, confusion clear in his voice. "What's that?"

"It's a film that was released last year," Harry answered.

"What's a film?" Gavin asked.

"A form of Muggle entertainment," Roger answered. "Sort of like the moving pictures here in the wizarding world, only they're projected onto a screen and there's music and the people in the pictures can talk. Only with each other, however, as they don't interact with the audience."

"So, like the television box in Athena's living room?" Terence asked.

Athena nodded and said, "Indeed, Mr. Higgs, only the screens that muggle films are shown on are generally much larger than a television screen."

"Maybe we'll do a movie night on the 16th," Pomona said. "It can be part of the festivities when we celebrate your birthdays, Terence and Cedric." After a moment, she added, "And movies are another name for films, if you were wondering."

Regulus smiled and said, "You know it'll probably be nearing dinner time before the explanation of soul mates and bonding is finished. Asterion and I do have a private screening room here, which is where films are shown. So, being Sunday anyway, the boys could see one or two before bed tonight, especially if we spend the night here. There's plenty of bedrooms and we could all go back to Forest Cottage for the boys' classes after breakfast in the morning."

Seeing the hopeful looks on her pupils' faces, Athena sighed and said, "Fine, I'll allow it."

This prompted several cheers from the boys, especially those who were unfamiliar with films, because in their time at Forest Cottage, they'd all become acquainted with television and looked forward to seeing what a film was like.

Looking over at Asterion and Regulus, Athena added, "I will, however, have to let Barin know somehow, so that he doesn't cook dinner or breakfast in the morning."

Asterion nodded and said, "The wards that prevent phoenix flashing also prevent house-elves from being able to get into the warded area, so while you could call for him, he wouldn't be able to get past the wards. I think Dad can handle the explanations on soul mates though, so, once we get to the library platform, I'll go back and handle things with Barin."

"That'll work," Regulus agreed, although after a moment, he said, "Maybe, bring him back here with you, Asterion." Looking at the others, he said, "Asterion and I don't have any house-elves here, so, we take turns cooking, but neither of us is used to cooking for twelve people. So, it would be helpful to set Barin to work in the kitchen here."

"Good point," Asterion agreed. "Barin is also a much better cook than me or Dad. That's not to say we can't cook, because our food is passable, and we're both still alive, so we obviously didn't poison ourselves, but I have to admit that Barin's is much better."

-o-0-o-

When the train car came to a stop, everyone except Asterion got out on the platform. The blond-haired Black waved, before the car departed back the way it came, at which point everyone turned to look at the new building that was before them. This one was built in the Italianate Victorian style with pale blue clapboard siding with copper-banded white trim. Leading the group up to the house, Regulus said, "We don't use a dual-lock on these doors simply because it's impossible to get to them without first passing through the two dual-lock doors on the main house. Not to mention the mage staff controlled monorail car, so, Asterion and I figured that a dual-lock here would be overkill."

"How would you get past the dual-locks if only one of you was on the island?" Harry asked.

"The keys can be used by only one person," Regulus explained. "However, they have to be keyed into the blood wards that surround the compound in order to use both. As of right now, only Asterion and I are keyed into those wards and thus, we're the only ones who can use the keys. Even with both of us here and inserting one key each, the blood wards still factor in. None of you could take Asterion's keys and insert it into a lock with me because you're not keyed into the wards."

"Couldn't someone climb up the tree that this platform is in?" Oliver asked.

Regulus grinned, "Perhaps, if you can first find a way to get to the tree." At the confused looks, he added, "The trunk of this particular tree is situated on a small island in the middle of one of the hot springs which provides the water that we use to make the pressurized steam that many of the mechanical elements of the compound run on. The water in that particular spring is charmed to maintain a constant temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit, which would seriously burn flesh with only about one and a half seconds of exposure. The island the trunk is on is surrounded by forty feet of water in every direction and thus it's unlikely you'd be able to jump over it and you certainly can't swim through it, as there's also a charm on the water which will strip away any form of heat protection spell."

“What about flying across the water on a broom?” Harry asked.

“Not advisable,” Regulus answered. “The tree itself is charmed to protect against broom riders and those using Force Mage techniques, as a few of the smaller tree limbs will move to intercept you and swat you away, most likely in a direction that’ll make you fall into the water, so, as I said, not advisable.”

"I take it the Anti-Apparition wards prevent you from Apparating across the water?" Pomona asked.

Regulus nodded. "Indeed they do. The entire island is covered in the Anti-Apparition, Anti-Portkey and Anti-Flashing wards. Only a small ten foot by ten foot opening on the beach isn't covered, so that we can get to the island itself, but that's why we had to walk inland to get to the lift that brought us up to the first platform. We don't keep the entire island illuminated around the clock, so, a Shadow Mage could shadow travel further onto the island, but the entire compound up here in the trees is continuously lit to prevent shadows, so, even if you do shadow travel to the ground below, you'd still have to use the lift to get up here."

"So could I shadow travel across the water to the island this tree is on?" Emma asked.

"No, you couldn't," Regulus said. "We do keep some areas of the ground lit and the ground around the base of the tree is one of them, so there are no shadows to travel to at the base of the tree or anywhere along its length. Anyway, let's get inside, shall we?"

Entering the house, the group found themselves in another large room with maple hardwood floors covered again in intricate Oriental rugs. The walls of the room, however, were painted a pale green above the copper chair rail, with a palm leaf design painted below it. The furniture was also in the Victorian style, but with lighter colored woods and upholstered in shades of light blue and green. Potted ferns and other greenery were spread out through the room, along with brass light fixtures with green silk shades affixed to the walls.

Another gramophone rested in a corner of the room, with a large grandfather clock occupying the opposite corner. Pale blue silk draperies with white sheers covered the windows. A burnished copper spiral staircase led up to an upper floor of the building and there were a few bookcases scattered around the room, but not nearly as many as one might expect to find in a library. This prompted Cedric to comment, "Doesn't really seem to be that many books in here to be called a library."

"That's because this isn't the library," Regulus said. "The actual library is on the second floor. This is the reading room, which is where I'll be explaining things to you. If you'll all just make yourselves comfortable, I'll go upstairs and retrieve that book, which is in the library's vault. The library and the vault are two of the highest security rooms in the compound and thus none of you would be able to enter them without first being keyed into the blood wards." Walking across the room to the stairs, Regulus began walking up, as he said, "I'll only be a few moments."

Doing as they were told, the six boys and their trainers took seats around the room as they awaited Regulus' return. True to his word, he was back quickly, carrying with him a large leather-bound book. It didn't look like it could possibly be over a thousand years old, which it would have to be in order to have been written by Merlin and Arthur, but then it stood to reason that it was protected by preservation charms and thus wouldn't show its true age. Sitting down in an armchair near the black cast-iron wood stove that heated the room, Regulus set the book on his lap and said, "Now, let's begin."

Regulus cleared his throat and said, "First things first, I want to clear up a few common misconceptions. One of the biggest being that soul mates are always in a romantic relationship. This is simply not true, as there are many recorded instances of soul mates who chose to remain only very good friends. More so in the muggle world, but also here in the wizarding world, there are people who refer to the love of their life as their soul mate and I suspect that's where this particular misconception originated from. You must understand, however, that simply calling someone your soul mate doesn't mean that they actually are."

As several heads around the room nodded, Regulus continued. "Now, what does it mean to actually find your soul mate? It depends on who you ask, but the origin that Arthur and Merlin believed and focused on in their book, is that some ancient cultures believed that several millennia ago, all beings were physically and spiritually joined to one another in pairs. However, they angered the gods and were thus split down the middle, both body and soul."

"So, soul mates share half of the same soul?" Roger asked, as he glanced over at Terence.

Regulus nodded and said, "Yes, Roger, they do. So, if you and Terence are, as I suspect, soul mates, your souls originated as a single whole, just as Harry's and Cedric's would have. Now, actually finding your soul mate is rare as it's believed that the ancient gods made sure that most soul pairs were either not alive at the same time or that they were separated by great geographical or socio-economic divides which would prevent them from meeting one another. There are, however, recorded instances of two or more soul pairs knowing each other. For instance, you might not realize this, but King Arthur and Merlin were soul mates. This book they wrote also references the fact that Morgana Le Fey also found her soul mate in a man named Dakota."

"So Merlin and Arthur remained just friends?" Gavin asked. "Were Morgana and Dakota a couple?"

With a smile, because he knew this would cause a stir, Regulus said, "Morgana and Dakota were indeed a married couple. From what the book says, Dakota was a Native Plains Indian of the North American continent that Morgana met while traveling around the globe for some reason that the book doesn't detail. As such, it appears he didn't have a surname and took the Le Fey name when he and Morgana got married. As for Merlin and Arthur, no, they weren't just friends, as they were also a married couple."

"What?" Terence asked. "But I thought that Arthur was married to Guinevere."

"No, he wasn't," Regulus said. "History has become muddled over the years but the truth is that King Arthur and Merlin had five children together, including a pair of fraternal twins named Arthur and Guinevere, which is why the two names were often mentioned together in several sources, which is then what led historians to incorrectly record them as being married. Of course, I imagine in the muggle world, they were also trying to hide the fact that King Arthur was gay."

"They had children together?" Oliver asked. "How? They were both men?"

"There are ways for two wizards in a romantic relationship to have children together, Oliver," Regulus answered. "Obviously they were once used here in Albion, seeing as how the entire Pendragon line all the way up to King Edward can claim direct ancestry from both King Arthur and Merlin. These methods, have for whatever reason, however, fallen out of popularity in this country to a point that they're all but forgotten about. They're still used in other countries around the world, although it's generally only in the more progressive countries. Something which Albion, Iwernia, and the countries that make up the Empire of Camelot can't claim to be, as we're still quite old fashioned in many respects."

Looking over at Athena, Harry said, "I guess that explains why Scarclaw laughed when we were outside my family vault, Athena. After you'd said that Merlin never had children."

Nodding, Athena said, "Yes, that probably is why he laughed. While it seems witches and wizards apparently forgot that Arthur and Merlin were a married couple and had children together, I guess the goblins didn't."

"You will find that there's very little that the goblins ever forget," Regulus said, before he paused and then said, "But, we're here to discuss soul bonds, so let's get to it." Opening the book and reading over a relevant section to refresh his memory, Regulus then said, "Soul mates, at least when they're two wizards or a witch and a wizard, can bond with one another in one of two different magical bonds.

"One is the Friendship Bond, which is for soul pairs who wish to gain some benefit from finding one another, but wish to remain only good friends. The other is, as you might guess, the Love Bond which is for those soul pairs who are in love with each other. As you may have guessed from the fact that they were married couples, both Arthur and Merlin and Morgana and Dakota were joined in Love Bonds."

"Wait, only two wizards or a witch and a wizard?" Athena asked. "What about two witches?"

"A rather unfair element of the soul mate bonds," Regulus said, "is that two women, even if they are soul mates, cannot undergo the magical bond to gain a benefit from having found each other. They can certainly be together and if they so desire marry each other in places where that's legal, but they can't formalize their soul bond in the way that couples consisting of two wizards or a witch and a wizard can."

"Why?"

"Well, Harry, it actually comes down to a matter of plumbing," Regulus said, grinning at the confused looks that this comment had spurred. "You see, it doesn't matter if it's a Friendship Bond or a Love Bond, in order to formalize a soul bond, the soul pair must physically join their bodies together. And by that, I mean that they must engage in sexual intercourse with each other, as contained in separate bodies, it's the only way for the two halves of their shared soul to get close enough to each other to interact and grant the benefits of bonding. For this purpose, only penis to vagina or penis to anus is considered intercourse, so two women can't formalize a soul bond due to the obvious lack of a penis."

A few people around the room felt their faces heat up and knew that they were blushing. Harry, for example, couldn't help but blush not only because he wasn't used to listening to someone talk about sex in such an open and clinical manner, but also because of the thought of possibly having sex with Cedric. Not that Harry thought it would ever actually happen, mind you, because he didn't think he even fancied Cedric in that way, soul mate or not. He'd not really given much thought about it, either way, but he didn't think he was gay, because he'd certainly found girls attractive in the past. Then again, if he was honest with himself, he had noticed, especially recently, that there were a few guys that he thought were quite attractive. Kolin and Erik were just two of them. Cedric was another, but Harry was doing his best to ignore that one, because he figured the draw he felt to Cedric must be because of the possible soul mate thing and not because he was actually attracted to him.

After a few minutes of silence, Roger said, "Well, I can safely guarantee that Liam and I will never be bonding." Looking over at Terence with a grin, he added, "Cause, sorry mate, but you're not my type."

"Why? Because I don't have tits?" Terence asked.

"That's a rather crude way of putting it," Roger said. "But yes. I also doubt that your boyfriend would ever allow it."

Wrapping his arms around Terence in a possessive embrace, Oliver nodded and said, "Your damn right I wouldn't allow it. Liam's ass is mine." After a moment, however, in which he seemed to consider something, he added, "Although, I guess I wouldn't mind if Liam topped a guy other than me - as long as I got to watch, that is."

"Will!" Terence groaned, as he blushed bright red.

"What?" Oliver asked. "I think it would be hot to watch you with another guy. Especially one as hot as Roger."

Clearing his throat, Roger said, "While I appreciate that you think I'm hot, Oliver, I'm sorry to say that you will never get to watch Liam topping me. I'm very happily straight and there's no way I'm bottoming for Liam or any other guy. Ever."

"Never say never, Roger," Regulus said with an amused grin, as he remembered the possible future he'd seen for Roger the previous day. Thinking back to that and then looking at the images drawn in the book, Regulus now knew what he'd seen. He'd thought the images looked familiar but he couldn't place them until now, as he realized that the magical ritual that he’d seen Roger participating in was in fact the Soul Mate Friendship Bond.

After a pause, during which nobody said anything and Regulus debated whether or not he should actually tell Roger what he'd seen in his future, ultimately deciding not to as at this point it would only upset him, Regulus shook his head and said, "The magical rituals involved for formalizing both bonds do, as I previously said, require sexual intercourse. Although the rituals do differ depending on whether it's a Friendship or Love Bond."

"How so?" Emma asked.

"Well, like many bonds, it requires a circle of runes on the floor, surrounded by lit candles," Regulus answered. "Both bonds require the soul pair to be completely naked, as nothing can come between them, including condoms. So, in the case of a male-female pairing, it is entirely possible that a pregnancy could result which Merlin speculated was why he hadn't found many references to male-female pairs entering into a Friendship Bond."

"Yes, I can see how two people who want to remain friends only would be hesitant to do anything that could result in them sharing a child together," Rose said.

"Of course, there is another potential reason why there aren't many male-female Friendship Bonds recorded," Regulus continued, "and that's because for both versions of the bond, if the soul pair has different power levels, then whoever has the higher power level has to top during the ritual. And by top, I mean that their penis has to be the one entering their partner, so if the woman has a stronger core than the man, then obviously the ritual can't go forward because the woman doesn't have a penis."

"What about spells to change one's gender?" Pomona asked. "There are spells and potions which can temporarily change gender."

Shaking his head, Regulus said, "If it were that easy, then a lesbian soul pair could bond, but as I've already said they can't. The reason is because both versions of the bond consider active spell or potions effects to be something that's coming between the soul pair and thus they can't have any active effects on them when they're doing the ritual, because it won't work otherwise."

Oliver grinned and said, "Well, that works out okay then because Liam is two levels stronger than Roger, so Liam would be the one on top, which means I'd be okay with them doing it. So long as I get to watch, otherwise, no way in hell."

"For the last time, Oliver, you're never going to get to see Liam top me," Roger said. "I'm straight so there's no way that I'm ever bending over so that Liam or any other bloke can fuck me."

"Mr. Davies, language!" Athena chastised.

"I'm sorry, Athena," Roger said. "But there's simply no way that I will ever be bonding with Terence if I have to have sex with him to do it. I know you always say that nothing is impossible, just improbable, but in this case it is impossible."

Deciding to ignore Roger for the moment, Regulus said, "Well, there is a possibility that the ritual might require Roger to top Terence, because if it's not done before Roger's seventeenth birthday and he has his inheritance, now that he's gone through with the blood ritual, it is possible that he'll end up stronger than Terence."

"If that happens the bond isn't happening," Oliver said, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest, making it clear that his mind was made up. "Because I'm sorry, but Liam's ass is mine and nobody but me gets to enjoy it."

If it wasn't for the fact that he was head over heels in love with Oliver and wasn't really interested in having sex with anyone other than him, Terence might have been upset about Oliver claiming ownership of any part of his body. But then, he'd done the same for pretty much all of Oliver's body, so he didn't really have much room to get mad.

Before anyone could say anything else, the front door of the house opened, as Asterion walked in, followed by Sirius and Remus. Sirius had been dealing with some Black family business at one of the Black properties during the ritual, and Remus had been helping him organize some paperwork and thus they hadn't realized that everyone had gone to Regulus' and Asterion's Black Island until they'd gotten back to Forest Cottage to find it empty - about a minute before Asterion turned up to talk with Barin. Athena's house-elf was now hard at work in the compound's kitchen on dinner, while Sirius and Remus accompanied Asterion back, during which time he explained what happened during the blood ritual.

"Quite an amazing place you have here, Regulus," Remus said.

Before his father could respond, Asterion said, "Barin is in the kitchen starting on dinner, and Sirius and Remus got back to the cottage about a minute before I got there to find it empty. So, I explained what happened during the ritual and figured I'd bring them here to Black Island."

Sirius nodded and said, "Rion has also been explaining the security measures of this island. So, Regulus, are you going to add me to the blood wards? I am family, after all."

"I don't know, Sirius," Regulus said with a grin. "I'll think about it and get back to you."

"You'll think about it?" Sirius asked, as he quirked an eyebrow at his brother, who simply nodded. "Need I remind you, Reg, that I'm Lord Black? I could order you to do it, you know."

"You could," Regulus said. "But, you see, Siri, this island is outside the borders of Albion and its other imperial holdings, so, your title doesn't really mean much here. So, as the owner and master of Black Island, I'd have to be very cross with you for ordering me around in my own home. In fact, I think I'd be forced to punish you, Siri. Say making you look like our thankfully departed mother again - only I'm thinking I'd refrain from reversing the spell for a month this time."

"You wouldn't!" Sirius exclaimed, prompting his brother to simply give him a look that had Sirius sighing a moment later. "You would and you'd enjoy it."

"Damn right, I would," Regulus said, as Sirius, Remus, and Asterion took seats. "Now, where was I?"

"Regulus, I think perhaps we've heard enough for the moment," Athena said. "I think everyone could use some time to cool down and just relax before dinner. So, maybe you and Asterion could show us all to our rooms? And then after dinner, we can watch a few movies in your screening room."

"Very well," Regulus said, as he closed the book. "I'll just take this back upstairs to the library vault and then we'll head over to the house that contains the guest rooms."

-o-0-o-

An hour later, after another delicious meal, compliments of Barin, Regulus and Asterion took everyone to their private screening room and perhaps unsurprisingly since it had been mentioned earlier in the day, all the teens agreed that they wanted to watch Jurassic Park. Everyone enjoyed the movie, although after watching something so violent, Regulus decided something less graphic was in order. He also thought everyone might enjoy seeing how muggles depicted the characters and thus picked the second movie: Disney's The Sword in the Stone.

After the movie was over, Cedric said, "Muggles certainly have some strange ideas about King Arthur. I don't know where the idea that he was raised by Sir Ector came from, because he was raised at Castle Camelot by his father, King Uther Pendragon. There was a person named Sir Ector, because he's Dominick Burke's ancestor and was created the first Marquis of Grangemore in the year 797, but it was in recognition of his service as a Knight of Camelot during the Unification Wars, not because he'd raised Arthur. I'm pretty sure that Sir Ector was two years younger than Arthur, so it would have been kind of hard for him to raise him."

"The owl was an interesting addition," Terence said, "although making it a talking owl was a bit much. I know some people talk to their owls and they do seem to understand what their owner is saying, but I've never heard of an owl who could actually answer them in English."

"Never mind the fairy tales," Gavin said with a grin. "Where can I get a T-Rex? I'm sure that some of the dragon training techniques will work on a T-Rex. Or maybe some velociraptors... they could make good hunting animals."

"Um, Gavin, dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years," Harry said. "There also is no such place as Isla Nublar or Jurassic Park. The movie is simply a live action version of a fictional book written by a muggle author named Michael Crichton."

"Yes, the muggles haven't actually brought any of those creatures back to life," Roger added. "It was all just movie special effects."

"Special effects?" Oliver asked.

"Kind of like a muggle version of illusionary magic," Athena said. "In movies they can make things appear to be there that actually aren't."

Turning to Regulus and Asterion, Gavin said, "Didn't you say that you'd managed to bring back some extinct species using magic and potions? Couldn't you bring back dinosaurs?"

"We have, yes," Regulus said, "but I'm not about to bring anything out of extinction as dangerous as a Tyrannosaurus Rex or a Velociraptor or any other carnivorous dinosaur that would find humans to be a good meal. Besides, doing such a thing would break the Ban on Experimental Breeding. Even the creatures we did bring back are in a grey area where the ban is concerned, but they're not dangerous, man-eating creatures so it's unlikely that anyone would complain."

Asterion nodded and said, "Yes, but I think it's safe to say that people would complain about bringing back a type of creature who would eat humans. Yes, there's plenty of such creatures already around, but I'm not about to risk spending the rest of my life in Azkaban just to satisfy my curiosity of whether or not I could bring any of them back."

Looking at her watch, Pomona said, "It's getting pretty late, so I think it's time we all retire for the evening." Looking at the mage students, she added, "Tomorrow after breakfast, your training will begin in earnest and trust me when I say you'll need your sleep."

-o-0-o-

Over the course of the next week, the six mage students learned that Pomona had not been kidding about them needing their sleep, because to say that the training was grueling would be an understatement. Of course, it wasn't just the training that was a problem, but also the larger cores that all the students now had as they'd found it very hard to control their magic, as the trainers hadn't been kidding about the greater frequency of accidental magic.

One instance had left Gavin on the roof of Forest Cottage in his skivvies during a rainstorm that his own magic, which resonated with water, had created on an otherwise sunny and cloudless day. Harry, meanwhile, whose magic resonated with fire, had nearly set fire to his bedroom on the Wednesday morning following the blood ritual when he'd made what he thought was a perfectly innocuous gesture towards his fireplace as he was getting dressed. It obviously wasn't, however, when the flames in his bedroom fireplace shot up nearly to the ceiling. Needless to say, none of the fireplaces in the cottage had been lit in the days since.

Of course, the extreme and in some cases potentially lethal instances of accidental magic weren't the only issue, because all six of the mage students had already had to have the cores of their wands replaced at least once, due to them not focusing hard enough to keep too much of their core power from channeling through the wand and burning out the core. The fact that their trainers had limited them to practicing with spells they'd learned in the first month of their first years at Hogwarts made it all the more annoying for the students, as they found it harder to cast such simple spells.

The trainers, of course, assured them that this was all temporary and normal, especially in Harry's case, since he'd ended up with the largest increase in power, after the blood ritual triggered his inheritance early. Athena, Pomona, Rose, and Emma were still at a loss in terms of explaining just how that had happened, as they couldn't find a single instance in any of the records they'd searched of the ritual triggering a student's inheritance.

Regulus was, of course, busy teaching at Hogwarts and thus wasn't around much anymore and Asterion was working hard to try and reverse any cognitive or magical damage that Ernie Macmillan might have suffered as a result of his grandfather's abuse. Asterion felt that he had made some progress, but it would still be a long, drawn-out, and potentially very upsetting process that often left him feeling sick to his stomach.

Speaking of Barnabus, he was still alive at the moment and was due to be moved from the dungeons at Seacliff to Lord Burke's dungeons at Sutton Grange in the next day or so. Every possible precaution was being taken to insure that the transfer went off without a hitch, because nobody wanted anything to go wrong. As for the man himself, it did appear that he'd become at least slightly remorseful after nearly a week of watching his victims' memories, but nobody was sure if he actually was or if it was all an act to try and get out of his punishment. Not that it would happen since Tribunal verdicts were final and couldn't be appealed.

Aaron, Lukas, Jonas, and Kaleb Cuffe all provided Madam Bones with memories of the abuse they'd suffered at their father's and others' hands and she had a team sorting through the memories. Five people, two of them high-ranking Ministry officials, had already been arrested and thrown into holding cells pending trial before the Wizengamot for their involvement.

Of course, everyone involved fully expected there to be more arrests but Madam Bones' team had not had the time to go through every memory yet, as the process was slowed down considerably by the need for those viewing the memories to get the evidence having to take frequent breaks to prevent themselves from getting sick. More than one of them had needed to be Obliviated at the end of their shifts in order for them to be able to go home and have a chance of getting any sleep - just so that they could come back to work and start the horrific process all over again the next day.

Nearly two weeks after the blood ritual, the trainee mages were thrilled when the morning of Friday, the 16th of September dawned, because they knew that they'd have the day off from classes. Terence had been a little down the previous day, working so hard on his 18th birthday, but he knew that he was having a party the following day, since the trainers had opted to combine the celebration of Terence's and Cedric's birthdays into a single day, since Terence's was on the 15th and Cedric's was on the 17th.

The trainers decided to hold the party on Friday instead of Saturday since Cedric was due to be having his inheritance in the mid-morning hours and that was very likely to leave him feeling drained enough for the rest of the day that he wouldn't feel like doing much partying. And the trainers all agreed that you only get one 17th birthday party, so he should get to enjoy it as much as he possibly could without feeling like he was going to drop from exhaustion at any moment.

Rather than having the party at Forest Cottage, however, Sirius had offered up Arlington Grange for the party, as the estate had been shut up for years now and thus wasn't likely to be getting any unexpected visitors the way that Seacliff might, since guests had become more frequent at the Potter family castle since Harry had claimed his birthright. Harry's double was the one who had dealt with most of them before school had started and one would assume people would realize that Harry was at Hogwarts now and thus going to Seacliff to find him would be a waste of time, but Sirius figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

The trainee mages hadn't really understood why the party wasn't being held at the cottage until Athena told them that is was easier to have it someplace else, as it allowed them to have more guests at the party. Of course, that did bring up questions about what they'd tell those who'd expect Harry, Roger, Terence, and Cedric to be in school, but Rose informed them that those who didn't already know about the training would be told on condition that they agreed to be Obliviated before they left the party. If they decided they didn't want to be Obliviated then they would be told to leave before they ever saw Harry or the others that were supposed to be in school.

"It's nice to have a day to relax," Roger said, as he sat down at the kitchen table for lunch, since the party wasn't due to be starting until later that afternoon.

"Yeah, it is," Gavin said. "I guess I expected mage training to be hard, but for some reason I never realized just how hard it would be. Makes sense though, I guess."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, before looking around the table and asking, "Where's Terence and Oliver?"

"Holed up in their room," Gavin answered. "No doubt doing what Liam wished they could have spent all day yesterday doing." Then with a wicked grin, he added, "Maybe you should go join them, Roger."

Roger shook his head and said, "And maybe you should go soak your head."

"I'm surprised that Oliver would be willing to spend the day inside," Cedric said. "Nice day, like today? I'd think he'd want to be out on the pitch."

"That would normally be true," Gavin commented. "However, as much as he loves Quidditch, he loves a naked Liam even more."

"Can we move off of this topic, please?" Roger asked.

"Why?" Harry asked, grinning. "Is hearing us talk about your soulmate having sex with someone else making your jealous?"

"NO!" Roger exclaimed. "Damn it, I'm not jealous, Harry. Now instead of tormenting me, why don't you go back to making googly eyes at Cedric."

"I was not making googly eyes at Cedric!" Harry exclaimed, as he glanced over in Cedric's direction to see what his reaction was and realized that he was steadfastly looking anywhere but at Harry.

Roger shook his head. "Hey, all's fair in love and war. And Harry if you're going to keep needling me about Terence, then we're going to be at war and it'll only be fair for me to needle you and Cedric about your own soulmate status."

"Fine, I won't say another word about it," Harry responded eagerly, as he honestly didn't want to even think about the whole soulmate thing with Cedric right now, because he still wasn't sure how he felt about it. He was still trying to figure out his sexuality at the moment and having a male soulmate, especially one that he honestly liked and thought was attractive, did not help matters.

"That's a promise I will not make, however," Gavin said. "And I don't have a soulmate that I know about so you can't shut me up with that."

"That's true I can't," Roger agreed. "Of course, for you there's always the old standby of questioning your sexuality."

"True," Gavin said, "but you won't do that because it'll just spur me on to question yours even more, Rog."

"There's nothing to question," Roger argued. "I'm straight, end of story."

"Says the guy who has a male soulmate," Gavin said.

Roger sighed. "I'm never going to hear the end of this."

-o-0-o-

At about one in the afternoon, everyone at Forest Cottage, minus Athena and Rose, headed out to the Apparition Point and moments later found themselves in the Apparition Chamber of the Black family's ancestral estate, Arlington Grange. Not long after they arrived, Bruce and Caroline McLaggen arrived, accompanied much to everyone's surprise, by Cormac.

"Cormac?" Cedric asked. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

Cormac nodded and said, "I am, but Dad pulled me out for the weekend. Dumbledore objected right up to the point that Dad played the family business card."

"What kind of family business?" Cedric asked, wondering what could have been so important that his uncle would pull Cormac out of school.

"I think my nephew's 17th birthday counts as family business," Bruce said with a smile, as he patted Cedric on the shoulder. "I know some people might disagree, but that's their problem, not mine."

"Well, let's move to the lounge shall we?" Sirius asked. "There's a few more people coming, but one of the house-elves can bring them over when they arrive."

Everyone nodded as they left the Apparition Chamber and entered the large Grand Foyer of the house. This was the first time that many of them had set foot inside Arlington Grange, so all was quiet for a few moments, as everyone looked around the expansive room. Marble floors and walls, all in blacks and grays, were the first things that most people noticed, followed by the large twin staircases leading up to a landing about ten feet above the ground floor. The most prominent feature of the landing was a huge floor to ceiling arched stained-glass window depicting the Black family's coat of arms and prominently displaying the family motto, 'Toujours Pur'.

The room was lit by a pair of large black crystal chandeliers, each with about fifty candles flickering inside of them, in addition to a pair of black crystal candelabras, each with an additional sixteen candles, which were set into the top of the black and white urn-shaped newel posts of the twin staircases. Various dark tapestries depicting battles fought during the Unification Wars lined the walls, alternating with three-candle wall sconces which provided extra light. Other than the large double doors that served as the main entrance to the house and the smaller door which led back into the Apparition Chamber, there were five pairs of double doors leading off the foyer. Four of them were framed with intricately carved black marble moldings and were made of a rich black ebony wood, while the fifth, under the landing, was made of glass, through which a large fountain could be seen in the courtyard beyond.

Craning his neck to look up at the ceiling, Harry could see that it soared up to a height of what had to be at least thirty feet above the ground, where an impressive fresco depicting another battle could be seen. This one prominently featured several knights with the Black crest emblazoned upon their armor, fighting with both sword and wand drawn against a group of people dressed in rags. He couldn't help but notice that some of the knights' helmets were open and they were all depicted as being very handsome, while the people in rags were all depicted as being quite ugly, almost goblin-like in their appearance. They weren't actual goblins, as they were too tall, but they definitely wouldn't win any beauty contests.

Looking up at the fresco, Sirius said, "That thing used to give me nightmares when I was a kid."

Harry could definitely see why, as there were images of the ugly, goblin-like people being hung, drawn and quartered, impaled upon sharpened spikes and thrown into large vats of boiling oil. Harry could make out that some of them were wearing armor with a coat of arms on them, but he couldn't really tell what family it belonged to, as it was obscured by blood. All of the people facing off against the Black family were covered in dirt, blood, and even bits and pieces of what looked like human entrails, while the Black family's knights, by comparison, were all shown in perfectly clean silver armor which gleamed in the sun.

Shaking his head, Sirius said, "Honestly I'd forgotten how dark and gloomy this place was. My ancestors embraced our surname a bit too readily if you ask me and thus black is a very prominent color throughout the house."

"They had very gruesome tastes in art," Remus commented, as he looked around at the various tapestries and at the fresco on the ceiling. This was the first time he'd ever set foot in Arlington Grange, since Sirius never brought his friends home to his parents' house. Of course, even if he had, it would have been to Grimmauld Place, since for some reason Sirius's father, Orion Black, had opted to live in the family's London townhouse, instead of the estate in the Earldom of Alnwick, which would normally have been where the heir, the courtesy Earl of Alnwick, lived and raised their family.

"Well, thankfully, if memory serves, it's only the art here in the Grand Foyer that's gruesome," Sirius said. "The art in the rest of the house is mostly landscapes or family members. Anyway, follow me."

Leading the group across the expansive foyer and over to one of the black ebony doors, Sirius grabbed the handles and pushed them open to reveal a large room with black ebony wainscoting up to a chair rail and dark green wallpaper above. The floor was an ebony herringbone pattern and covered with large Oriental rugs, which following the theme, were in blacks and dark greens. An intricately carved gothic-styled fireplace dominated one wall and windows draped in dark green draperies were spaced along the two outside walls. A grouping of three large Victorian sofas in dark wood and upholstered in green silk were situated in the center of the room, while two more seating groups, with the one furthest from the fireplace consisting of two black silk upholstered sofas. The other, right in front of the fireplace consisted of a pair of wing-backed chairs in black brocade. Also present in the room was a large roll-top desk in one corner, an intricately carved black ebony harpsichord, and a cart on wheels which held numerous glasses on its bottom shelf and several fancy cut-glass decanters on the top shelf.

Motioning for everyone to have a seat, Sirius said, "This is the lounge. Work on the house started in 800 AD, the year after King Arthur ennobled the family, although it wasn't finished until 807 AD, which is when Lord Pelleas Black, 1st Marquis of Charlton, moved in with his family. As you might guess, it's been redecorated several times over the years, most recently in the 1860's by Lady Ursula Black, wife of former Hogwarts Headmaster, Lord Phineas Nigellus Black."

"Can we play Quidditch here?" Oliver asked.

"Well not in this room," Sirius said with a grin, "but yes there is a regulation pitch out on the grounds that you're welcome to use. You should probably wait for the other guests to arrive first, however, as that should allow you to have two full teams."

Oliver looked torn between being mad about the delay and also being happy that they'd have full teams, because he disliked playing with fewer players than were needed. Standing up and walking over to the cart, Sirius said, "Can I offer anyone some refreshments?"

"I hope you have something non-alcoholic for Gavin, Cormac and Roger," Emma commented.

"Why just us?" Roger asked. "Harry is underage too."

"No, I'm not," Harry said with a grin. "Duke of Granston, remember? So, I'm legally an adult now, with all the rights and privileges of one, including drinking if I so choose."

"Yes, but please exercise some restraint," Emma said. "You really don't want to drink too much."

Emma looked like she was going to say something else, but was interrupted by Terence laughing, as he said, "That's kind of rich coming from you, Emma."

Turning to look at Terence, Emma raised an eyebrow and asked, "Whatever are you talking about, Mr. Higgs?"

"Oh just that I finally figured out who you are," Terence answered, causing several pairs of eyes to land on him.

"What?" Gavin asked, at the same time that Oliver asked, "When? And why you didn't you tell me?"

"It was early this morning before anyone else was awake," Terence supplied. "I'd gotten up to go to the bathroom and then I was a bit hungry, so I went downstairs for a snack. Instead of going upstairs, I decided to watch some TV in the downstairs parlor and that show that Emma always watches was on. It's called The Waltons by the way. Anyway, when I turned it on, the youngest daughter, Elizabeth, was complaining to her grandmother that she couldn't get her sponge cake to taste the same as her grandmother's. Grandma Walton then revealed that she'd failed to mention one ingredient and went over to the cabinet and got out a jar of what looked like water. Elizabeth screwed off the cap, smelled it, and exclaimed, 'The Baldwin ladies' recipe?! You use this in your sponge cake?'"

At the confused looks all around the room, Terence added, "It was then that I remembered that Nick Ollivander had said that the recipe that the two elderly women kept talking about wasn't something you eat and thus I realized that it was actually homemade moonshine whisky, otherwise known as hooch." Turning to Emma, he grinned and said, "Thus, Emma Baldwin, named after Emily Baldwin on the show, is actually Madam Rolanda Hooch."

Harry laughed and said, "So that's why you said it was rich that she would advise against drinking too much, because her name is a slang term for moonshine."

Terence nodded and said, "Indeed."

Emma shook her head and said, "Indeed. You've caught me it seems." Pulling out her wand, Emma cancelled the glamours and said, in her real voice, "I am indeed Rolanda Hooch, Hogwarts Quidditch Referee and Flying Instructor, and former member of the Holyhead Harpies."

Oliver grinned. "I know you'd mentioned playing professionally. So you were a Harpy?"

Rolanda nodded and said, "Yes, Oliver. I was Reserve Chaser from 1919 to 1922, Chaser from 1922 until 1957 and Captain from 1937 to 1957. However, I realized at the end of the 1957 season that my playing days were over and I wanted to retire before my age began to catch up with me and affect my game. I was 56 years old at the time, so it wouldn't have been that long before I wouldn't have been able to play any longer. I relaxed for a couple of years, before joining the Hogwarts staff in 1959."

Shaking her head, Rolanda added, "Anyway, as I was going to say before Terence interrupted, Cedric, starting tomorrow you'll be of age, so I suppose you could drink if you wish, as I don't think anyone would begrudge you starting a day early. However, I would suggest that you not overdo it because you really do not want to have a hangover tomorrow morning when you have your inheritance at... what time were you born?"

"9:23AM on 17th September, 1977," Cedric answered. "And I wasn't really planning on drinking anyway. Maybe one glass of champagne to celebrate, but that would be about it."

"I think everyone can have one glass of champagne," Pomona said. "Once everyone else arrives and it's time to toast the birthday boys."

"That sounds fair," Caroline McLaggen agreed. She wasn't the least bit surprised to find out that Emma Baldwin was Rolanda Hooch or that Eudora Douglas was Pomona Sprout, because with them living and training out of Athena's cottage on the McLaggen lands, she knew who all of them were, as did her husband. They were keeping quiet about it, however, as they didn't want their nephew Cedric, or Cormac for that matter, pestering them about the trainers' true identities.

"So who's all coming to the party anyway?" Harry asked.

"We are for one," a familiar voice said from the doorway, causing Harry and several others to turn towards the entrance to the room, where they saw Nick Ollivander and Dominick Burke standing there.

"Hey guys," Dominick said with a smile. "And you can all pick your jaws up from the floor now. I don't find it odd that you guys aren't at Hogwarts because Athena told me about your training - after she made me promise to let her Obliviate me before I leave the party."

"I already knew about your training, obviously," Nick added. "And even if she wanted to Obliviate me, Athena wouldn't do it since she knows it'd pretty much be a waste of time."

Harry nodded as he looked at Nick and Dominick and noticed that not only were they dressed alike, but looking at the mirror on the wall which gave Harry a view behind them, he could see that Nick's hand was in the back pocket of Dominick's trousers and that Dominick's hand was in Nick's. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Are you two dating now?"

"And what makes you think that?" Nick asked.

"Well, you two do seem to be rather touchy feely with each other," Harry said. "Hell, you kissed each other the first time I met Dominick and now you're dressing alike and walking around with your hands in each other's back pockets. What exactly am I or anyone else supposed to think?"

"That we're just best mates?" Dominick asked.

"Yeah, I've got three best mates," Cormac said. "And I've never kissed Jon, Sage, or Tanner." Glancing at his mother, he added, "Don't start, Mum."

"I didn't say anything," Caroline said.

"I know, but you're still thinking it," Cormac said. "And I'm only friends with Jon, Sage, and Tanner - I'm never going to marry one of them or any other bloke for that matter, so you can wish for it until the end of time but it's never happening."

"Never say never, Cormac," was Caroline's response, which made Cormac let out a frustrated growl.

Pomona shook her head and asked, "Caroline, with all due respect, why are you so certain that your son is gay despite all evidence to the contrary?"

"What evidence to the contrary?" Caroline asked.

Cormac shook his head, "You're wasting your time, Professor. My mum is convinced that I'm gay and she won't accept the fact that I'm not. I swear that I could have sex with a girl right in front of her eyes and she'd still think that I'm gay."

"Cormac, don't be so crude," Bruce chastised.

"I'm sorry, Dad, but you know it's true," Cormac said, before he turned back to Pomona and said, "But to answer your question, Professor, the reason she thinks I'm gay is because every old wives' tale in the book that's said to determine your baby's gender before it’s born pointed towards me being a girl. Obviously I'm not, so she's convinced that I'm gay and that when I eventually marry a guy, I'll be the girl in the relationship."

In what was perhaps an attempt to make up for the Evan debacle, Cedric decided to try and divert the conversation away from his cousin by saying, "So, Nick, Dominick, are you two dating or what?"

Nick and Dominick shared a look, before Nick nodded and said, "Yes, Cedric, we're dating."

"What about your girlfriend?" Roger asked. "Harry and Cedric said you'd told them at the Opening Ball that you had a girlfriend but she couldn't make it to the ball because she was visiting her dying grandmother in Greece."

Dominick sighed. "I lied."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"It's complicated," Dominick answered.

"So uncomplicate it," Regulus said as he walked into the room with Asterion, Kolin, and Athena.

Dominick shook his head and said, "Fine, the truth is that I was afraid to come out to my grandfather because he's never given me any indication that he'd be okay with me liking guys. I am bisexual, but I've had a crush on Nick since our third year at Hogwarts, which is my longest-running crush. So, I only dated girls to avoid any fights with my grandfather. But, it's also complicated because Nick and I are both the heirs to our families and since Nick will be inheriting a Dukedom, he's a higher noble than I am, which means that if we did get married, I'd be expected to take his name and that'll mean that any and all children we have will have the Ollivander name and the Burke name will die out."

"I thought the Last of the Line clause prevents that," Harry said.

"In theory yes," Nick said. "But if Lord Burke dies before Dominick and I get married, if we get married that is, then Dominick would be the last of the Burke line and his sex drive would be increased to try and provide an heir. The problem of course is that I can't get pregnant and while we can use a surrogate to have children together that are biologically ours, by law, any children we have together will have the Ollivander name."

"So in order to provide an heir for the Burke family," Dominick said, "I'd have to cheat on Nick and get a girl a pregnant. Because oddly enough despite the fact that illegitimate heirs can legally inherit, it's actually illegal for me to produce an illegitimate heir with a surrogate via the means normally used for same-sex couples. Even though the method has fallen out of use in Albion, there's still laws on the books dating all the way back to King Arthur that reserve the use of a surrogate for married same-sex partners or married but infertile opposite sex couples."

"Dominick would physically have to have sex with a girl," Nick said. "And further complicating matters is the fact that his grandfather has cheated in the past, which shouldn't be all that surprising since Lady Ophelia Burke is his fifth wife. Not wanting to repeat his grandfather's mistakes, Dominick swore an Unbreakable Vow that he would never cheat on his partner, so in order for him to provide an heir we'd have to break up, because if he tried to provide an heir while we were still together, he'd die painfully."

"You're right it is a complicated situation," Asterion said. "Although isn't your step-grandmother pretty young? She could still have children right?"

Dominick nodded. "She's two years older than me, so she's 26. However, she and my grandfather have been married for seven years now and they haven't had any kids yet, so that leaves me to think that they can't. Now, it could be because grandfather figured he didn't need to have any more children, since he already had an heir in me. I haven't told him about Nick and me yet, so I don't know what's going to happen there."

"Well good luck with that, Dominick," Cedric said. "For your sake I hope that your grandfather reacts better to the news than my father would."

"Thanks Cedric," Dominick said. "On the bright side, grandfather can't disown me so long as I'm the only possible heir, but should he have a son with Ophelia, it would be possible, and so I'm hoping that he's okay with it. I do take great pride in being a Burke and even though I'll be surrendering the name if I marry Nick, I'd still be a Burke - so long as I'm not disowned."

Turning his attention away from Nick and Dominick, Harry looked over at Kolin and smiled. "Didn't expect to see you here, Kol."

"Reg invited me," Kolin said.

"Oh its Reg now is it?" Sirius asked, with a raised eyebrow. "Something you want to tell me, bro?"

"No, Sirius," Regulus said. "Kolin and I are not dating."

"Not yet anyway," Asterion said with a grin. "I'm sure it's only a matter of time though."

"And what makes you think that?" Regulus asked his son.

"Because I know what your tastes in men are, Dad," Asterion said. "And Kolin fits the bill. He is younger than your usual dates, but other than that, he's pretty much perfect. Plus, he likes older guys and you're older."

"That doesn't mean we're going to start dating," Kolin objected, although from the look on his face and the blush creeping up his cheeks, it was pretty obvious that the thought had crossed his mind and he was in favor of it.

"Damn," Cormac said. "Talk about weird. If Kolin and Regulus got married, you'd have a teenage stepfather, Asterion."

"I'll be twenty in May," Kolin put in.

"Still, it'd be weird," Cormac said. "I mean you're only two years older than Asterion."

Dominick grinned. "It's no weirder than me having a step-grandmother whose only two years older than me."

"True, that is pretty weird," Cormac allowed. "But I still think having a stepfather that's only two years older would be weird."

"Okay, yes, it might be a little weird," Regulus said. "But I'd like to point out that Kolin and I aren't even dating, so as of right now, there's very little chance that he will end up being Asterion's stepfather." In an obvious move to change the subject, he said, "So, anyway, Happy Belated Birthday, Terence and Happy Early Birthday, Cedric."

Before they could respond, Rose walked into the room, followed by Charlie and Noah. The sight of them almost caused Cedric to nearly choke on his drink. Recovering he said, "Charlie? Noah? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon? You said in the postcard you sent me that you were enjoying it so much that you were going to stay for a month."

Noah grinned as he came over and pulled his astonished brother into a hug. "Oh come on Ric. Do you honestly think that I'd miss your birthday now that I can actually attend? And yes, Charlie and I did extend our honeymoon, since we both had plenty of vacation time piled up, but we decided to cut it a little shorter than we'd initially planned."

"Not because of me I hope," Cedric said.

Charlie shook his head. "No, not just because of you, Ric, although your milestone seventeenth is quite a good reason just by itself. But, no, as much as we were enjoying New Zealand we decided that we should come back and start house hunting."

"House hunting?" Cedric asked. "Don't you have a cabin at the dragon reserve?"

"We do," Noah confirmed. "But, honestly, we've both been missing our families and our marriage isn't actually legal in Romania. So, we've been looking into being transferred to the dragon reserve in Albion, which of course is on Lord Ollivander's lands so our marriage is legal there. We got word that our transfer was approved. It's a smaller reserve than the one in Romania, though, so it doesn't provide the employees with on-site lodging."

Cedric smiled and said, "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Noah said.

Not long after this, the last of the guests arrived in the form of Robert and Katherine Higgs and Sarah Blanchett, who was Terence's mother. Robert and Sarah divorced when Terence was six months old, with Robert remarrying to Katherine when he was two. Sarah, meanwhile, moved to France to pursue her career and eventually remarried when Terence has five. Unfortunately, Terence's stepfather, Jean-Luc Blanchett, died two years ago, leaving his mother the widowed single-mother of three. Terence's half-siblings, Christophe, Mathieu, and Victoire Blanchett did not accompany their mother because they were at Beauxbatons. Although it was possible that Terence's half-siblings might be in their final year at Beauxbatons, as Sarah had accepted the job of Acting Editor of the Daily Prophet and was one of the frontrunners for the job of Editor-in-Chief once Barnabas was dead and could be replaced. So, it was possible that Terence's half-siblings would end up attending Hogwarts next year.

Now that everyone was present, Sirius called the house-elves and had them give everyone a glass of champagne to toast Terence and Cedric, before taking them on a tour of the public rooms of Arlington Grange. During the tour, Harry couldn't help but think that the layout seemed familiar, which he commented on. It was then that Regulus grinned and revealed that despite the extra rooms at Arlington Grange, like the Portrait Gallery, Smoking Room, and a few others, the house was the basis for the board game Cluedo, which had originally been created by a wizarding company and then licensed to a Muggle company. Even the house's name, Arlington Grange, was used in some editions of the game and of course the Blacks made money on every edition sold that used the name.

"Seems odd that a family that generally looks down on muggles would allow such a thing," Bruce commented.

Sirius nodded. "True, but it was my great-grandfather and namesake, Sirius, who signed the licensing deal and he wasn't as anti-muggle as some of my more recent ancestors. He wasn't pro-muggle enough to get himself blasted off the family tree, although as a past Lord Black that probably wouldn't have happened anyway. More recent generations don't talk about it, usually, but even the most virulent anti-muggle members of my family would have no issues with taking the muggles' money from them, because it’s more money for them."

Regulus nodded, "Which is why grandfather Arcturus signed off on all of the television adaptations, video game adaptations, and the 1985 movie version, because they all use details that were licensed by the Black family. Another popular name for the house in the game is Tudor Close, which happens to be the name of the house in the Earldom of Alnwick, so we make money. The movie used Hill House as the name of the mansion and that is, as you might have guessed, the name of our estate in the Viscounty of Langleeford, so again, we made money."

"The only versions that we don't make money on are the US versions," Asterion added, "where they not only changed the name of the game to Clue, but they had to go and rename the victim Mr. Boddy, instead of Dr. Black, and thus started calling the mansion Boddy Manor."

"Yes, Grandfather was pissed off about that," Sirius said. "But there was nothing in the licensing agreements that said they had to use one of the names licensed by us, so he couldn't do anything to stop it."

"Of course that doesn't mean that he didn't try," Regulus added. "Took the matter all the way up to the Royal Court, but King Charles ruled against him, because as Sirius said, while Great-Grandfather Sirius did license the use of our estate names to be used in exchange for royalties, there was nothing in the agreement that said the makers of the game or other related mediums had to use one of those three names."

-o-0-o-

After the tour of the house, Sirius led them all out to the Quidditch pitch and the group split up into two teams. Oliver, Harry, Terence, Gavin, Charlie, Nick, and Kolin as the red team and Cormac, Cedric, Roger, Asterion, Noah, Dominick, and Regulus on the blue team. Rolanda chose to act as referee, while Athena, Rose, Pomona, Robert, Katherine, Sirius, Remus, Bruce, Caroline, and Sarah opted to watch the game from the stand around the pitch. Two-and-a-half hours later, Cedric caught the Snitch and the blue team won the game. Obviously Oliver wanted an immediate rematch, but as it was starting to get dark and everyone was getting hungry, nobody obliged him.

Heading back into the house, everybody got cleaned up and then headed into the dining room for dinner, which Terence and Cedric were surprised, but very appreciative, to see was made up of all of their favorite foods. After dinner, the group broke up with most of the older adults heading for the Smoking Room, Billiard Room, or Lounge. The birthday boys, younger adults, and underage people among the group ended up in the Conservatory, where there was some debate over what they should do for the next few hours before dessert, meaning birthday cake, was served.

"How about Truth or Dare?" Cedric asked after a while.

"Hmm, that could be fun," Terence answered.

With both of the birthday boys responding favorably to the idea, everyone agreed and then set about putting some ground rules in place. The agreed upon rules were rather simple in that the dares were limited to nothing overly dangerous or embarrassing, with the most sexual dare allowed being kissing, with no tongue action allowed. This was mainly due to the age differences of the players involved with ages ranging from 14 to 24. However, since the age of sexual consent was 14, they did agree that anyone given a dare that they didn't like could choose not to do it, by giving up an article of clothing, although with all the players being male, it was decided that nobody was allowed to take off their underwear. It was further agreed upon that nobody was allowed to take more than two truth questions in a row and that if anyone got down to their underwear, they had to take a dare and couldn't refuse to do it.

They also agreed to the concept of penalties for people who failed to complete a dare they accepted in that the person giving the dare could pick two articles of clothing the person who failed the dare had to remove. Successfully completing a dare, however, allowed the person to put one article of clothing back on, if they'd previously lost any, and to turn the penalty upon the dare giver. If anyone got down to their underwear and then failed the compulsory dare, they'd be eliminated from the game, but were required to stay and watch the rest of the game and were forbidden to put their clothes back on until the game was over.

As for truth questions, it was agreed upon that the Truth Detection Spell would be cast on them to determine if they were telling the truth or lying before they answered. If they told the truth, they got to put back on an article of clothing they previously lost, but if they lied, they lost all of their clothes, except for their underwear and had to submit to the Veritas Charm, the truth spell which gave its name to Veritaserum but only lasted for two minutes instead of an hour. They then had to answer the question again, this time with guaranteed truthfulness.

Cedric looked around the room for a moment, studying his choices, before he grinned and said, "Noah, truth or dare?"

"Picking me first, huh, bro?" Noah asked and Cedric nodded. "Well, I was a Gryffindor in school, so, dare."

"Hmm," Cedric said as he took a moment to think of something. He wanted to give Noah something good, but also potentially hard. "I dare you to let me tie your hands behind your back, blindfold you, and put a Silencing Charm on you so that you can't hear anything going on around you. You'll then kiss three people, one of them being Charlie, on the lips for ten seconds, with no other touching allowed from either party. You win if you can correctly guess which one is Charlie. Oh and you have to sit on the floor to prevent possible height difference from giving you any clues."

"That is so simple that it's painful," Noah said. "I think after spending nearly a month in New Zealand kissing Charlie a hundred or more times a day I can easily tell him from anyone else. So, I'll take your dare, bro. Get ready to lose some clothes."

"Over confident much?" Cedric asked, as Noah moved into position on the floor, at which point Cedric pulled out his wand and cast spells to bind his wrists, blindfold him, and render it impossible for him to hear anything. Rubbing his hands together, he asked, "Okay, any volunteers? I think we'll put you in the middle of the other two, Charlie."

All was silent for a moment and nobody raised their hands, until finally, Asterion shook his head and said, "Fine, I'm straight, but I'll kiss him. Wouldn't be the first time I've kissed a guy, since I experimented in the red light district of Magical Amsterdam."

"Any other volunteers?" Cedric asked. Nobody volunteered, however, prompting him to add, "Okay then. Charlie, you pick."

"Why me?"

"Better you than me." After a second, he added, "And you can't pick me."

Asterion nodded as he got down on his hands and knees, crawled over to Noah, leaned in, and kissed him on the lips until Cedric called time. Moving away from Noah, Charlie was next, followed by Kolin, at which point Cedric removed the charms from his brother and asked, "Okay, Noah, so which one was Charlie? Kiss #1, #2, or #3?"

Actually experiencing the kisses, much to his surprise, Noah had a harder time than he thought he would in telling the difference, especially in only ten seconds. After a moment, he said, "Well, I think I can eliminate #3, but I'm torn between #1 and #2."

Cedric grinned. "Gotta choose, bro."

"Fine," Noah said, as he reviewed the kisses in his head and then said, "I pick #1."

"WRONG!" Cedric exclaimed happily. "You lose, Mr. Over-Confident."

"What?" Noah asked. "That's impossible."

Cedric shook his head and said, "Sorry, Noah, but #1 was Asterion, while the one you eliminated was Kolin. Obviously that means #2 was Charlie, but you didn't pick him, so take off your shoes."

"We'll be discussing this later, Noah," Charlie said with a huff of frustration, as Noah removed his shoes.

"Well, you pick next, Liam," Cedric said, as he sat back down.

Terence grinned as he said, "Will, truth or dare?"

If anyone thought it was unfair for Terence to pick Oliver, due to their relationship, nobody said anything because they hadn't put it in the agreed upon rules that the couples in the room couldn't pick each other. Oliver was quiet for a moment, before he said, "Well, I was a Gryffindor, too, but after that last display, I think I'll go with truth instead."

"Truth it is then," Terence said, as he pulled out his wand and cast the Truth Detection Spell on Oliver, before asking, "Will, past or present, who is the best lover you've ever had?"

Oliver's eyes widened at that question, as did a few others, although everyone thought it was kind of a stupid truth question, since obviously Oliver would say Terence and the spell would say he was telling the truth. Thus, everybody, including Terence was shocked when Oliver said, "You, Liam, of course," and he was surrounded by a red aura, telling the whole room that he was lying.

"What?!" Terence exclaimed, totally not expecting that answer. "Strip, you lying bastard!"

Oliver sighed, as he pulled off his shoes and socks, before standing up and removing his shirt, undershirt, and trousers, leaving him standing there in nothing but a pair of red boxers with little magically animated quaffles, bludgers, and snitches flying around on them.

"Now, tell the truth, you bloody bastard," Terence said, with tears in his eyes, as he waved his wand at Oliver and said, in a more forceful tone than was strictly necessary, "Veritas!"

Oliver's eyes glazed over, at which point Terence asked, "Now, Oliver, past or present, who is the best lover you ever had?"

"Percival Weasley," Oliver answered in a monotone, causing quite a few shocked looks among those in the room, especially on Charlie's face. "It was the autumn of our 4th year and I'd had a crush on him since the previous year, so when he suggested we hook up, I was thrilled. I lost my virginity to him and wanted to continue things with him afterward, but he refused. He told me he was only experimenting and the experience proved to him that he was straight so it would never be happening again. I was heartbroken and dejected and it's what led me to look outside Gryffindor for a boyfriend, because I didn't trust any of my housemates for a while after that."

Some of the anger and sadness Terence felt abated at this, as he and Oliver hadn't gotten together until the spring of their fourth year and thus Oliver hadn't cheated on him. Although he did still feel a bit angry and sad, because he couldn't help but feel like the consolation prize, since despite the heartbreak, Oliver still saw Percy as being his best lover. Although Terence could understand that your very first time was usually very special, as he still had very fond memories of his own first time with Adrian Pucey, which now that Terence thought about it, probably happened right around the same time that Oliver was with Percy.

Once the spell wore off, Oliver pulled Terence into a hug and whispered in his ear, "I love you, Liam and I wouldn't trade you for anyone."

"Even Percy?" Terence whispered back, even as he put up a Silencing Charm to give them a moment of privacy.

"Percy who?" Oliver asked.

Terence shook his head. "I suggest you prepare yourself, you jackass, because I'm clearly going to have to step up my game and give you a night you'll never forget. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be begging me to stop and you'll have trouble walking for a month."

"Bring it on," Oliver grinned.

The rest of the game progressed without any major incidents. There were a few shocking truths revealed, but nothing that compared to the truth about Oliver and Percy Weasley. One of the more shocking tidbits to come out, however, was that two summers prior to Noah coming out to his family, Amos caught him and Cedric skinny-dipping in the swimming pool at Willowglen Manor. Of course, he caught them at the worst time, because as if the whole naked part wasn’t bad enough, they’d been in the midst of some pool horseplay that left them very close together in a way that could have been viewed as sexual to a person who hadn’t seen how it started. There was absolutely nothing sexual about it, but unfortunately to Amos it had looked like there was and thus both Noah’s and Cedric’s backsides had had a very unpleasant meeting with a horsewhip.

As the game progressed it quickly become obvious to Roger and Gavin that it seemed like everybody in the room was conspiring to get them both down to their underwear so that they’d be required to take a dare. It turned out that they were right several turns into the game when Roger found himself in just his boxers, leading Oliver to grin like a madman as he dared Roger to kiss Gavin’s crotch non-stop for a full minute, since he was the only other player who was down to just his underwear. Roger mouthed ‘I hate you’ to Oliver, who just grinned, before he leaned down and kissed Little Gavin through the fabric of the younger Wood’s boxer-briefs. Embarrassingly for Gavin, he popped a boner twenty seconds into the action, which left Roger quite mortified by the fact that he still had forty seconds to go before he could stop kissing.

Everyone else in the room were laughing their heads off at the predicament, while Oliver did his best to comfort Gavin by assuring him that any guy would probably pop a boner if they were kissed there and that it didn’t mean that Gavin wasn’t as straight as he claimed to be. Of course, Oliver rather put a dampener on his comforting by making it clear he didn’t buy that Gavin was straight, although the younger Wood was used to his brother questioning his sexuality by this point. Not long after a dare which had Regulus kissing Kolin on the lips, the game ended, and unfortunately for Gavin and Roger, it was before either of them could get revenge.

After enjoying the triple chocolate fudge mousse cake that Barin had made for the birthday boys, the party broke up as the guests returned to their own residences. It wasn’t long after the group arrived at Forest Cottage that everyone was off to bed as Athena said they’d all need their sleep tonight, especially Cedric, since he was due to have his inheritance the following day.

The next day, right on schedule, at the exact moment of his birth seventeen years earlier, Cedric’s whole body began to shake as he started undergoing his inheritance. Those who’d been through their own had known what to expect and those who hadn’t still had some idea from having seen Harry undergo his early inheritance during the blood ritual. Cedric’s convulsions, however, weren’t quite as powerful as Harry’s had been, as he didn’t have the full inheritance of six power levels, and instead only went up by four from Apprentice Mage to Archmage, ten levels below the ultimate pinnacle.

The experience still left Cedric feeling tired and quite drained, however, so the mage students were given the day off to rest and none of them were about to complain about that.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, Chapter Eleven, Part Two of The Journey Begins, which is now officially off hiatus. For those of you didn’t know, I placed my stories on hiatus for six months in October in order to concentrate on original fiction for commercial publication. I haven’t actually published anything yet, but I think I’m closer to that goal now, as I got a fair amount of new material written on my various original projects. My other stories will remain on hiatus for the time being as I concentrate solely on this story, although I’ll only be writing fanfiction for half of the months to follow, as I spend the other half continuing to work on original work.
> 
> Questions, comments, suggestions? I love hearing from my readers so feel free to contact me.
> 
> Next chapter: Some shocking truths are revealed that will rock not only the mage students, but potentially the entire Realm of Albion…


	16. Chapter 12, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Twelve  
Part One

-o-0-o-

The portrait of a dark-haired young man yawned as he awoke from his latest nap. Nobody ever really talked to him these days, so there wasn’t much for him to do other than nap, but he honestly felt like he couldn’t sleep any more than he had or he’d go insane. Now, some might wonder how a portrait could possibly go insane or feel anything at all for that matter, but this particular young man had, in life, been a very powerful practitioner of magic and when his portrait was done, he may have woven a bit of magic into his depiction that was far from standard on most wizarding portraits. Spells and charms of his own creation which would undoubtedly have been in extremely high demand if he’d shared them, but he hadn’t, considering that very few people would have possessed the power necessary to cast them.

Unable to fall back asleep, he opted to instead hit the man who was pictured with him in his portrait upside the head to wake him up. The blond-haired man groaned, as he awoke and complained, “Oh you really are the worst manservant ever.”

“I’ll give your sleep-addled brain the benefit of the doubt,” the black-haired man said. “As I haven’t been your manservant in over a thousand years now.”

The blond was clearly not fully awake yet and thus not firing on all cylinders when he asked, “Oh you mean I finally fired you? Good on me then.”

The black-haired man rolled his eyes and said, “No, you colossal prat, you didn’t fire me. I stopped being your manservant right around the time that we got married. And I swear if you make some smart remark about that, I’ll kick your bloody arse so hard that you’ll end up arse over tip in our frame at the Amalveor hunting lodge.”

Now fully awake, the blond grinned as he said, “Oh I so love it when you get feisty,” as he rubbed the back of his head before asking, “But did you have to hit me? Surely you could have thought of a better way to wake me up.”

“Oh I could have, yes, but I didn’t feel like it,” the black-haired man said. “Besides, while my spells do allow us to take our clothes off and even have sex that we can actually feel, blowjobs just don’t have the same appeal without being able to swallow your seed. And I wasn’t in the mood to fuck you.”

With a frown on his face, the blond asked, “Why?”

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that it’s because the last time I did, you bloody well fell asleep during it you clotpole.”

“Oh cut me some slack will you?” the blond complained. “I’m 1,253 years old for pity sake!”

“You prat, that excuse might actually work if it wasn’t for the fact that one of the spells I cast on our portrait before I died insures that we have the stamina of 20 year olds, since our portrait depicts us as such.”

Before the blond could comment, the sound of raised voices from a nearby room caught the attention of both occupants of the portrait. Neither was worried about any passing humans overhearing the argument they’d just been having, as another of the spells the black-haired man had used was a spell that allowed them to talk to each other without anyone outside their frame being able to hear them. However, the humans in the next room clearly did not think to use a Silencing Charm. Curious what was happening, both men in the portrait left their frame to go and visit the depiction of the Iwernia countryside they knew was in the room where the voices were coming from.

“Brian, for the last time, that is never happening so stop asking!” Edward exclaimed as the black and blond haired men entered the landscape and saw who they recognized as King Edward Pendragon clearly arguing with his royal seneschal, Brian Dumbledore.

“Oh come on Edward, I’m not asking much,” Brian complained. “I think that as your seneschal and your suitor, I deserve a little extra consideration that you don’t give the other suitors.”

“Oh you do, do you?” Edward asked. “Well, I’m sorry to say Brian that’s not happening. I will continue to top you and my other suitors, but I will never, and I repeat never, bottom for any of you and if you don’t stop asking I’m going to be forced to get very angry and you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”

Brian rolled his eyes, before he said, “Oh please, Edward, don’t make me laugh. I’ve seen you angry plenty of times in the last century! So that threat doesn’t scare me.”  
“Century?” the blond in the portrait asked at the same time that the black-haired man asked, “What the hell?”

“Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Brian,” Edward said through gritted teeth. “I’m the King of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor of Camelot, not to mention an Archmagister and Master of the Elder Wand.”

“Oh Merlin’s balls, Edward!” Brian exclaimed. “Have you bloody well forgotten that I’m also an Archmagister? And that I’m also the Master of the Elder Wand? Or that you bloody well wouldn’t even have that throne you’re so proud of if I hadn’t kidnapped the real Edward, broke you out of Nurmengard, and imprisoned that little twerp in your place?”

The eyes of both men in the portrait widened as they heard this confession. Silently, they both decided that they’d heard enough and that they had to warn someone of what they’d just heard, so leaving the landscape, they quickly made their way to the only remaining frame they still had that wasn’t in a royal residence: their frame in one of the guest bedrooms at Seacliff Castle.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, at Forest Cottage, it was Wednesday, 12 October, 1994, thus it was now nearly a month ago that Cedric Diggory had celebrated his seventeenth birthday and had his inheritance which had raised him to the level of Archmage. In the time between then and now, all six of the mage students had been quite busy with their studies and were thankful to say that the incidents of accidental magic had begun to taper off. However, frustration was still a frequent emotion for all of them, as they were still having difficulty adjusting to the greater power they now possessed when it came to casting spells that they thought they’d mastered years ago.

They could all now cast the spells usually taught in the first year at Hogwarts well enough that they’d moved on to the second year spells, but it was a very frustrating exercise when they couldn’t get such simple spells as the Dancing Feet Spell, Tickling Charm, or Disarming Charm to work properly. Although in some cases, it wasn’t that they weren’t working properly, but were in fact working way too well, to the point of being extremely dangerous.

One such example was when Harry cast the Disarming Charm on a practice dummy holding a fake wand and successfully managed to disarm said dummy, except that the fake wand went flying towards Cedric who thankfully managed to use his Seeker reflexes to get out of the way before getting impaled. Harry apologized profusely and kept doing so until Cedric finally snapped and told him to shut up because it wasn’t his fault, as none of them were doing much better. This, of course, led to Cedric apologizing to Harry for snapping at him when he really hadn’t wanted to, but his frustration had gotten the better of him.

The trainers, meanwhile, could understand the frustration that their students were feeling as they all remembered feeling it themselves when they had been training as mages. Rolanda and Pomona, who had been handling the majority of their lessons over the last month, assured them however that with time and practice it would get easier. They also stressed, however, that it was vital that they all mastered the normal repertoire of wizard-level spells before they even considered attempting mage-level spells because due to the greater amount of power involved in mage-level magicks, it was best for their own safety and that of those around them that they had ironclad control of their power before moving onto the more complicated curriculum.

Thinking back to some of the spell examples that Rolanda had written on the blackboard in one of their first classes, despite their frustration, all of the students agreed that if they couldn’t even reliably cast a Disarming Charm without the worry of it killing someone, then it probably was a very good idea to not start working with spells that produced such effects as fireballs and lightning bolts.

Pomona was just about to dismiss the morning class for lunch when Tilly popped into the room and said in a clearly agitated voice, “Lord Potter, sir! You must come to Seacliff. Immediately!”

Giving his head-elf a look that was both questioning and concerned, Harry instructed, “Tilly, breathe.” Once the elf had taken a few deep breaths and calmed down a bit, he asked, “Okay, now why do I have to come to Seacliff immediately?”

“Lord Potter’s presence required by royal command,” Tilly answered.

Several people in the room looked curious at this, as Harry asked, “Royal command? King Edward is at Seacliff?”

Tilly shook her head, “No, sir, haven’t seen King Edward in over a month.”

“His seneschal then?” Harry asked.

“No, sir,” Tilly answered.

“Then by whose royal command am I to come to Seacliff?” a clearly confused Harry asked.

“That of His Majesty King Arthur Pendragon,” Tilly answered, as eyes all over the room widened to the size of dinner plates, as Tilly decided to further shock them by adding, “And His Majesty King-Consort Merlin Emrys-Pendragon.”

“Tilly, Merlin and Arthur have been dead for over a thousand years,” Cedric said. “How could they possibly be commanding Harry’s presence at Seacliff?”

“Their portrait, Master Cedric, sir,” Tilly clarified. “They didn’t say why they wanted Lord Potter to come. Just that it was a matter of grave national importance.”

“I didn’t even know there was a portrait of Arthur and Merlin at Seacliff,” Harry said. “I certainly never saw one in the Portrait Gallery.”

“Not in Portrait Gallery, sir,” Tilly revealed. “Largest and best guest room, often called King’s Suite, as Arthur and Merlin slept there several times in first Lord Potter’s day. Several kings since also used room, last being King Edward’s grandfather, King Charles.”  
After a moment of silence, Harry looked at Pomona and said, “Well, I guess I should go to Seacliff as it’s probably not a good idea to keep Arthur and Merlin waiting.” More to himself, he added, “I can’t believe I just said that.”

“No, you definitely shouldn’t,” Pomona agreed. “You’re dismissed, Mr. Potter. I will tell Athena where you are.”

Harry nodded, before he grabbed Tilly’s hand and let her take him Side-Along to Seacliff, to save himself the walk from the basement classroom out to Forest Cottage’s outdoor Apparition Point.

Pomona looked at the rest of the students and said, “I’m sure you’re all deeply curious about what’s going on at Seacliff, as am I. I’m sure if we need to know, Mr. Potter will tell us, but for the time being I suggest you all put it out of your heads and go enjoy lunch. Class dismissed.”

-o-0-o-

Arriving in Seacliff’s Apparition Chamber, Harry followed Tilly up the stairs to the second floor of the house and into the wing that housed the guest bedrooms. Harry had never actually ventured into this wing himself, although he couldn’t be sure that his double hadn’t at some point. The other Harry had, after all, had quite a bit more time here to explore the castle than Harry himself had. Entering through the double doors into a large suite of rooms that was almost as big as the Master Suite, Harry immediately spotted the large portrait hanging above the fireplace which depicted two young men, one blond and one with darker hair.

Stepping forward, Harry asked, “Arthur and Merlin, I presume?”

The blond nodded and said, “Yes, I am Arthur Pendragon and this is Merlin. You are the current Lord Potter then?”

Harry nodded. “Yes, Harrison James Potter, 175th Duke of Granston, although I generally just go by Harry.”

“You’re quite a bit younger than I was expecting,” the dark-haired man that Harry assumed was Merlin said.

“Well, you’ll be pleased to know that your Last of the Line protections are still working,” Harry said and then went into a brief explanation of how he’d ended up as the last of the Potter line. When he finished, he added, “Of course, you’re also both quite a bit younger than I would have expected.”

“Yes, well, we opted to have our portrait done to depict us in our youth,” Arthur revealed. “We were right about this age when we finally admitted that we were in love with each other and got married, so it seemed appropriate.”

With a nod of understanding, Harry said, “Okay then. If I may ask, what is this matter of grave national importance that Tilly mentioned? And would you mind if I asked her to send some of my other relatives up to share your frame? I’m only 14 and have only been Lord Potter for about three months now, so I’ve been relying on the counsel of my more experienced ancestors quite heavily.”

“That’s acceptable, Harry,” Merlin said. “And we can wait for your ancestors to arrive before we go into the reason for our calling you here, though it is very, very important.”

Nodding, Harry instructed Tilly to go down to the Portrait Gallery and ask his parents, Julian, Nathaniel, and Sebastian to come up to the King’s Suite. Less than three minutes later, they’d arrived and after introductions were made, Arthur cleared his throat, and said, “The reason we came here today is because this is Merlin’s and my only frame that still exists outside of one of the royal properties. We had frames at the Ollivander and Longbottom estates but they were destroyed in fires that have done extensive damage to those estates over the years.”

Nathaniel nodded, “Yes, I remember the fire at the Longbottom estate. It’s what prompted Sebastian and me to up Seacliff’s magical protections from fire.”

“And it turned out to be a good thing we did that,” Sebastian added. “As the following year a fire that might have gutted the castle if not for those protections broke out. And I imagine this room would have been affected since the fire broke out in the room directly above this one.”

“Well then I’m sure I can speak for Arthur when I say that we are both extremely thankful that you added those extra protections,” Merlin said, as Arthur nodded his head in agreement. “Now, as to the reason we called Harry here. Arthur and I were in our frame at Castle Camelot and we overheard a very distressing conversation.”

“What kind of conversation?” Julian asked.

“The kind that reveals guilt of high treason,” Arthur answered, which quickly got everyone’s attention. “No, if you’re wondering, I’m not saying that Harry is guilty of high treason,” James and Lily both breathed a sigh of relief at this, as did Harry himself.

“Then who might I ask is?” Lily asked.

“I’m guessing it’s not his real name,” Merlin said. “But Brian Dumbledore, for one.”

“The royal seneschal?” Harry asked. “I met him at the reading of my parents’ wills and he seemed like a very nice guy and loyal to the King. I can’t believe he’d commit high treason against Edward, especially after he made Brian one of his official suitors and awarded him the Royal Star of Camelot.”

Arthur looked grave as he said, “Yes, well, it would seem that he’s not loyal to Edward, or at least not loyal to the real one.”

“Not the real one? What does that mean?” Sebastian asked.

Merlin shook his head and said, “We heard Brian say and I quote, ‘Or that you bloody well wouldn’t even have that throne you’re so proud of if I hadn’t kidnapped the real Edward, broke you out of Nurmengard, and imprisoned that little twerp in your place?’”

Everyone’s eyes widened at that as several mouths dropped open in complete shock. Nobody said anything for nearly two full minutes, before finally, Harry asked, “You mean that the King Edward that I’ve met on several occasions now is not the real King Edward?” After a moment, he added, “And why does Nurmengard sound familiar?”

It was James who answered. “Nurmengard Prison was built by Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald to hold his enemies and it was where he himself was imprisoned after Albus Dumbledore defeated him in 1945.”

“Oh, James, you don’t think…” Lily started, but didn’t finish, as James shook his head and said, “I really don’t want to think it, Lily. We’ve already got one Dark Lord to contend with in Voldemort, so we really don’t need another one on the loose.”

“Especially Grindelwald, as many people on the continent would contend that he made Voldemort look amateurish,” Julian said. “After all, Voldemort rose to power in the early 1970’s and was defeated in 1981. And his activities never spread past the borders of Albion. Grindelwald, however, terrorized most of Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa for over forty years before Dumbledore defeated him.”

James nodded, as he said, “It could certainly be argued that Voldemort was more sadistic in some of his attacks and if he wasn’t defeated he may well have followed in Grindelwald’s shoes and become a Dark Lord on an international scale, but that’s only speculation at this point.”

Merlin said, “If the person masquerading as King Edward is Gellert Grindelwald, he would be an extremely dangerous foe, especially if what he said was true about being the Master of the Elder Wand.”

“The Elder Wand?” Nathaniel asked. “Oh gods, that along with Nurmengard confirms it. Gellert Grindelwald is on the loose.” At Merlin’s and Arthur’s curious looks, he added, “Gellert is known to have possessed the Elder Wand, right up until he was defeated by Albus Dumbledore, who then took the wand for himself and has used it ever since.”

Harry was shaking his head as he said, “Wait, slow down. How could King Edward possibly be Grindelwald? King Edward was here in the castle. If he was really Grindelwald, surely the wards would not have let him in? And how could Edward possibly have Professor Dumbledore’s wand?”

Sebastian looked sick, as he said, “Harry, I’m afraid you can blame me if Grindelwald was in the castle.” At Harry’s questioning look, he added, “Nat and I were born the same year as Albus and we were friends and housemates at Hogwarts. Now, Albus and Gellert were also good friends at one time and through Albus, who was one of my lovers, we also knew Gellert and added him to the guestbook. And honestly I don’t remember if he was ever crossed out, since as far as I know, he never came back to Albion after he and Albus had a falling out and he left the country. He began his rise as a Dark Lord not long afterward.”

“Harry, I would suggest that you have a look at the castle’s guestbook,” Merlin said. “The book is charmed to show the date of last visit of every guest who’s been approved to use the Apparition Chamber.”

“All right,” Harry said, as he called for Tilly and asked her to bring him the castle guestbook. The elf nodded and disappeared only to return seconds later with the large leather bound volume. Opening the front cover of the book and pulling out his wand, Harry asked, “When was Grindelwald added to the book?”

Sebastian sighed and said, “Gellert was added around 1898, Harry.”

Harry nodded, as he thought, ‘Please let this work. I don’t need my wand to short out in front of all these people, although most of them do know about my training,’ before tapping his wand against the first page of the book and saying, “Show me 1898.”

The book glowed for a moment before pages started flipping of their own accord, until finally they stopped and Harry could see 1897 at the top of the left page, although half way down the same page, the year changed to 1898. Scanning through the names, Harry was silent for a moment, until finally he closed his eyes briefly and said, “Here he is. Gellert Vladimir Nikolai Grindelwald, added 21 June 1898 and his name is not crossed out.”

“That means he still has access to Seacliff,” Arthur said. “What’s the date of his last visit?”

Moving his finger across the page, to the date listed after Gellert’s name, Harry’s eyes widened in surprise, before he looked up and said, “27 August 1994. That’s Charlie’s and Noah’s wedding date and I hosted their wedding reception here at Seacliff that evening. King Edward was one of the invited guests and I know he was here that night, but I certainly never invited Gellert Grindelwald.”

What Harry didn’t mention, of course, was that until the day of the Blood Ritual on 4 September, when the topic of Grindelwald had come up, Harry, like all the other mage students, had been under the mistaken impression that Grindelwald was dead. So, obviously, Harry never would have thought to issue an invitation to the man, although he wouldn’t have even if he’d thought him to still be alive.

“Okay, Harry, why don’t you turn the book back to 1970,” Julian said. “Edward was born in November of 1970 and I know that I added him to the guestbook upon reading the birth announcement in the special edition of the Prophet that was published on his birthday, as was standard procedure for members of the royal family.”

With a nod, Harry tapped his wand against the book again, asking to see the year 1970. The pages immediately started turning backwards until they stopped, at which point Harry started looking for Edward’s name, as Julian added, “I know for a fact that Edward accompanied his parents to the 1972 Honor Ball here at Seacliff in July, as in Albion it is quite common for magical children born to magical families to be breastfed until they turn two, as it is believed to be good for the baby’s developing magical core. Due to his birthday not being until November, in July 1972 Edward was still under two years old and thus would not have been weaned off of his mother’s milk yet, so wherever his mother was, then Prince Edward was sure to be found. He spent most of the ball upstairs in the nursery with the royal nanny, if I recall, but he was still in the castle.”

Finding the entry, Harry said, “Here is it. His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, Marquis of Amalveor, added 12 November 1970.” Pausing Harry studied the entry for a moment, his face getting rather ashen, as he looked up and said, “Date of last visit 27 July 1972.”

“The book would have automatically updated his styles and titles if he’d visited after being crowned King,” Merlin revealed. “So, this confirms that the real King Edward has not set foot at Seacliff since he was still a toddler.”

After a few minutes, while everyone contemplated what they’d just learned, Lily asked, “What about Brian Dumbledore? When does it say he last visited Seacliff?”

“Well, I’m actually the one who added Brian’s name to the guestbook,” Harry said, remembering that he’d done it after Robert and Michael had informed him that it was common practice for the King’s Seneschal to attend will readings. Turning the book to 1994, Harry scanned the names and said, “Here it is, Brian Wulfric Percival Albus Dumbledore, added 15 August 1994.” Looking up at the portrait, he said, “That was the day before I had your wills read, Mum and Dad, and I know that both the Headmaster and Brian attended that day.”

Looking back down at the entry, Harry’s face screwed up in confusion as he raised his eyes back to the portrait and said, “The date of last visit line is blank.”

“If that line is blank, that means Brian has never visited Seacliff,” Arthur revealed.

“But he has,” Harry argued. “I met him at the will reading on the 16th and I talked to him later in the Drawing Room. If that wasn’t Brian Dumbledore then who in Merlin’s name was it?”

As an aside to Arthur, Merlin said, “I swear I’m never going to get used to this trend by modern witches and wizards of using my name as an exclamation of surprise or in one of the countless other ways they tend to use it.”

Arthur grinned. “At least Harry just said, ‘In Merlin’s name’, unlike Brian earlier who said ‘Oh Merlin’s balls, Edward!’” Merlin blushed red at this statement and everyone looked rather guilty, as other than Arthur and Merlin himself, there wasn’t a single person in the room, whether living or portrait, who hadn’t used that phrase at some point themselves. They could all understand, however, that it might both embarrass and bother Merlin to hear people say that.

After a moment, Nathaniel said, “Did Brian say anything else?”

Recovering from his embarrassment, Merlin said, “Well, it was pretty clear from the argument they were having that Brian and Edward, who we can now assume was in fact Gellert have had sex with each other, as Brian was complaining about Gellert’s refusal to let him top.”

After a moment of thought, Arthur said, “Just before he talked about kidnapping the real Edward, he also said that he was an Archmagister and that he was also the Master of the Elder Wand. The only way that two different wizards could possibly both be the Master of the Elder Wand, is if they were soul mates. Whether joined together in a Friendship or Love Bond, it doesn’t matter, but that’s the only way that the Elder Wand would respond to both of them, because due to the soul bonding, the wand would interpret them as being the same person.”

James’s eyes widened as he said, “Oh M… good heavens.” He’d almost said Merlin’s name, but stopped himself. “We know that Albus Dumbledore took the Elder Wand from Gellert when he beat him in the duel in 1945. And Brian’s full name is actually Albus’ first and middle names in reverse order… is it possible that Albus and Brian Dumbledore are in fact the same person?”

Shaking his head, Harry said, “But both Albus and Brian were present at the will reading, so how could they possibly be the same person?”

“When was Albus Dumbledore last in the castle, Harry?” Julian asked.

Thinking for a moment, he said, “As far as I know, it was the day of the will reading. He was mentioned in my parents’ wills, although I denied the bequests to him.” After a moment, he looked at Nathaniel and Sebastian and asked, “When was Albus added to the book?”

Nathaniel thought about it for a moment, before he said, “It would have been a few years before Gellert, as we knew Albus longer and he visited several times. I’m thinking 1894?”

Sebastian nodded, “Yeah that sounds about right.”

Tapping the guestbook with his wand again, Harry had the book turn to 1894 and scanned the names until he found what he wanted. “Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, added 15 May 1894, date of last visit 16 August 1994.”

“Well, given that Albus was here that day,” Julian said, “if we’re to believe that Albus and Brian are the same person, then if I had to hazard a guess, I would say that Gellert disguised himself as Brian Dumbledore, thus allowing Brian and Albus to be seen together in the same room.”

“But what would be the purpose of Professor Dumbledore creating a non-existent grandson?” Harry asked. “And what about Brian’s mother? Katerina Dumbledore?”

“Well, Katerina did die pretty young,” Lily said, after a moment of thought. “Could it be that she wasn’t a real person either? That the whole potions accident that killed her was engineered by Dumbledore to dispose of a non-existent daughter who had outlived her usefulness?”

“Mum, what are you saying?” Harry asked.

“This is purely speculation on my part,” Lily answered. “But, I suppose it’s certainly possible, knowing the way that Dumbledore’s mind works, that he might have decided that he wanted to spy on the Hogwarts’ student body and that the best way to do that, was to pose as a student, as they’d likely be more comfortable talking to a classmate than they would to the Headmaster. Thus, perhaps Dumbledore actually attended Hogwarts three times? Once as himself, once as his daughter Katerina, and then again as grandson Brian?”

“I can’t imagine anyone wanting to do that,” James said. “Although knowing Dumbledore it would make sense, as he’s proven to be a very manipulative person whose willing to do just about anything for what he views as being for the greater good.” A moment later, James said, “You know, come to think of it, I do remember a conversation I’d had once in which Katerina was mentioned. Albus’s younger brother, Aberforth, was in earshot and I remember that he scoffed at the mention of Albus having a daughter. He didn’t say anything when I asked why though. Just stalked off muttering under his breath, but I couldn’t hear what he said.”

“Is it possible that he was muttering that Albus didn’t have a daughter?” Julian asked.

“Yes, Dad, that is possible,” James said. “Although as I said, I couldn’t hear what he was saying and I didn’t think to use a charm to amplify it, as at the time I just shrugged and forgot all about it until now.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment, before Harry said, “Other than Arthur and Merlin, everyone here knows that I’m currently in training as a mage. Although I’ve only really just begun my training so, I don’t think I’m really to the point yet that I could even think about attempting a jail break to get Edward out of Nurmengard.”

“Your trainers would probably be more than willing to help though, Harry,” Sebastian said. “This is the King we’re talking about after all.”

“True,” Harry said. “Although, I suppose maybe I should go with them?” Harry asked looking a little unsure of himself. “The four of them are certainly powerful enough that I’m sure they could handle a prison break without my help, but it might be best to keep this quiet for now. Eventually it’ll certainly get back to Albus and Gellert that Edward has escaped, but we don’t know what kind of condition he’s actually in.”

James nodded. “True. We don’t even know when exactly he was kidnapped. I’d assume that they must have made him look like Grindelwald, or the guards at Nurmengard would undoubtedly have raised the alarm by now. I don’t think there’s anybody there who would ever agree to participate in freeing him, so short of using the Imperius Curse on the guards, I doubt any of them are cooperating with Albus and Gellert.”

“True, he is not well liked in most of Europe,” Julian said. “At any rate, I think Harry is probably correct in that he should go with. Using his position as Lord High Chancellor to the Court of Pendragon, he should be able to get the warden at Nurmengard to let him and the others see Grindelwald, even if he usually isn’t allowed visitors, which I very much doubt he is. Nurmengard is outside of Albion’s and Camelot’s jurisdiction, but that shouldn’t really matter, as international law imposed by the International Confederation of Wizards does permit high-ranking government officials the right to interview prisoners in foreign prisons if they feel there’s a need to do so.”

Harry nodded. “That is what I was thinking, but is it going to cause an issue that I never actually have been officially installed in the position?”

Arthur shook his head, “That’s only a formality, Harry. I granted Sir Percival Potter and his heirs that title in perpetuity until the end of time. So, as Lord Potter and Percival’s however many times great-grandson, you are the Lord High Chancellor, whether the current monarch has officially signed off on it or not. And as we know now the current monarch is indisposed and not capable of signing off on it even if he wanted to. Although if it makes you feel better, I, Arthur Pendragon, first King of Albion and Iwernia, do hereby confirm that you, Harrison James Potter, are Lord High Chancellor of my Court.”

-o-0-o-

To say that the trainers were shocked when Harry returned to Forest Cottage and shared the details of his conversation with Arthur, Merlin, and his ancestors, was probably the understatement of the century. The idea that Albus Dumbledore had kidnapped King Edward and placed him in Nurmengard as a replacement for Gellert Grindelwald, who then assumed the throne as Edward, was something that none of them ever thought in a million years that they would be hearing. They all had various reasons for disliking Albus and could all agree that they wouldn’t put anything past him, but this took that to a whole new level that none of them had imagined was even possible.

Not long after Harry finished explaining, all four trainers agreed that they would accompany Harry to Nurmengard and that it was a good idea for Harry to go and use his political clout to get them in, as it was probably the faster and easier way than breaking in. The trainers weren’t exactly sure what kind of security measures were in place at Nurmengard, as none of them had ever had cause to visit the prison before, but if Grindelwald was indeed an Archmagister, then the security had to be quite strong if he’d been successfully held there from the time of his defeat until whenever it was that the switch with Edward actually happened.

Athena did suggest, however, that as an extra bit of insurance to help convince the warden, that Amelia Bones accompany them to Nurmengard, as between the Lord High Chancellor and the Head of the Albion Department of Magical Law Enforcement, plus the four magister-level Aurors that Athena and the other trainers would pose as, Athena felt sure that the warden would have no choice but to agree to let them see Grindelwald. Pomona and Rolanda reapplied the Glamour Charms that they’d used as Eudora and Emma, before the group of five headed for the Ministry to recruit the help of Amelia Bones.

Roughly an hour later, Athena, Rose, Eudora, Emma, Harry, and Amelia walked into Nurmengard Prison. Calmly walking up to the receptionist’s desk in the prison offices, Harry cleared his throat to get the attention of the woman sitting behind the desk. She’d been making a notation on a calendar as they arrived and had thus not looked up immediately when they entered. Finishing up her task, she looked up and said, “Yes? What can I do for you?”

“We’re here to see one of the prisoners,” Harry answered in the most authoritative voice he could muster.

“May I ask which one?” the receptionist asked.

“Gellert Grindelwald,” Harry replied.

The smile on the receptionist’s face fell, as she said, “I’m sorry, sir, but that simply will not be possible. That particular prisoner is on the no visitors list.”

“Well, then I suggest that you make it possible,” Harry said. “As we’re not leaving until we’ve seen him.”

Getting a bit flustered, the woman said, "You're not understanding me, sir. You can't see him. The man is not allowed visitors."

"Do you have any idea who my companions and I are?" Harry asked.

"Quite frankly, I don't care, sir," the woman said. "You're not getting in to see Grindelwald and that's final. Now, please leave before I call security and have you thrown out."

“You really don’t want to do that, Madam,” Amelia said, but before anyone else could say anything, a middle-aged man, having heard raised voices, came out of a nearby office.

“I’m Vladimir Necheyev, the Warden of Nurmengard Prison,” the man said. “Is there a problem here?”

"Yes, Warden Necheyev, sir," the receptionist replied. “These people wish to see Grindelwald, but I’ve already told them that’s not going to happen. They don’t seem to be willing to accept that, however.”

Before the warden could open his mouth, Harry help up the hand that the Potter ring was on and said, “Warden, I am Lord Harrison Potter, the Duke of Granston and Lord High Chancellor to the Court of Pendragon.” Gesturing to Amelia, he said, “And this is Madam Amelia Bones, Head of Albion’s Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and four of her Aurors, all of whom are in the Magister range on the power scale. Now, I’m invoking the ICW protocol which allows high-ranking government officials the right to see a prisoner, as it is absolutely vital to Albion’s interests that I be allowed to see Gellert Grindelwald immediately.”

“You wouldn’t want to cause an international incident, now would you, Warden?” Amelia asked. “I’m sure that the ICW Security Council would just love to hear your justification for ignoring international law by refusing to allow Lord Potter, one of the Great Officers of State for the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and the Empire of Camelot, to see a prisoner that he is by law very much allowed to see.”

Both the receptionist and the warden were quiet for a moment, before Warden Necheyev, said, “No, madam, I have no desire to cause an international incident.” He paused here, sighed and then added, “Fine, while Grindelwald is usually not allowed to have visitors, I suppose I have no choice but to make an exception for your party, as I did swear to uphold the law, so I can’t very well ignore international law. If you’ll just wait for one moment, I will go into my office and grab my keys, and then I’ll personally escort you to the prisoner’s cell.”

A moment later, Harry, Amelia, and the trainers were following Warden Necheyev into the interior of the prison, passing through several security checkpoints as they made their way deeper and deeper into the massive fortress. Finally, they arrived at the base of the stairs that led up to the tallest tower. The warden sighed, as he said, “Grindelwald’s in the topmost tower cell. I hope you’re prepared for a walk because it’s 738 steps up to the top of the tower and we never had a lift installed for security reasons. Figured the prisoner is over a hundred years old, so if he ever did manage to get out of his cell, the walk down the stairs would probably kill him.”

“Oh for pity sake,” Emma said, as she summoned her staff, pointed it at the stairs and muttered something under her breath. Seconds later the stairs were moving as if they were an escalator, much to the Warden’s apparent shock.

“Thank you, Auror Baldwin,” Harry said, as he stepped onto the first step.

“You’re quite welcome, Lord Potter,” Emma said, as the rest of the group joined him on the stairs. To the warden, she added, “Don’t worry, warden, I’ll remove the enchantment once we’ve seen the prisoner and come back down.”

The warden simply nodded, but otherwise said nothing, as they rode up to the top of the tower in silence. As they reached the landing at the top of their stairs, it was clear that Grindelwald was the only prisoner at the top of the tower, as there was only one door. Taking out his wand, the warden waved it in a complicated pattern, taking down some of the wards, before pulling out a large key ring and a second smaller one, before inserting two keys into the door’s lock. Moments later, he was opening the door and almost immediately everyone was hit with the smell of rotting feces.

Gasping, Athena said, “Oh good heavens, don’t you ever clean in there?”

“Once a month,” Necheyev answered. “When his food and drink is delivered for the month. Last time was just over a week ago now. The prisoner is in solitary confinement though, as he likes to spout off nonsense.”

"What kind of nonsense?" Rose asked.

"Oh he likes to claim he's royalty," Necheyev said. "Course, Grindelwald always did make it clear that's how he thought of himself. Had actually started calling himself King Gellert by the time he was defeated. Eventually, we just got sick of hearing it and put him in solitary. So, someone comes up once a month to clean his chambers and delivers enough perseveration-charmed food and drink to last for the next month. In recent years, however, he doesn’t even eat most of it though, which is odd, since the kitchen provides him with his established favorites."

There was a time when Harry might have questioned that, but he knew now that it was standard procedure in the Wizarding world to provide prisoners with their favorite foods. It was the prevailing belief that depriving prisoners of their magic and freedom was punishment enough, so, there was no point in starving them to death or making them eat food they didn't like. That would just be inhumane. He did wonder, however, why the prison kitchens continued to send food up to the prisoner that he wasn’t eating, although he assumed that maybe the kitchen was staffed by someone that Grindelwald had hurt somehow and thus they chose not to care.

'They give him his favorite foods, but not a toilet?' Harry thought as he looked through the open cell door and noticed the large chamber pot in the corner. 'Should at least make the bloody thing self-cleaning. At least then it wouldn't stink so much.'

After Eudora quickly cast a few cleaning charms to make the smell of the room bearable, the group entered the cell with the warden and turned their attention to the wrinkled old man lying on the small cot in the room. He was clearly a centenarian, old and wizened, what hair he still had left was gray and knotted. He turned his head towards the group and tried to say something, but no words came out.

“I’m trained as a healer,” Rose said, before summoning her staff, and running some diagnostic charms on the old man. A moment later, she sucked in a breath and said, "First or all, he can't talk because he's screamed himself hoarse." After a moment, as she continued to peruse the results of the diagnostics, she added, "I'm also detecting memory modification and according to my scans, he isn't even close to being as old as he looks."

"What do you mean?" Amelia asked. The look on her face clearly said she had the same sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that everyone other than the warden had.

"He's wearing more Glamour Charms than a Christmas tree has lights." Rose said, as she turned to the warden and asked, "Just what kind of prison are you running here? Your infirmary's healer is either a squib or an idiot not to have detected this."

"She's a muggle, actually," Necheyev said.

"You have a muggle doctor as head of your infirmary?" Rose asked. "In a prison for witches and wizards?"

“Rest assured, Warden Necheyev,” Amelia said. “I will be filing a report with the ICW, because I cannot believe that they would have signed off on that, as it’s a clear violation of the Statute of Secrecy.”

Rose nodded, as she said, “Not to mention the fact that there’s several magical diseases that a muggle doctor simply couldn’t treat, let alone even detect.”

"Never mind that," Harry said. "Let's get these Glamours off of him. Auror Baldwin, I know you're the best with charms."

Emma nodded as she stepped forward and began examining the charms that were cast on the prisoner in order to determine the number of them and how best to remove them.

"Huh," she said a moment later. "These Glamours are more complicated than what's usually used."

"Can you remove them?" Athena asked.

"I'm an Archmagister," Emma said. "Of course I can remove them. I'm just saying, whoever put these Glamours on him obviously didn't want the average witch or wizard to be able to take them off. They're layered on in several places, as if someone simply cast a new one when one started to fail, instead of simply renewing the failing one." After another minute of scanning, she added, "Well that's both odd and interesting - the Memory Charms appear to be connected to the Glamour Charms, as if somebody didn't want him remembering certain things while he looked like this."

With that, Emma set to work taking off the numerous layers of Glamours and slowly but surely, the old man on the cot disappeared. What was left was a clearly weak and malnourished man, but he was easily about eighty years younger than Grindelwald was. Looking at his face, Harry gasped and said, "Oh sweet Merlin. I was so hoping that it wasn’t true, but this really is King Edward!"

"What?" Necheyev asked, clearly shocked. “Lord Potter, what are you talking about?”

“Warden Necheyev, everything I’m about to say is classified information,” Harry said, “so I would highly suggest that you do not share it with anybody or as Lord High Chancellor I will bring the full might of the legal system of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and the Empire of Camelot to bear upon you and you do not want me to do that. And before you say that I don’t have jurisdiction here, I’m sure that the ICW will agree that I do if they found out that Albion’s monarch was illegally imprisoned in your facility. Do you understand?”

Necheyev gulped, as he thought about the possible ramifications of that and realized that not only his career, but pretty much his entire life would be over if that came out. Thus, he nodded and said, “Yes, Lord Potter, I understand and you shall have my full cooperation. Now what’s going on?”

“The reason I came here today,” Harry said, “is because I received information from a very reliable source that suggested that Gellert Grindelwald had been broken out of your facility and that he was masquerading as Albion’s monarch, with the real one being held in his place.”

Necheyev was shaking his head because he really didn’t want to believe that this had happened on his watch. “No, no, that’s impossible.”

Gesturing to the man on the cot, Amelia said, “Take a good long look at him, warden. He’s clearly not Grindelwald, as you said yourself the man is over a hundred years old. But this man, while clearly malnourished, is quite obviously nowhere near that age.”

“And as someone who actually met the late Crown Prince Michael Pendragon,” Emma said, “I can tell you that there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this really is his first-born and only son, Edward Pendragon, the rightful monarch of Albion, as the family resemblance is unmistakable.”

Athena nodded and said, “Indeed, I can see the resemblance too, because while I never met Prince Michael, I did meet and spend quite a bit of time with the late King Charles’ younger brother, Prince Cornelius Pendragon, considering that he was the mage that trained me.”

Edward coughed here, prompting Rose to conjure a glass of water for him, which she helped him to drink after helping him to sit up. Once the glass was empty, he said, “I am Edward Pendragon, warden. The memory charms prevented me from remembering my real name. I could remember that I was a King and that I was allergic to shellfish and peanuts, which is why I never ate any of those items when you kept sending them up, but I couldn’t remember any specific details that I could have used to prove that I wasn’t Grindelwald.”

“I don’t wish to sound impertinent,” Warden Necheyev said, “but I’m going to need more proof that just your word. I can clearly see that you aren’t Grindelwald, but I still find the idea that you’re the King of Albion hard to swallow. Especially since I was at the World Cup and the King was there.”

“Does anyone have a wand that I can borrow?” Edward asked.

Having a feeling she knew what Edward intended to do, Amelia took her wand from the folds of her skirt, as she said, “You can use mine, Your Majesty.” Noticing the look on the warden’s face, she said, “Oh relax, Warden Necheyev. As Lord Potter said, the Aurors I’ve brought are all magister level. So, one weak, malnourished man is no match for four fully trained Magisters.”

Summoning their staffs, Rose, Emma, Eudora, and Athena took up positions around the cot and held out their staffs so that the gems atop them were touching, meeting above Edward’s head as the mumbled something Harry couldn’t hear. “The spell we just cast will release him from the magic restraining collar. So, whether he has a wand or not doesn’t really matter.”

“Fine,” Warden Necheyev said, as Amelia handed Edward her wand.

Holding it over his chest, he said, “I swear that I am Edward Pendragon, rightful King of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor of the Empire of Camelot. On my honor and my magic, so mote it be.”

Finishing his oath, Edward said, “Lumos,” which caused the tip of Amelia’s wand to light. It was quite a bit weaker than what the spell usually produced, but for a wizard who’d been wearing a magical restraining collar for an undetermined amount of time, in addition to using a wand that wasn’t his own, it was a better result than anyone had actually expected.

Warden Necheyev was silent for a moment, before he fell to his knees and said, “I apologize, Your Majesty.”

“It’s okay, Warden Necheyev,” Edward said. “I don’t blame you for this.”

“As much as I’d love to hear how you ended up here, Your Majesty,” Amelia said, “I think we need to get you out of here. But we also need to figure out some way to make it look like you’re still here.” At Edward’s questioning look, she added, “You’re clearly weak and malnourished, so you will need time to regain your full health and I think while you undertake that task, that it would be best if those who put you here didn’t realize that you’re no longer here. That way when you do move against them, you’ll have the element of surprise on your side, which could be very useful if they’re not expecting you and thus don’t make plans to deal with it.”

Edward nodded, as he handed Amelia’s wand back to her. “You are probably correct, um, I’m sorry, but who are you?”

“Lady Amelia Bones, my lord. I’m Lord Erik Bones’ aunt and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at your Ministry for Magic, sir.”

Athena smiled, “Your Majesty, I’m sure you’re no doubt aware of the normal procedures for mage training?” Edward nodded. “I’m an Archmagister and mage trainer, so, I was thinking perhaps that if I were to create a double for you, it would hide your escape from those that put you here. We can then make your double look like Grindelwald and keep up that illusion until such time that you’re healthy enough and have the appropriate backing to retake your rightful throne all while your enemies are blissfully unaware that they need to be preparing for your imminent arrival.”

Edward was quiet for a moment, before he nodded and said, “Do it.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” Athena said, as she raised her staff and pointing it at Edward incanted, “Pario Geminus!”

-o-0-o-

After Athena created a double for Edward, Emma began the task of layering on the Glamour Charms and other spells that she’d removed from the real one, using a mage-level spell to mimic the magical signature of the spells she’d removed while hiding her own. Thus it was hoped that the deception would be flawless and that the people responsible for Edward’s imprisonment would never know the difference. To air on the side of caution, however, before leaving Emma Obliviated Warden Necheyev and the receptionist so that they wouldn’t even remember the visit, let alone the fact that the person in Grindelwald’s cell wasn’t the real dark lord. The last thing anyone wanted was for that news to be released and cause a mass panic, which could result in numerous lives lost and making it that much harder to deal with Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

Meanwhile, Edward was taken to Forest Cottage to be examined more thoroughly by Rose, so that she could begin treating him. The other mage students were all quite shocked when Edward showed up at the cottage and then even more so when they learned the truth about what had happened from Harry. Only Rose, Pomona and Harry were allowed in the infirmary, however, where Edward revealed more details about his capture, his imprisonment, and his captors, while Athena covered Rolanda’s afternoon class with the other mage students that Harry was excused from.

“When exactly were you kidnapped, sir?” Rose asked.

“The night before my eleventh birthday,” Edward answered. “So 11 November 1981.”

“How could anyone kidnap the King?” Harry asked. “I would have thought that it would be impossible to kidnap the King from the Winter Palace or any of the royal residences for that matter.”

Edward nodded. “Normally, it would be. However, earlier that day I’d received a small handful of overnight guests at the Winter Palace, namely the former Minister Millicent Bagnold and Albus Dumbledore. My private coronation ceremony was due to be taking place the following day and they were to act as witnesses. After receiving them, I ate dinner with them and then I retired to my quarters for the evening, intending to go to bed. However, Albus came to see me, stating that he had important business to discuss with me that couldn’t wait until the morning.”

“So the two of you were alone in your quarters?” Pomona asked, who had removed her Eudora Glamours upon returning to the cottage. Edward had noticed, but for whatever reason, he chose not to comment on it at the moment.

“Yes,” Edward said. “I had no reason to distrust Albus Dumbledore. Why would I? The Defeater of Grindelwald, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards? He’s played the role of dedicated public servant and hero well over the years, so I had no reason to suspect that he had any ulterior motives. Of course, I was also only ten years old, a few hours from being eleven, so perhaps I was just being naïve.”

“So what happened?” Harry asked.

“He overpowered me,” Edward answered. “I’m embarrassed to admit that it was extremely easy for him to do so. But, then again, due to my late birthday, I hadn’t started at Hogwarts yet and while I did have a wand and knew a few very basic spells, it wasn’t by any means a fair fight. I was just a kid, barely trained, facing off against a fully-trained mage with decades more experience.”

Before anyone could say anything, there was a sudden burst of flame, as Fawkes appeared in the room, greatly worrying everyone present that their deception had been discovered. Fawkes, however, just looked sad, as he perched next to Edward and began crying, healing some of the bed sores that he’d developed over the years of his imprisonment. Rose had applied a cream to heal them, but the phoenix tears were quite a bit faster.

“You don’t have to worry,” Edward said. “Fawkes is no longer bound to Dumbledore.”

“What?” Harry asked, clearly shocked by this news.

“After he took me from the palace,” Edward replied, “Dumbledore took me to his office at Hogwarts. He said he needed to collect something from there before we undertook the next part of his plan, although at that time he hadn’t told me what that was. When we arrived, however, Fawkes looked quite distressed and let a loud squawk of protest when he saw that I was tied up and gagged.”

“Phoenixes are creatures of pure good,” Pomona said. “For several years now, I’ve wondered just how Fawkes could stand to remain bound as Dumbledore’s familiar. Even by then he’d done things that I had a hard time believing that a phoenix would tolerate.”

Edward nodded. “As I understand it, the connection between Dumbledore and Fawkes had been deteriorating for years, but Dumbledore kidnapping me was the final straw that broke the connection. Fawkes flew off his perch and it was clear the he intended to try and rescue me, but Dumbledore was ready for it and let loose the Killing Curse, hitting Fawkes square in the chest and reducing him to a pile of ashes. He was almost instantly reborn, of course, but as a newborn chick he only had enough strength to escape Hogwarts himself.”

“But I’ve seen Fawkes at Hogwarts,” Harry said. “He’s been in Dumbledore’s office every time that I’ve been in the office over the years. He’s even helped me on more than one occasion. Most recently, I saw him at Hogwarts when the other governors and I went there with a team of curse-breakers to perform a long overdue curse check.”

Edward shook his head. “That wasn’t Fawkes, Harry. It was Gellert.”

“Gellert Grindelwald?” Harry asked and Edward nodded. “I don’t understand.”

“That explains quite a bit,” Pomona said, prompting Harry to turn to his trainer with a questioning look. “Harry, you know that we’ve mentioned the mage specializations before?” Harry nodded. “Well, another of those specializations is that of a Shape Mage, which allows a mage to assume the form of numerous creatures, both magical and mundane, although they do have to have physically seen the creature in question in order to take its form.”

“Athena is a Shape Mage,” Rose revealed. “So she can take numerous different forms beyond that of her Animagus form. What sets Shape Mages apart from Animagi, is that the latter is limited to mundane creatures only. Shape Mages, however, can take the form of magical creatures and as long as they remain in the form of a magical creature, they have full access to any special ability that creature possesses. So, if you take the form of a phoenix, for example, then you’ll have all its abilities, from the power of flight, to the healing tears, and the great strength. Even the ability to regenerate from death, so long as you were in the phoenix form when you died.”

“But how do we know that this is the real Fawkes?” Harry asked. “And not Gellert in disguise?”

“I think if it was Gellert, he wouldn’t have healed Edward’s sores,” Pomona said, “although there is a simple way to make sure, as there is a mage-level spell that can force a Shape Mage out of their assumed form.” Looking at the golden bird, she asked, “Can I cast it on you to make sure?”

Fawkes nodded his head, so Pomona summoned her staff and said something under her breath. The top of her staff flashed and a blue mist surrounded Fawkes, but nothing else happened. After a moment, Pomona banished her staff and said, “This really is Fawkes and not Gellert, as that spell would have no effect on a real phoenix, but would have forced a Shape Mage taking the form of one to go back to their human form.”

“So what did Dumbledore need from Hogwarts?” Harry asked.

“Two things,” Edward answered. “Your family’s invisibility cloak and a couple of doses of the Elixir of Life.”

Harry didn’t comment on his invisibility cloak, as he’d already known that Dumbledore had it until Harry got it as a gift for Christmas his first year at Hogwarts. He did find himself asking about the Elixir of Life, however.

“Turns out Nicolas Flamel isn’t the only alchemist to make a Philosopher’s Stone,” Edward revealed. “Dumbledore has one too and actually has had one since he was twenty-four. He’s been drinking the Elixir of Life ever since, which has kept him young. The aged Headmaster that everyone is so used to seeing now is just Glamour Charms that he wears to fool everyone into thinking that he’s been aging all this time, when in reality he still looks like a twenty-four-year-old. And of course if you’ve met his non-existent grandson Brian then you’ll know what he truly looks like.”

“How do you know about this?” Rose asked.

“Dumbledore told me,” Edward said. “Of course, I didn’t remember a lot of it once my transformation into Grindelwald was complete, as the memory charms made me forget. However, Dumbledore was quite pleased with himself about the numerous deceptions he’d pulled off over the years and I guess he took great pride in destroying the image I’d had of him by going into great detail about several topics. Including the fact that his grandson Brian wasn’t the first time that he’d created an alternate persona, as he’d also created the persona of Brian’s mother, Katerina, whose appearance was based upon that of his late sister Ariana.”

“I didn’t even know Dumbledore had a sister,” Harry commented.

“That was one topic he didn’t go into much detail about,” Edward said. “It was obviously a painful topic for him so he didn’t dwell on it too much. I guess she died very young, however, and I gather that Grindelwald was somehow involved, along with Aberforth, but he didn’t go into the details. Anyway, one of the other things that he did tell me is that as a young man he’d fallen in love with Grindelwald and was still in love with him. They are apparently soul mates, although it’s only a Friendship Bond, because the romantic feelings are one sided as Grindelwald does not share them.”

Edward paused to take a drink of water, before he continued. “He told me some of the benefits of the Friendship Bond. Apparently it first equalizes the soul pair in power, bringing the weaker partner up to the stronger partner’s power level and then adds an additional six levels of power. Grindelwald was stronger than Dumbledore by one level, so their bonding raised both of them to the level of Archmagister. Dumbledore was already a Master Mage when the bonding happened, although he’d been lying and saying that he was only a Grand Sorcerer, which is how strong he was following his inheritance.”

“Well, then that answers that question,” Pomona said. “We’d wondered if Dumbledore was lying about his power level and I guess he actually was. We hadn’t considered that he might be an Archmagister, however. We were thinking a lower level mage, although we weren’t aware of his soul mate status with Grindelwald or that the bond increased the soul pair’s power level.”

Edward nodded. “Yes, the bonding apparently confers a number of benefits, including the ability for the pair to speak to one another telepathically, although that ability is apparently limited for Friendship Bonds. Anyway, Dumbledore had also managed to create a version of the Elixir of Life which would actually reverse the aging process and it was one of these special vials of the Elixir that he needed because he wanted to give it to Grindelwald. Threw the cloak over me to hide me from sight and then took me to Nurmengard. He’d apparently been visiting Grindelwald for years, but hadn’t told him about his plans to kidnap me.”

“So how did Grindelwald react when Dumbledore told him?” Harry asked.

“He laughed and said that Dumbledore was crazy to think he could get away with it,” Edward revealed. “Obviously Dumbledore then took great pleasure in pulling the cloak off of me and revealing to Grindelwald that he’d already done it. It wasn’t long afterward that Grindelwald agreed to all of Dumbledore’s plans, including that Grindelwald would assume my place on the throne. They kept me alive and relatively healthy so that I’d be around to sign things that they couldn’t forge my signature on, and of course, they also had to make me look like Grindelwald so that nobody would realize that he’d escaped.”

“One thing I don’t understand,” Pomona said, “is that if you’ve been a prisoner since you were nearly eleven, why did Grindelwald and Dumbledore wait so long to bring the fake Edward out of seclusion? The World Cup this past August was the first time that King Edward had made a public appearance since before the rest of the royal family was murdered by Voldemort.”

“They wanted to wait until I’d achieved physical maturity,” Edward said. “It also took a number of years for Grindelwald to perfect the act of being me. I guess they wanted to make absolutely sure that he was convincing in the role and thus kept it limited to those who knew me the best, namely the royal household staffs. Once they were sure that they had all of them fooled, they’d feel more comfortable with bringing their fake Edward out for the world to see.”

“I would think it would have been easier to fool those not close to you,” Rose said, “and to fire all the household staff and hire new people who didn’t know you.”

“That probably would have been ideal,” Edward said. “However, the household staffs at the royal properties all consist of retainers who have been serving my family for generations. They have unbreakable contracts that are literally written in blood. Just as the throne is inherited by members of my family, almost every position on the household staff is also inherited by the children and grandchildren of previous holders of the posts. So they couldn’t fire them due to very powerful blood magic which has been in force since the days of Merlin and Arthur.”

Edward coughed a bit at this point, as Rose said, “Alright, that’s enough for now, Your Majesty. I’m going to give you a series of potions that will help your body to heal and regain its strength and it would be best if you got several hours of sleep while the potions do their work. So, with your permission I’m going to put a Sleeping Charm on you so that you get the sleep your body needs.”

“You have my permission,” Edward said, as he shifted on the bed to get a bit more comfortable, thankful that the infirmary bed was a lot more comfortable than the cot he’d been sleeping on at Nurmengard. “Could you add a Dreamless Sleep Potion to the mix? Dumbledore or Grindelwald, I’m not really sure which one cast a spell on me that would pretty much guarantee that I had nightmares every night, so a few hours of sleep without any dreams would be a welcome change.”

“I’ve already removed that spell, sir,” Rose said. “Although I can still give you Dreamless Sleep if you want it. It’s addictive so it’ll have to be used in moderation, but I don’t see why you can’t have any right now, as I’m not detecting any in your system.”

“Thank you,” Edward said, as he leaned back and opened his mouth so that Rose could start pouring potions into it. Pomona ushered Harry out of the room, while Fawkes trilled softly in the background, setting both Edward and Rose at ease.

-o-0-o-

Heading upstairs to the common room, Harry collapsed on one of the sofas, with his head resting against the back of the sofa and one of his arms over his eyes, the other lying limply at his side, while his legs splayed out in front of him. It had definitely been a long day and he almost wished that he hadn’t been excused from the afternoon classes, because even as frustrating as classes could be, he almost thought that they were better than dealing with the twisted machinations of Dumbledore and now Grindelwald.

“You look wiped,” Cedric commented as he sat down on the sofa next to Harry.

“It’s more emotional than physical,” Harry muttered, “but yeah.”

“I’ll bet,” Cedric said. “How’s the king?”

“Sleeping,” Harry answered. “Or soon will be. Rose is giving him several potions and then putting him to sleep for a few hours. Or maybe even until morning, I don’t know.”

“Man, I still cannot believe that Dumbledore actually kidnapped the king,” Terence said as he and Oliver came over and sat down together in one of the armchairs near the sofa Harry was on. Things had been tense between them for a few days following the game of Truth or Dare, but got better right around the time that Oliver actually had to start using crutches for a week in order to walk properly, after Terence had fucked him harder and more frequently than he ever had before. He didn’t complain, however. Now, a few weeks later, they were pretty much back to normal, spending almost all of their down time touching each other in some way, whether it be kissing, cuddling together in an armchair, or simply holding hands.

“I know, right?” Oliver asked. “It flies in the face of everything I thought I knew about the man. I mean, I knew, just from what he’d done to Harry that he wasn’t as good as I always thought, but kidnapping the king takes things to a level I never even imagined.”

“So how exactly did Dumbledore manage to do the impossible?” Roger asked, as he joined the group, sitting down on the opposite side of Harry from Cedric. “I know Athena is always saying that nothing is impossible, but until today I think all of us, including Athena, would have said that kidnapping the King from the palace was impossible.”

Harry launched into an explanation of everything he’d learned in the infirmary, during which Gavin joined the group, as they all listened intently. By the time that Harry stopped talking, all the other students’ eyes were nearly bulging out of their heads and the mouths were hanging open as their brains desperately tried to catch up. Wrapping their heads around all the details of what was really going on proved difficult for many of them and they could suddenly understand completely why Harry looked so mentally and emotionally drained.

“So that was Grindelwald at the Cup?” Gavin asked.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “Every time that King Edward has shown up recently it was actually Grindelwald in disguise.”

“I feel really sorry for his suitors,” Terence said. “Sex is a part of the normal courting rituals, as it’s considered important for the person doing the courting to make sure they’re sexually compatible with the person they might be spending the rest of their lives with. So it’s pretty much a given that by now they’ve all had sex with Grindelwald.”

“Yeah, I definitely feel sorry for all of them,” Oliver agreed. “Viktor Krum most of all.”

“Why Viktor the most?” Roger asked.

“Well, you know I’m Quidditch-obsessed,” Oliver answered. “So, I’ve read every interview that Viktor Krum has ever given and he mentioned in one of them that Grindelwald personally murdered his grandfather. So, as one of the King’s suitors, that means he’s now had sex with his grandfather’s murderer.”

“Oh sweet Merlin,” Cedric said. “Yeah, I can definitely see why you’d feel sorry for Viktor more than any of the others. They all deserve sympathy, but damn. Sleeping with the person who killed your grandfather? I can only imagine how he’s going to react when the truth comes out.”

Oliver nodded. “Yeah, obviously Viktor never actually knew his grandfather, as he died long before Viktor was even born. But it was still his mother’s father, so through her he knew a lot about him and obviously knew how much the loss had hurt his mother, who he’s very close to. So now, he’s going to have to tell his mother that he’s had sex with the person who killed her father. I can’t imagine that’s going to be an easy conversation.”

“No, I can’t imagine it will be,” Gavin said. “I mean, yeah, it’s safe to assume that he never would have if he knew who it really was, but still, I’m sure he’s going to feel guilty and sick to his stomach when he learns the truth.”

“And the worst part of this,” Harry said, “is that even now that we know the truth, it’s entirely possible that we’re going to end up sitting back and allowing it to continue happening. As of right this moment, Edward is no shape health-wise to consider attempting to take back his throne. And even if he was at peak health, he’s still only one man who was kidnapped before he had any formal magic training. I don’t know if he was given any while at Nurmengard or not.”

“I’d say it’s highly unlikely that he was given any in prison,” Cedric said. “He would have been wearing a magic restraining collar, after all, so it would have been next to impossible for him to do any magic. Theory maybe, but definitely nothing practical. Plus, I can’t imagine that Dumbledore or Grindelwald would want to risk him learning anything that he might be able to use to escape.”

“True,” Harry said. “The warden says that they usually only sent a person up to Grindelwald’s cell once a month with enough food and drink to last for a month. He didn’t actually say as much, but I got the distinct impression that everyone there was hoping they’d go up to his cell and find him dead. So, obviously they wouldn’t have given him any magic training. I mean, now that I think about it, why would they? Grindelwald was the most feared Dark Lord in Europe, so they’d never think that he needed basic magic lessons.”

Terence nodded. “Yeah and I can’t imagine that teaching him magic was very high on Dumbledore’s or Grindelwald’s list of priorities, as they’d want to keep him weak and compliant and unable to fight back.”

“I wonder how powerful the King actually is,” Gavin said, just as Rose came up the stairs.

“He’s a 23,” Rose answered, having overheard the question.  
“Well, then assuming he hasn’t already done the blood ritual,” Terence said, “then he’d be a Magus afterward.”

“He hasn’t done the blood ritual,” Rose said. “I checked when I detected his power level, so, yes should he opt to do mage training, he’ll be one of the most powerful mages in a number of years. Of course, he’s at something of a disadvantage right now.”

“Yes, not having had any magical training to speak of would put him at a disadvantage,” Pomona said, as she joined everyone upstairs. “Gavin was able to catch up fairly quickly, but then he’d already studied much of the theory for the more advanced work, so that helped. Edward, however, has not had that theoretical groundwork laid for him. And I have no clue about his study habits, so I couldn’t say how long it’ll take him to catch up.”

“I assure you, he’ll have no trouble,” Merlin said from James’ and Lily’s frame.

“Merlin? How are you in my parents’ frame?” Harry asked, as several other people around the room tried to pick their jaws up from the floor, as they’d never expected to meet the great Merlin Emrys, even if it was only in portrait form. Of course, there were also some confused looks as they’d all expected Merlin to look quite a bit older than the young man depicted in the painting.

“Little bit of extra magic that I wove into my portrait,” Merlin explained. “As I’m sure you know the occupants of wizarding portraits can visit any frame they wish, so long as they’re in the same building. Different buildings, however, usually require one to have another frame in that building. However, I didn’t like such limitations, so I added quite a bit of extra magic to my portrait, including a spell which would allow me to visit the frames belonging to anyone that I’ve shared a frame with anywhere. Thus, since you parents, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-granduncle shared my frame at Seacliff, I can now travel to any of their other frames, no matter where they’re located.”

“Your parents only have frames at Seacliff and here which I’m told is called Forest Cottage,” Arthur said, as he entered the portrait behind Merlin, wrapping his arms around the black-haired wizard’s waist as he did so. “However, your other relatives also have frames at your estates in Brynmoor and Mathry, plus the Potter’s London townhouse, so Merlin and I can visit all of them now.”

“What did you mean when you said that Edward won’t have any trouble?” Roger asked.

“And you are?” Merlin asked, instead of answering the question.

“My name is Roger Davies.”

“And how exactly do you know Lord Potter?” Arthur asked.

“We’re classmates at Hogwarts, although I’m a couple of years ahead of him,” Roger explained. “We’re also training together as mages and my father is his solicitor.”

“Ah, I see,” Merlin said. “I knew that Lord Potter was training as a mage. Good to see that he’s not the only one. May I assume the same holds true for the other teenagers in the room?”

Pomona nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m Pomona Sprout, one of their four trainers. There are additionally two unofficial assistant trainers, but they’re rather busy with other projects at the moment. They did assist with the blood ritual for these six students, however.”

“Very well,” Merlin said, as everyone else took a moment to introduce themselves to Merlin and Arthur. “Anyway, as for why I said that Edward would have no trouble with catching up, well, that’s for me to know and the rest of you to find out.”

“Indeed, for the moment, how is Edward?” Arthur asked.

“Resting comfortably for the moment,” Rose replied. “I plan on keeping him sedated for the next several hours, simply because his body desperately needs the rest. I’m sure that he got plenty of rest at Nurmengard, as there wouldn’t be much else to do in a prison cell, but he’s severely malnourished due to the prison’s policy of giving him all of Grindelwald’s established favorite foods. Unfortunately, many of Grindelwald’s favorites are dishes containing shellfish or peanuts, which are both items that Edward is lethally allergic to, so he refrained from eating them and thus has not been getting the proper amount of nutrition during his imprisonment.”

“How awful,” Merlin said. “Anyway, if you think he’ll be ready for it by tomorrow evening, I think we seriously need to think of calling a war council so that we can all discuss how best to move forward.”

“If he sleeps for the rest of the night and most of the day tomorrow, then he should be rested enough by tomorrow evening that he can attend,” Rose said.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so there’s Part One of Chapter Twelve. I hadn’t really planned on ending it here, but I figured maybe it’s time I make the chapters for this story a bit more manageable by not making them all over 20,000+ words. This one comes in at about 13,500 words, so hopefully that is more manageable. Let me know your thoughts on that. As for the chapter, what did you think? I know some of you guessed that the person shown at Nurmengard at the end of Chapter 11, Part 1 was actually Edward, but I imagine it still came as a surprise to some of you. And I don’t recall anyone ever guessing in a review that Brian was actually Albus. Did anyone see that coming? Questions, comments, suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so please feel free to review.
> 
> Also, it’s occurred to me that Edward could order the two remaining trainers to reveal who they are. Question is should he? I’ve posted a poll asking that question on my Yahoo group and on my FFNet profile.


	17. Chapter 12, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Twelve  
Part Two

-o-0-o-

The following evening, Edward, the four trainers, Harry, Cedric, Gavin, Oliver, Terence, and Roger were seated around the table in Forest Cottage’s library. James, Lily, Merlin, and Arthur were in the painting above the fireplace. Also joining the others were Regulus and Asterion, who, like everyone else, were shocked when they found out what Dumbledore had done. Edward was a little hesitant to speak freely in front of all these people he didn’t really know, although the fact that everyone at Forest Cottage had sworn either an Oath of Loyalty or an Oath of Secrecy to Harry made him feel better about it.

“Well, everyone is here,” Harry begun, “so I guess we can call this war council to order.”

“Fine by me,” Edward responded. “And you can all drop the protocol for this meeting.”

Merlin nodded. “Yes we have many things that we need to discuss and figure out. As much as we might like to, we can’t just storm Castle Camelot and demand that Grindelwald give up the throne.”

Edward nodded. “True. My only consolation is that Grindelwald and Dumbledore don’t have access to the castle wards. Of course, neither do I.”

“Why not?” Terence asked. “I mean, you are the King. I know that Harry is master of the wards at Seacliff, so wouldn’t you be the master of the wards at the royal properties?”

“The King has partial control over the wards,” Edward answered, “but only if they’ve gone through their official coronation ceremony in the throne room at Castle Camelot, which I never did since Dumbledore kidnapped me the night before I would have done that.”

“The wards on the royal properties are controlled by a council of sorts,” Merlin explained. “Consisting of the King, the Captain of the Royal Guard for each property, and the Lord High Chamberlain to the Court of Pendragon. In the absence of a Lord High Chamberlain, then the Chief Ushers of each property gains partial control over the wards at the property they work at.”

“That was Merlin’s idea,” Arthur said with a smirk. “He insisted that I often was too brash and willing to risk my life unnecessarily, so he insisted that the Captains of the Royal Guard can override the King on all matters relating to the King’s personal safety. The Lord High Chamberlain, meanwhile, is responsible for a myriad of royal household duties and state functions. So the council is jointly in control of the wards, rather than them resting in the control of only one person the way they do with the noble families.”

Oliver grinned, “So then if we could get the Guard Captains and the Chamberlain on our side then we’d have multiple people who control the wards, right? Does Grindelwald have any control over the wards, since I assume it was him who got crowned in Edward’s place in 1981? I know my father and my elder brothers listened to it on the Wireless, although I was only five years old back then, so, I really didn’t care enough to listen.”

“The Chamberlain could be an issue though,” Terence said. “Isn’t Lord Longbottom the Lord High Chamberlain?”

“Yes, he is,” Regulus confirmed. “During Edward’s reign, he’s also Lord High Constable, and thus in charge of law enforcement agencies and the armed forces. Of course, considering that Lord Franklin Longbottom and his wife have been basically catatonic since their minds were broken beyond repair by repeated and prolonged use of the Cruciatus Curse, he’s in no position to help us do anything.”

Having studied more information about the Great Officers of State following his finding out that he was one of them, Harry knew that the position of Lord High Constable was awarded to the Longbottom, Ollivander, and Potter families in equal shares, with the family holding the title changing in alphabetical order with the reign of each new monarch. Julian Potter held the position during King Charles Pendragon’s reign, but when he died and Edward became King, the title moved to the Longbottom family. Thus the Potter family wasn’t due to hold the title again until the reign of Edward’s grandson, by which time Harry figured he wouldn’t need to worry about it personally, because he didn’t imagine he’d live to see Edward’s grandson take the throne. Especially considering that as of now, Edward didn’t even have a son, let alone a grandson.

“I’m sorry to hear about Lord Longbottom,” Edward said. “I didn’t know that had happened to him, as I certainly was never told.”

“Well, it didn’t happen until the spring of 1982,” Regulus commented. “So, I imagine that Dumbledore and Grindelwald decided it wasn’t something you needed to know.”

“Indeed, once I was at Nurmengard they didn’t really tell me anything,” Edward revealed. “They visited from time to time, of course, and during those times they’d usually lift the charms enough that I’d remember who I was, but they never told me anything about what was going on in the outside world. They usually just forced me to sign official things that they couldn’t risk forging my signature on, although they never gave me the time to read any of the things they were making me sign or tell me what they were. Honestly, for all I know they could have forced me to sign a letter abdicating the throne.”

Asterion shook his head. “Considering that you were kidnapped and illegally imprisoned, anything you signed was clearly under duress, so there’s not a court in the world that would recognize an abdication letter. Even the countries that historically have issues with Albion or Camelot for various reasons would never recognize it, simply because doing so would set a bad precedent that could be used against their own monarchs at some point.”

Edward nodded. “True. Anyway, on the subject of the Longbottoms, please tell me that the people who did it were caught and punished.”

There were several uncomfortable looks around the room, before finally Harry said, “Oh they were punished, although there is some question about the legality of their punishment.”

“Why?” Edward asked. “They committed a heinous crime, they deserve whatever punishment they got.”

“I agree completely,” Athena said. “As I’m sure everyone at this table does,” several heads nodded affirmatively at this. “However, the culprits were tried before the Wizengamot, which technically speaking didn’t have the authority to try them.”

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, as he asked, “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“If you think she’s saying they were nobles, then yes,” Rose answered. “The ones responsible were Lord Rodolphus Lestrange, his wife Lady Bellatrix Lestrange, and his brother Rabastan Lestrange, in addition to Lord Crouch’s son and heir, Bartemius Crouch, Jr. They were all marked Death Eaters and followers of Voldemort, who were sentenced to life in Azkaban for their crimes. Barty Crouch, Jr. died in prison, but Lord and Lady Lestrange are still alive.”

“I don’t know if they participated in the attack on the royal family,” Pomona said, “as to the best of my knowledge they’ve never said whether they did or not. Although they have taken great pleasure in freely admitting their guilt in what they did to Lord and Lady Longbottom. Well, the Lestranges did, anyway. Barty Crouch Jr. played the part of a scared teenager throughout most of his trial and begging for mercy from his father, who was head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement back then.”

“The Lestranges at least were part of Voldemort’s inner circle, however,” Regulus said, “so it’s fair to assume that they did help to murder the other members of the royal family. Barty Jr. was most likely not involved, however, as he was only nineteen when the Longbottoms were tortured and thus was only nine years old when the royal family was murdered ten years earlier.”

Arthur shook his head and said, “I can guarantee that Sir Lionel and Sir Bedivere would be horrified if they knew that their descendants would ever take part in the wholesale slaughter of my descendants or use the Cruciatus Curse on the descendants of Sir Tristan until their minds broke beyond repair.”

Noticing a few of the confused looks around the room, Merlin said, “Even after they were ennobled, Arthur had a tendency to still call the lords of the thirteen houses ‘Sir’ followed by their first names, since they were all Knights of Camelot before they were raised to the nobility.”

Being one of the better read people in the room, Roger nodded and said, “Yeah, many of the names would be recognizable to anyone who’s read the Arthurian legends: Sir Percival Potter, Sir Gwaine Ollivander, Sir Tristan Longbottom, Sir Cardok McLaggen, Sir Owain Diggory, Sir Bedivere Crouch, Sir Ector Burke, Sir Pelleas Black, Sir Galahad Bones, Sir Lucan Malfoy, Sir Gareth Flint, Sir Lionel Lestrange, and Sir Constantine McKinnon.”

“I do recognize a few of those names from the muggle versions I saw as a child,” Harry said. “Never thought I’d one day find out that I was related to one of the famed Knights of the Round Table though.”

“Yes, anyway, I think we’re getting off track,” Regulus said.

“Indeed,” Edward said. “Lord Longbottom has a son doesn’t he? I do seem to recall being told that Lord and Lady Longbottom had a son about a year before I was imprisoned.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, he’s in my year at Hogwarts: Neville Longbottom. His grandmother Augusta raised him after his parents were admitted to St. Mungo’s on a permanent basis. She’s been training Neville to one day take over, although, that’s been delayed since his father isn’t dead and apparently the letters patent don’t cover the passage of the title due to mental incapacity.”

Merlin nodded. “Indeed, they don’t. Of course, Arthur and I never considered the idea that one of the lords would one day be tortured under the Cruciatus Curse until their mind was beyond repair. Even in our day, that spell was highly frowned upon. It wasn’t classed as Unforgivable as it is today, but using it still carried very harsh penalties that most people would have wanted to avoid.”

Arthur agreed by adding, “Not to mention the fact that in our day, all the lords were good friends with each other, due to having served together as Knights of Camelot. So none of them would have ever considered attacking each other in such a way. Obviously things have changed over the course of the centuries and not for the better, it would seem.”

Edward looked deep in thought, until finally he said, “Well, I suppose it would require a meeting of the Tribunal, but I could add a provision into the letters patent to deal with the permanent mental incapacity of one of the lords. It would stipulate that the heir of the family can inherit the titles while their father is still alive, if say two or three expert mind healers agree that there’s no possibility for recovery. That way, Neville could be elevated to Duke of Aldersey and carry out the duties assigned to the Longbottom family.”

“Speaking of the Tribunal,” Regulus said, “I was going to suggest that you call it anyway, as getting the noble families on your side would certainly be helpful in taking back your throne. Of course, at this point they’ve all met and dined with Gellert posing as you, so you’d have to prove to them that you really are the real King Edward and that the one they’ve met is a fake.”

“Not to mention the added wrinkle of some of them believing that they or their heirs are being courted by King Edward,” Asterion added.

“Courted?” Edward asked. “What on Earth are you talking about?”

“Gellert chose a group of official royal suitors,” Harry answered. “Consisting of Brian Dumbledore, Lord Callum McKinnon, Lord Flint’s son and heir Marcus, Lord Malfoy’s son and heir Draco, Bulgarian Quidditch star Viktor Krum who recently played on the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team in the World Cup, and one of Gringotts’ curse-breakers and the elder brother of one of my best friends at Hogwarts, Bill Weasley.”

“I was at the dinner with Gellert following the World Cup when he selected them,” Cedric said. “And I know that Marcus actually said that he wasn’t gay and that he really had no interest in having that kind of relationship with a man. Gellert made it clear that he didn’t really care if Marcus was interested or not, because as the King, it was his opinion and desires that mattered and no one else’s.”

“Callum McKinnon is also straight and has no interest in men,” Harry said. “He dated my seneschal’s first wife’s niece for just over a year.”

“I would never do that,” Edward said as he shook his head with a clearly disgusted look on his face. “I may be an absolute monarch, but there are certain lines that shouldn’t be crossed and forcing any of my subjects into a romantic or sexual relationship with me that they don’t want is one of them.”

“I would have to agree,” Arthur said. “There was a time that I may have felt differently, as my father raised me to think that as royalty, that I should basically get whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it, but Merlin knocked some sense into me.”

Merlin grinned. “Yes it only took me about fifty years to de-pratify him.”

“It didn’t take that long!” Arthur exclaimed.

“Okay, you’re right,” Merlin said, as he leaned over and kissed Arthur on the cheek. Turning to everyone else in the room, he added, in a stage whisper, “It actually only took forty-nine years.”

“MERLIN!!” Arthur shouted.

“So, any suggestions on how we prove to the other lords that Edward really is Edward?” Athena asked.

“Easiest way I suppose would be an oath,” Edward proposed. “Although before I do that, I guess I really should get a new wand from Lord Ollivander, as I have no idea what happened to the one I bought when I was ten. I haven’t laid eyes on it since I was kidnapped.”

“Actually Edward, I would suggest that you don’t get a wand from Lord Ollivander,” Rose said. The king raised an eyebrow at this, clearly questioning why without actually asking, prompting Rose to add, “When I was conducting my diagnostic scans on you to determine your general state of health, I saw that your magic resonates the strongest with the air element and thus none of Lord Ollivander’s wands would be a good fit, as the cores that he stocks only resonate with fire and earth.”

“I’d have to agree on that,” Harry added. “When I agreed to enter mage training, the trainers took me and the others to Cairo to buy supplies, including new wands, which we ended up buying from Lord Ollivander’s grandson and heir, Nick Ollivander. He stocks a much wider array of cores and doesn’t believe in his grandfather’s supreme core theory.”

“Yeah, I have to say the wands we bought from him do work quite well,” Oliver said. “Well, when we’re not shorting them out due to not being used to our greater core powers yet.”

“I can certainly understand that adjustment phase,” Arthur said. “When I bonded with Merlin I jumped from Sorcerer to Grand Magister, and then due to our Love Bond we both went up to Archmagus, wasting two levels of potential increase in the process since we’d hit the maximum. Regardless, going up eighteen levels in about an hour was quite hard to deal with.”

Merlin, meanwhile, had raised an eyebrow and asked, “Supreme core theory?” Once it was explained to him, he shook his head and said in a dismissive tone, “That has got to be one of the stupidest theories I’ve ever heard in my entire life, both in the 190 years that I was actually alive and the 1,063 years I’ve spent as a portrait. The cores that the current Lord Ollivander uses are certainly good cores, but they’re by no means the only good ones, and if you ask me, his refusal to work with the others is both stupid and a sign of laziness. And while I can certainly understand his desire to control the quality of the raw materials that he uses, selling only premade wands that were made days, weeks, months, or even years before the customer ever sets foot in the store is… I don’t even have words.”

Arthur nodded, “Yes, I can only imagine that there’s centuries of Ollivanders turning over in their graves over the shame of one of their ancestors coming up with such a ridiculous theory. Especially since it ignores the whole concept of elemental resonance, which is an immutable fact of magic. Forcing witches and wizards whose magic resonates with water or air to use wands that resonate with fire or earth is just wrong on so many levels, because the wand will never perform at peak ability. In fact, it very well could be the cause of death for more than one wizard or witch who found themselves in a dangerous situation that they might have been able to survive, if only their wand actually matched their resonance.”

“Okay, then,” Edward agreed. “I guess I’ll get my wand from Nick Ollivander. It’s still an Ollivander wand, even if it isn’t from Ollivander’s. As for other ways of proving I really am the King, another option would be the Pendragon crown jewels.”

“The crown jewels?” asked Gavin. “How would they prove who you are?”

Edward smiled. “Because they’re kept locked up tight in the Pendragon vault at Gringotts’ and unlike the other high security vaults, which require the touch of a goblin to open the door, the Pendragon vault requires the touch of a Pendragon to open the door. Which means that the crown jewels used when Gellert went through my coronation in my place were fakes, because I was supposed to go to Gringotts’ to collect the crown jewels two hours before the coronation. And I never went to the bank, so they must have used fakes of all the crown jewels when Gellert took my place in the coronation ceremony.”

“Hmm, we’d need more than just your word for that, however,” Harry said, as he thought for a moment, before he called out, “Barin!”

A moment later, Athena’s house-elf appeared and asked, “Yes, Lord Potter?”

“Could you fetch me some parchment, quill, ink, and sealing wax?”

“Yes, of course, Lord Potter,” the elf said, popping away only to return with the requested items a few moments later.

“What are you doing, Harry?” Regulus asked.

Opening the ink bottle and dipping the quill in the ink, Harry said, “Writing a quick letter to Ragnok. He’s the head of Gringotts’, after all, so I think the other lords will certainly take his word for it if he says that the Pendragon vault was never accessed before the coronation and I’m sure they have records that will prove that it wasn’t.”

Edward nodded. “Good thinking, Harry, and you’re right, they would have records. The goblins keep very detailed records of every transaction that happens in every one of their locations. The records are usually confidential and for goblins’ eyes only, but Ragnok has the necessary authority to pull them for others to view if they’re necessary.”

Harry didn’t go into any detail in his note to Ragnok, only saying that an urgent matter had come up and that he needed to meet with Ragnok in person as soon as possible and that circumstances required that Ragnok come to him. Intending to send Tilly with the note, he asked that Ragnok accompany his head-elf back to the meeting location, which he didn’t name as Forest Cottage, even though Ragnok was aware of his mage training. Finishing the letter, he folded it up and poured sealing wax on it, before removing the Potter family ring from his finger and pressing it into the wax. Calling for Tilly, he handed her the sealed letter and asked that she deliver it personally to Ragnok and that she remain with him while he read it and then bring him back to Forest Cottage.

“Now, while we’re waiting on Ragnok,” Harry continued, “we mentioned calling the Tribunal earlier. Merlin, Arthur, does that have to be done at Seacliff? Or can I do it at one of my other properties?”

“You can do it from any of your Masters’ Studies,” Merlin answered. “And there’s one at both of your other estates. Why?”

“It occurs to me that I have no idea whether or not Dumbledore or Grindelwald may have placed any spells at Seacliff that would allow them to spy on me,” Harry said. “They’ve both had access to the property, after all. Of course, I haven’t visited my other properties since I became Lord Potter a few months ago, as I’ve been busy with my training.” Pausing here, Harry looked contemplative for a moment before he asked, “Mum, Dad, could one of you go to Seacliff and ask Nat and Ian if they ever granted Dumbledore or Grindelwald access to the other properties? It would be rather pointless to go to one of them in case they have spying charms at Seacliff if they’ve also had access to the other properties all this time and thus could have similar charms there.”

“I’ll go ask,” James volunteered, as he retreated from the frame.

While he was gone, Roger commented, “You’re really getting into this whole Lord thing, Harry.”

Cedric nodded. “Yes, you’ve come quite a long way from the boy three months ago who didn’t even know that Albion had its own nobility, let alone the fact that you were actually a member of it.”

Edward looked confused as he asked, “You didn’t know you were nobility until three months ago?”

Shaking his head, Harry said, “No, I didn’t. After my parents were killed, Dumbledore placed me in the care of my mother’s muggle sister and her husband. That was expressly forbidden by my parents’ wills, although it was done the same night they died, so, it is possible that Dumbledore didn’t know, as I don’t know how he could possibly know the terms of their will beforehand, as he wasn’t a witness to its signing. Anyway, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hate magic and Aunt Petunia hated my mother, so I didn’t know anything about my heritage until it came up at Gringotts’ after I entered mage training.”

“Interesting,” Edward said. “And quite sad, that you grew up without parents. Of course, it’s a pain that I understand all too well, since I lost mine only a couple of weeks after turning two. I was informed when your parents died of course, and I knew you’d been sent to live with relatives, but I didn’t know they were muggles. If I hadn’t been kidnapped, I had planned to wait until you were older and then come visit you, as we have a lot in common, what with being the last of our respective lines and all. We also have matching scars.”

“Matching scars?” Harry asked.

Edward nodded, as he stood up and pulled the loose linen shirt he was wearing out of his trousers and lifted it up to reveal an identical scar to Harry’s famous lightning bolt on his abdomen, just to the left of his navel.

“The scars are my mark,” Merlin revealed. “In life, my magic resonated with air, so I was particularly adept with lightning bolts. In fact, I once killed an evil sorceress with one. One that Arthur’s father would probably have been very happy to see dead. Though I highly doubt that it would been enough to save me from the chopping block if he knew that I had magic.” Shaking his head, he added, “At any rate, those scars are a manifestation of the power of the Last of the Line clause, which uses the combined power of the focus sites to ensure that the last of a noble or royal line cannot die of anything other than old age, in the hope that it’ll give them enough time to have children to ensure the continuation of their lines.”

“Focus sites?” Gavin asked.

Before anyone could answer, however, there was a pop as Tilly returned with Ragnok. The goblin took a moment to adjust to his surroundings, before he took in the people gathered around the room. Noticing Edward, he bowed his head and said, “Your Majesty, this is an unexpected surprise.”

“Hello Ragnok,” Edward said. “It’s certainly been awhile. Longer than you may think, in fact.”

Ragnok looked confused as he asked, “What do you mean?”

“You know Ragnok, I take it?” Terence asked.

Edward nodded. “Yes, as the head of Gringotts’ Bank, Ragnok is the goblin that was entrusted to handle all of the Pendragon accounts.”

Ragnok nodded. “Indeed, I’m the Pendragon account manager, so I’ve met Edward and his ancestors on numerous occasions. What do you mean that it’s been longer than I think since I last saw you?”

“If you’ve had any contact with me after 11 November 1981, then it wasn’t me that you were dealing with, as I’ve been held prisoner at Nurmengard, in Gellert Grindelwald’s cell, since then.”

Noticing the disbelieving look on Ragnok’s face, Harry nodded and said, “It’s true, Ragnok. I was at Nurmengard with my trainers and Madam Amelia Bones when we went there to rescue Edward, after Merlin and Arthur,” he motioned towards the portrait above the fireplace, “overheard a conversation at Castle Camelot that revealed that the royal seneschal, Brian Dumbledore, is in fact Albus Dumbledore in disguise and that he broke Grindelwald out of prison and replaced him with Edward. Grindelwald has been masquerading as Edward ever since.”

“And it all suddenly becomes clear,” Ragnok said.

“What do you mean?” Edward asked.

“I’ve had several meetings with who I thought was Edward Pendragon over the last decade or so,” Ragnok said. “Although in all of that time, he never once asked to go to his vault. A fact which I found extremely strange, considering that he never once asked to retrieve the crown jewels, which can’t be removed from the vault by anyone other than a Pendragon. Not only because the door can’t be opened by anyone who isn’t a Pendragon, but because if anyone who isn’t a Pendragon touches the crown jewels, the vault door will slam shut and trap them in the vault, where they’ll be killed as everything is cursed with Flagrante and Geminus Curses.”

Shaking his head, Ragnok added, “We do have the ability to withdraw funds from the vault without actually opening the door, so he made the occasional withdrawals, but he never asked to go to the vault. I invited him once and he claimed not to have time. I realize now that it’s because if he did, he would have activated the Thief’s Downfall.”

“Thief’s Downfall?” Oliver asked.

Ragnok grinned a toothy grin, as he recited, “Enter, stranger, but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed. For those who take, but do not earn, must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors, a treasure that was never yours, thief, you have been warned, beware of finding more than treasure there.”

“The poem outside every Gringotts’ location,” Roger said.

Ragnok nodded. “Indeed. Most people assume it’s in reference to the dragons that guard the high security vaults. That belief is partly true, however, it also refers to the magical protections which prevent thievery, one of those being the Thief’s Downfall. It’s a waterfall that will activate in the event that a Glamour Charm or other active spell effect, such as the Imperius Curse is detected. It washes away all such enchantments and causes the cart to derail and crash. If Gellert Grindelwald ever attempted to go to the Pendragon vault, the deception would have been immediately uncovered because the Thief’s Downfall would have activated and washed away his Glamours. And even if it didn’t, it still would have been revealed when he was unable to open the door to the Pendragon vault.”

“So, wait, if Grindelwald couldn’t get the crown jewels out of the vault,” Cedric said, “what were the jewels that Grindelwald was wearing at the World Cup? He was wearing a crown that looked very much like the one I’ve seen in pictures of King Charles and he had Excalibur in a scabbard attached to his belt.”

“Those were clearly fakes,” Edward said. “Very well crafted fakes, perhaps, but still fakes. I’ll have to go to Gringotts’ and get the real ones from the vault, as that along with Ragnok’s sworn statement that they’d all been locked in the vault until now should certainly help convince the other lords that I’m the real Edward Pendragon. Although, even getting the thirteen on my side, I can’t help but think that I should seek additional assistance.”

Asterion nodded. “That might be wise. We don’t know what kind of support Grindelwald and Dumbledore might have.”

“Yes and as careful as we’ve been to keep it a secret that Edward is no longer their prisoner,” Rolanda said, “I can’t help but think that they had to know that eventually their ruse would come to light and I’m sure they’ve made plans for when that happens.”

“True,” Regulus agreed. “I hesitate to say it, Your Majesty, but perhaps your best option might be to seek an alliance with one of the foreign royal courts. The reason I hesitate to say it, however, is because with you being the last of your family, about the only thing that you could offer is your own hand in marriage.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true,” Edward said. “As there are other deals that could be made, but they’re deals I would not make. For example, I could probably strike a deal with the Bourbons by agreeing to surrender all of my claims on Camelot’s French holdings. The same would probably hold true for the Habsburgs, if I surrendered Gibraltar and some of our other holdings that our ownership of have historically caused issues between us and Spain-Portugal, but I’m not prepared to do that.”

“You might be able to strike a deal with the King of Romania,” Pomona suggested. “Nurmengard is in the mountains of Wallachia, after all, and while it’s true that Romania’s rotating crown is currently held by Voivode Stefan XVI of Moldavia, I think it’s a safe bet that both he and Voivode Vlad III of Wallachia and Voivode Nikolai XVI of Transylvania would be willing to join forces with Camelot, as Grindelwald’s escape from a Romanian facility looks bad for the country.”

“Who are all those people?” Harry asked. “I’ve studied quite a bit about Albion, Iwernia, and Camelot in the three months that I’ve been Duke of Granston, but I’m afraid that with my mage training I haven’t had the time to study the foreign royal houses much.”

“Magical Romania has a rotating monarchy,” Athena explained. “There’s three claimants in the form of the Voivodes of Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia and they take turns assuming the title of King of Romania either for the duration of the ruler’s lifetime or fifty years, whichever comes first. The current King of Romania, is Stefan of Moldavia, so Vlad of Wallachia and Nikolai of Transylvania rank below him. The three of them together form a sort of advisory council, but Stefan, as King of Romania, gets final say on any decisions.”

Asterion added, “The reason for the ‘or fifty years’ stipulation in the crown rotation is because of the fact that the current Voivode of Wallachia is Vlad III Dracula. Also known as Count Dracula and Vlad the Impaler and yes, he’s a vampire and several hundred years old at this point, seeing as he was born in 1431. Thus, the crown rotates between the three Voivodes for their lifetimes or every fifty years, whichever comes first, because otherwise the Voivodes of Moldavia and Transylvania would be waiting a very, very long time for Vlad III to die. As a vampire, he is essentially immortal and thus barring his abdication, his assassination is pretty much the only way to remove him from power and unlike what’s shown in muggle horror movies and television, it’s not easy to kill a vampire. Especially one that’s as old as Vlad is.”

“You are probably correct in regards to Romania being willing to form an alliance,” Edward said. “I’m sure they’d very much like to recapture Grindelwald, as it does make them look bad that he got out of their prison. I’m sure Vlad would be particularly upset about it, since Nurmengard is in his section of Romania. However, I’m hesitant to form an alliance with Romania, because even though I’d be dealing with Stefan at the moment, Vlad is still in the picture. His vampirism and his reputation does result in several other courts having rather cool diplomatic relations with Romania, even when he isn’t the one currently on the throne, and I’m afraid that might extend to Albion if I form an official alliance with them.”

“Well, there’s plenty of other potential allies to choose from,” Regulus said. “Although, I imagine many of the potential allies, especially those closest to Albion, will want more than just a marriage contract.”

“I think you’ll find that a marriage contract will be perfectly acceptable for an alliance with Egypt,” Ragnok said. “Pharaoh Seti has enough children that I think he’d gladly jump at any chance to marry them off that he can get. Plus, an alliance with Egypt also brings the possibility of an alliance with the Byzantine Empire, considering that one of Seti’s wives, Princess Nefertari, is Emperor Justinian XI’s twin sister.”

“She’s not a native Egyptian?” Gavin asked.

Ragnok shook his head, “No, she’s a foreign-born princess, born in Constantinople as Her Imperial & Royal Highness Princess Justinia of Byzantium. However, it’s an Egyptian custom that when marrying the Pharaoh, if you’re not already in possession of one, you take an Egyptian name, so upon their marriage, Justinia become Nefertari. Of course, there are some who would say that even Pharaoh Seti himself is not a Native Egyptian, even though he and generations of his ancestors were born there. This is because he’s a member of the Ptolemaic Dynasty and a direct descendant of Ptolemy I. Despite his regnal name of Seti LVII, he has no blood connection to the famous Egyptian Pharaoh Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty or his son, Ramesses the Great.”

Athena nodded and said, “After the death of the famed Cleopatra VII the muggles think that the Ptolemaic Dynasty came to an end, although in truth with the exception of a brief interruption of about 19 years, it’s remained in power since antiquity. Cleopatra VII’s son with Julius Caesar, Ptolemy XV Caesarion, was 17 when he was executed on the orders of Gaius Octavius, who later became Emperor Augustus of Rome. However, unknown to anyone at the time, Caesarion had an unborn son with a native-born Egyptian noblewoman named Ankhesenamon. The relationship was kept very quiet, however, due to the fact that she was married and 10 years Caesarion’s senior. However, she was also a powerful witch and seer, and she predicted Caesarion’s death and the absorption of Egypt into the Roman Empire.”

Regulus picked up the tale at this point, adding, “Ankhesenamon gave birth to her son, naming it Seti, two weeks after Caesarion was executed and she used magic to hide the boy’s true parentage from the Roman authorities, by making it look like her husband, Khamet, was the father. Khamet was aware that Seti wasn’t his, but he loved his wife and thus went along with her ruse, using what political power he could muster to place himself in the good graces of the Roman court, which was not easy considering that by this point all aspects of the local administration of Egypt was done by Romans and native Egyptians were barred from having any say.”

“This didn’t go over well with many native Egyptians, of course,” Asterion said. “Things finally came to a head in 11 BC, when Seti was 19, and many of the old magical families of Egypt rose up against the Romans in open war. The conflict has been purged from all muggle records not only due to the Statute of Secrecy, but also because Emperor Augustus, who was himself a muggle, did not want people questioning his authority if it came out that he’d lost a major war. Actually, saying he lost the war is actually an over simplification, because the Roman legions were basically slaughtered.”

Regulus nodded, and said, “Finally in 1 BC, after a decade of war, in which the Romans never managed to gain the upper hand despite their best efforts, Emperor Augustus signed a peace treaty which released the entire magical populace of Egypt from Roman rule and led to Seti being crowned Pharaoh Seti III, Ruler and Living God of the Magical Dominions of Upper and Lower Egypt. In time that was shortened to ‘Egyptian Empire’ by which time the Pharaoh’s rule had been extended to include a large portion of the magical populace of Northern Africa. In modern times, the Pharaoh rules over not just the magical people of modern-day Egypt but also the countries of Libya, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Israel, and Lebanon.”

Stroking his chin, Edward nodded and said, “Yes, I suppose an alliance with Egypt could be useful and if I can get an additional alliance with Byzantium then all the better. However, the potential wrinkle is that I do prefer men, so I don’t know if Pharaoh Seti has any sons who would share that preference.”

Ragnok laughed, “Oh, Your Majesty, you needn’t worry about that. Pharaoh Seti has over a hundred children, so the odds are definitely in your favor that at least one of his sons favors men.” Pausing for a moment, he added, “In fact, I do believe I heard a rumor from the Egyptian Court that one of Seti’s sons with Nefertari prefers men. If you could court and marry him, well, it would certainly be useful not only in securing an alliance with Egypt, but also with Byzantium, considering that you’d be marrying Justinian’s nephew.”

Before anyone else could say anything, James returned to the portrait and said, “Sorry I took so long, but Nat and Ian couldn’t remember for sure if they’d ever granted Dumbledore or Grindelwald access to our other estates. They thought they didn’t, but they couldn’t be sure, so they ended up visiting their portraits at the other estates and canvassing the portraits and ghosts at those estates to find out if anyone remembered Albus Dumbledore, King Edward, or Brian Dumbledore visiting. Obviously that took a while.”

Harry nodded, “So, what’s the verdict?”

“The other portraits and ghosts are sure that they’ve never visited,” James answered. “So, it should be safe to call the Tribunal from either of the family halls in Brynmoor or Mathry.”

Glancing over at the clock, Harry was shocked to see that they’d apparently been talking for several hours as it was now nearing midnight. “Well, then I guess I’ll call the Tribunal tomorrow morning, after Edward has gotten a wand made by Nick?”

Nodding, Edward said, “That’ll work.” Turning to Ragnok, he asked, “I know Gringotts’ has magical passages between all their branches, so while I’m in Egypt getting a wand could you take me to the Pendragon vault so that I can collect the crown jewels?”

“It would be my pleasure, sir,” Ragnok replied.

“Very well then, we have a plan of action,” Edward summarized. “I suggest that we all retire for the evening, as tomorrow promises to be a long and tiring day.”

-o-0-o-

The following day, after Edward had visited Gringotts’ and secured the crown jewels and bought a new wand from Nick Ollivander, it was finally time to call the Tribunal to meet. As a Hogwarts professor, Regulus had no issue with gaining access to Neville Longbottom, placing him under a Sleeping Charm and then casting the spell to temporarily create a double for him so that his absence from his classes wouldn’t be noticed. Secreting the sleeping noble heir out of the castle, Regulus delivered him to the awaiting Pomona Sprout. She wasn’t Neville’s Head of House, but she was Neville’s favorite teacher and it was felt that seeing her when he awoke would calm him.

Making his way to Perendale Hall, the Potter’s manor house in the Marquisate of Brynmoor, Harry paid little attention to his surroundings, even though it was his first visit to the property. There would be time at a later date for a tour, but for the moment, he had important business to attend to. Walking into the Master’s Study, Harry walked over to the fireplace and after taking Edward’s outstretched hand in his own, Harry placed the Potter ring on the black marble stone inset in the mantle, before saying, "I, Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston and Lord of Seacliff Castle, call for a meeting of the Tribunal of the Thirteen to commence immediately."

The second the last word left Harry’s lips, the black marble stone turned bright, nearly blinding white, as he felt the hook behind his navel. Moments later, Harry and Edward found themselves standing in the Potter quarters of the Tribunal Chambers, and they both watched as one by one the gems on the mantelpiece began glowing to signal the arrival of the other Lords.

Waiting a few minutes after the final gem lit, Edward said, “The other lords will undoubtedly be upset about the immediate meeting, so you’d best not keep them waiting any longer. I will remain here for a moment and then join you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Harry said, before leaving the room and making his way to the main room of the Tribunal Chambers, a place that he hadn’t expected or necessarily even wanted to see again so soon following Barnabas Cuffe’s trial, but it couldn’t be helped. The other twelve lords were all gathered when Harry entered the room and many of them did not look happy.

“Lord Potter, with all due respect, what is the meaning of this?” Malcolm Flint asked as Harry walked over to the group.

“Indeed, Granston, I must admit I’m quite perturbed to be summoned with no warning,” Garrick said. “I had just opened my store for the day when I got my summons. Thankfully my shop assistant was with me or customers would find nobody there.”

Harry was just about to say something when Edward walked into the room and said, “Don’t be angry with Lord Potter. He called the Tribunal together upon my direction.”

“Your Majesty,” several of the lords said in respectful tones, as they bowed their heads, as the King walked further into the room.

As he raised his head, Callum McKinnon looked quite confused, as he said, “Forgive me if this is impertinent of me, Your Majesty, but why go to Lord Potter to summon the Tribunal, when I only left your chambers an hour before I got the summons? If you’d wanted the Tribunal summoned, I would have done it for you.”

“Without knowing it, Lord McKinnon, you’ve hit upon the reason for this meeting,” Edward said, causing Callum to look even more confused than he’d already been. He didn’t need to wait long for an answer, however, as Edward said, “I’m afraid that while it may be true that you left the royal chambers an hour ago, Lord McKinnon, it wasn’t my presence that you were in.”

“What do you mean, sir?” Callum asked, as he blushed crimson and said, “I’m quite certain it was you that I spent the night with.”

Edward looked sad as he said, “I regret to inform you, Lord McKinnon, that I am still a virgin, despite your belief, and the belief of the other royal suitors I’m sure, that they’ve all had sex with me.”

“I’m not sure I understand, sir,” Callum said. “I don’t wish to contradict you, but I was there and we did have sex last night and again this morning.”

“I don’t dispute that you had sex, Lord McKinnon,” Edward said. “What I’m disputing is the fact that it was with me, because it wasn’t. This is going to come as a great shock to many of you, but the person you’ve all met previously who claims to be me is in fact not me. For you see, there’s an imposter masquerading as me and usurping the throne.”

“What? How is that even possible?” Lucius asked. “My son is one of the royal suitors.”

“As is mine,” Malcolm said. “And now you’re saying that it wasn’t you who chose them?”

Edward, who had been shown pictures of all of the lords and were told who each of them were before coming to the Tribunal, nodded. “Indeed, Lord Malfoy, Lord Flint, I did not choose your sons as my suitors. While I will admit that I do prefer men, it is my understanding that Marcus is straight and has no interest in men. It is also my understanding that you are straight, as well, Lord McKinnon.”

Callum nodded. “I am and before becoming one of the King’s suitors I never would have thought to lie with a man, as I’m not attracted to men, but it was the King, so I felt I had no choice.”

“I apologize for that,” Edward said. “Even though it wasn’t me who selected you as suitors. If I were selecting suitors, which I imagine I will have to do at some point soon, I would never use my authority as King-Emperor to force straight men into my bed. I would only select willing people and after Lord Potter filled me in on how my imposter chose his suitors, I have to say that I would not have gone the route he did by blindsiding them the way that he did. I would have talked with them beforehand and seen if they were even interested before asking them to be my suitors.”

“I understand that this is a lot to take in,” Harry said. “And that you’re all likely confused, but I can assure you that what His Majesty is saying is true in every respect. This is the real King Edward Pendragon and the one we’ve all met previously is an imposter. I know this for a fact because in my capacity as Lord High Chancellor I was with Amelia Bones and four of her Aurors when we freed His Majesty from Nurmengard Prison.”

Eyes all around the room widened at this, as Amos asked, “Nurmengard Prison? What rubbish is this? Why in Merlin’s name would His Majesty need to be freed from prison?”

“It’s funny you should mention Merlin,” Edward said. “As he, or rather his portrait, was instrumental in uncovering the fact that there was an imposter on the throne.”

“I wish that wasn’t the case, but sadly it is,” a voice that Edward and Harry both recognized, causing both of them to turn in the direction of it, as their eyes widened and their jaws nearly dropped upon seeing Arthur and Merlin walking into the room, seemingly in the flesh.

“Who are you?” Caractacus Burke asked of the two newcomers.

“I’m sure you won’t believe me,” Arthur replied, “but I am His Majesty King Arthur Pendragon I and this is my husband, His Majesty King-Consort Merlin Emrys-Pendragon.”

“Impossible!” Arcturus Lestrange shouted. “Arthur and Merlin died centuries ago.”

“Actually, it’s far from impossible,” Merlin said. “In life, Arthur and I were both Archmagi, so there was very little that was impossible for us. Even less so in this place.”

“The Tribunal Chambers?” Harry asked.

Arthur nodded. “Indeed, Harry, the Tribunal Chambers are more than just a courtroom, however, as they were in fact built upon one of the most magical places in all of the world.” Arthur paused here and pointing towards the windows, he asked, “You’ve all seen the tree and spring in yonder cavern?”

Fourteen heads nodded as one, at which point Merlin revealed, “That tree and spring are an embodiment of magic; specifically of Earth and Water magic as together they are in fact the Earth & Water magical focus site. One of only four points on the globe where magical energies can be pooled and collected to cast spells the likes of which would otherwise be impossible. For you see with the power of the focus sites, a mage can cast spells on a global scale and perform feats of magic which are normally impossible, such as removing Unbreakable Vows.”

“As Merlin has stated,” Arthur said, “there are only four focus sites on the planet. This one, plus the Fire/Air focus site in Upper Egypt, the Fire/Earth focus site in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Water/Air focus site in Newfoundland, Canada. Every time any magical person casts a spell anywhere on the planet, a small fraction of their power is siphoned off to feed the focus sites and keep the elemental powers of the Earth strong. The four focus sites are linked to one another via invisible ley lines which allow for the power of all four of them to be harnessed together to work great feats of magic that effect the entire world. Only a mage, however, can harness the power of the focus sites, as it would be too much magical energy for anyone else to handle without killing themselves.”

“One of those great feats of magic that I worked in life,” Merlin said, “was the magic that allows Arthur and me to appear here, seemingly in the flesh. It is only here in the Tribunal Chambers or one of the other focus sites that we are able to appear in this form. Anywhere else and we are mere portraits, although I must admit that I also weaved quite a bit of very non-standard magic into Arthur’s and my portrait which grant us a number of abilities that most portraits do not possess.”

“What did you mean when you said that Merlin’s portrait was instrumental in discovering the alleged imposter on the throne?” Eric asked.

“Arthur and I have a frame at Castle Camelot,” Merlin explained. “And we happened to overhear a particularly distressing conversation.” At this, Merlin and Arthur launched into an explanation of the last day or so, with Edward and Harry chiming in at various points. Edward also pulled out his new wand and performed a Wizard’s Oath to prove to those who still didn’t believe what was being said that he was in fact the real King Edward Pendragon.

“So in summary, Grindelwald is posing as you and Dumbledore is posing as his grandson?” Bruce asked. Edward, Harry, Merlin, and Arthur nodded. “Well, that’s definitely a situation I never saw coming.”

“Definitely not,” Garrick agreed. “So, Your Majesty, what do you plan to do from here, if I may ask?”

“Well, I was in Egypt today, buying my new wand from your grandson, Lord Ollivander,” Edward revealed. “I went there mostly on a fact finding mission, as I wanted to find out where Pharaoh Seti was at the moment, since he does split his time between Alexandria and Thebes. I found out he’s in Thebes for the next several months, which is good because I plan to go to Egypt to seek an alliance.”

“Why Egypt?” Sirius asked.

It was Harry who answered. “Because Pharaoh Seti has over a hundred children that he needs to marry off, so the chances are much better that he’ll be willing to accept just a marriage alliance, without any of Camelot’s overseas holdings being put on the table. An alliance with France, for example, would very likely have King Francis asking that Edward agree to relinquish control of Camelot’s holdings in France.”

Bartemius nodded and said, “That’s likely enough to be true.”

“Marrying one of Pharaoh Seti’s children also opens up the possibility of an alliance with Byzantium,” Edward added. “Especially if I marry one of Seti’s children with Princess Nefertari, who some of you may know was born as Princess Justinia, the twin sister of the current Byzantine Emperor.”

“So, what about the royal suitors?” Callum asked. Of course, his mind was still reeling from the knowledge that he’d had sex with Gellert Grindelwald.

“I don’t think anyone would blame me for releasing all of them,” Edward said. “Considering that I didn’t choose them. However, I may keep some of them, if they’re willing to be one of my suitors, that is, as I won’t force anyone. I have every intention of releasing you, Lord McKinnon, since you’re straight and shouldn’t be forced to go against your preferences. The same applies to your son, Lord Flint. And obviously considering who he really is, I want nothing to do with Brian Dumbledore as I have no intention of courting or marrying my kidnapper. As for the others, I don’t know yet.”

“Why even have royal suitors if you’re going to marry one of Seti’s children?” Lucius asked.

“While I fully realize that it’s not practiced here often,” Edward said, “there’s also no laws forbidding it, so I intend to take multiple spouses,” at which point Edward explained his reasoning, which for the most part the other lords understood. Amos was careful not to let his derision for homosexuality appear on his face in front of the King, but to those who knew him well, it was clear what he thought on the matter.

“So, how can we help in your bid to retake the throne?” Bruce asked.

“By having your armies ready when the time comes,” Edward answered. “I would also like you to accompany me to Egypt, Lord Ollivander, as I think it will show Seti that I’m serious about forming an alliance if I show up with my Great Officers of State as part of my retinue.”

“Of course, Your Majesty, I would be honored to accompany you,” Garrick said. “Although, I must ask what about the great officer positions held by the Longbottom family?”

“That’s another reason I wanted to meet with all of you,” Edward answered. “I’ve heard that Lord Longbottom is incapable of performing his duties, thanks to your parents, Viscount Cumberworth, and your son, Lord Crouch.” He gave both of them a rather severe look as he added, “And I must state for the record my extreme displeasure with their actions as attacking one of my Great Officers of State could easily be construed as high treason. I understand that your son died in prison, Lord Crouch, and while you have my condolences on your loss, I can’t help but feel that he got what he deserved.”

Barty Sr. nodded, but remained silent, as Edward turned his attention to Arcturus Lestrange. “I understand, Viscount Cumberworth that you’ve been seeking to get my imposter to overturn your parent’s convictions by the Wizengamot on the grounds that they’re illegal. I would suggest that you never ask that of me as I’m telling you now that I won’t do it and that you wouldn’t want me to, considering that if I did overturn their convictions I would very likely feel compelled to try them myself in the Royal Court. The Wizengamot can’t hand down a verdict for high treason, but I can, and I’m sure I needn’t tell you that the usual punishment is quite a bit more permanent than life imprisonment.”

Giving Arcturus a moment to digest his words, Edward turned his attention to Neville, as he said, “You have my deepest sympathies, Marquis Claverton, as what happened to your parents was truly horrible and something that nobody should have to endure.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Neville said, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks at not only being singled out by the King, but also because since the World Cup, he’d had a few rather erotic dreams about the King. Knowing that the man he’d previously met was Grindelwald in disguise did little to change the fact that Neville did find Edward attractive, since the real one was no less attractive than the fake.

“I would also like to make a change to the letters patent,” Edward said. “Arthur and Merlin never considered the possibility of one of the lords being rendered unable to perform their duties due to mental incapacity. I would like to add a provision which will allow for the titles to pass to the heir in the event that a lord is rendered permanently unable to carry out their duties, with the stipulation that three independent expert mind-healers must agree that the incapacity is permanent.”

“What about the focus site?” Neville asked. “Merlin and Arthur said that they could be used to work great feats of magic. Couldn’t they be used to heal my parents?”

“Sadly, no, they can’t be,” Merlin said. “One of the most insidious aspects of the Cruciatus Curse is that it prolongs the victim’s torture by resisting any attempt to use healing magic to negate any lasting damage. From what I’ve been told of their condition, Lord and Lady Longbottom are, despite the fact that they’re still breathing, essentially dead. The focus sites can do a great many things, but there are limitations and one of those is that they cannot be used to circumvent death.”

Neville sighed. “Well, as much as I wish otherwise, I guess I can’t say that I’m surprised. My grandmother and I have both been told more times than I count that no amount of healing magic is going to help my parents. St. Mungo’s and my Gran has had over a dozen mage-trained healers consult on their case over the years and they all agreed that their condition is permanent. Still, hearing about these focus sites, I’d hoped… well, it’s no use doing that any longer.”

“I’m sorry, mate,” Harry said, as he laid a comforting hand on Neville’s shoulder. Neville smiled at Harry and nodded his thanks for the support.

“Well, I think we can all agree that change is a good one,” Garrick said. “If heavens forbid any of us were ever attacked the same way as Lord and Lady Longbottom, I think we’d all want to know that our heirs would be able to take control and keep the family moving forward.”

Lucius nodded. “Indeed, le famille est primordiale.” Even those in the room who didn’t speak French knew what Lucius said, since they all knew that the Malfoy’s family motto was ‘The family is paramount.’

At this point, Edward went around the room, asking the lords for their votes and all of them voted in favor of the new provision. Arcturus Lestrange hesitated for a few moments, but soon he too voted in favor of the measure and thus it was soon unanimous.

“You said you and your grandmother have had over a dozen mind-healers examine your parents?” Edward asked and Neville nodded. “I trust you can provide proof of their examinations?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Neville said. “And most of them were independent healers brought in by St. Mungo’s. My Gran did bring in two or three of them from overseas, but the majority were all brought in to consult by the hospital.”

“Very well then,” Edward said. “As King-Emperor of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor of the Empire of Camelot, I hereby proclaim you, Neville Preston Longbottom, to be The Duke of Aldersey, The Marquis of Claverton, The Earl of Rosset, Lord of Lakeview Hall, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom. I also hereby confirm your status as one of my Privy Counselors, as well as Lord High Chamberlain and Lord High Constable to the Court of Pendragon.”

At Edward’s declaration there was a crackle of magical energies in the air as Neville felt a slight tugging on his neck, caused by the chain he wore that had the Longbottom family ring on it. He’d been unable to wear it on his finger due to being only the heir, but now, he undid the chain, removed the ring and placed it on his finger, as his whole body glowed with a visible magical aura. As it died down, everyone noticed a portion of it flying towards the windows and into the focus site below, which seemed to glow brighter for a moment.

After a brief silence, Edward said, “Merlin, Arthur, Lord Ollivander, Lord Longbottom, and Lord Potter, please remain here. The rest of you are dismissed, with the direction that you not speak of anything you’ve learned today with anyone, but that you all be ready when I call on you to assist me in retaking my rightful throne.”

The other lords nodded their understanding, as Merlin shocked all of them by personally performing the Tribunal Sealing Oath on them, before they left the Chamber. When the last of them was gone, Merlin said, “I have missed using magic. I conferred Arthur’s and my portrait with a number of magic-like abilities, but I haven’t used actual magic in centuries.”

“I wouldn’t have even thought it was possible for you to use magic,” Harry said. “I mean you are dead.”

“True, we are,” Arthur said. “And in case you’re wondering, Merlin bound both his and my consciousness to the focus sites and wove in magic that would allow us to take physical form and even use magic while in this room. However, we are both still dead, as there was no turning back from the poison we both ingested which killed us.”

“Poison?” Garrick asked. “Do you mean to say that you were murdered?”

Shaking his head, Merlin said, “No, we were not murdered. I suppose you could say that Arthur and I committed suicide, as we drank the poison of our own free will. However, at the time that we did it we were both 190 years old and had spent the last ten years setting our affairs in order. As for why, it was actually due to the fact that Arthur and I were love-bonded soul mates, because the power of the Love Bond actually slows down the aging process of bonded soul mates and adds a number of additional years to their lifespan based on the couples’ power level.”

Arthur added, “In truth, if we’d allowed nature to take its course, we both probably would have been over 300 years old before we would’ve died. But, by the time we took our lives, we had already buried all five of our children and had even ended up burying a couple of our grandchildren. No parent should ever have to bury their children and a grandparent should definitely never have to bury their grandchildren, especially when the grandchildren are dying of old age. Not wanting to endure the pain of burying the rest of our grandchildren, or heaven forbid great-grandchildren, we decided to end our lives.”

Garrick sighed. “Having gone through the pain of having to bury my wife, son, and daughter-in-law, I can certainly understand the pain you must have felt. I don’t even want to imagine having to bury my grandson, but then I’m 82 years old and I would hope that I will not live to see Gareth die, considering he’s only 24.”

“Indeed,” Edward said. “Anyway, I asked to see all of you privately because we need to make plans for the trip to Egypt. Thus far, we believe that Dumbledore and Grindelwald don’t know that I’ve escaped from Nurmengard and I think that until I’m ready to move against them, it’s best that it stays that way. However, that does preclude me from publicly going to Egypt to seek an alliance with Seti, as the risk of it getting back to Dumbledore or Grindelwald is too great.”

“There’s also the fact that Neville and I are in school,” Harry said, as he pulled two slips of paper out of the pocket of his robes and held them out to Neville and Garrick.

Both men looked a bit confused by the sudden gesture, but accepted the folded missives and opened them only to read, “Harry Potter is currently undergoing mage training.” Athena wrote the notes, telling Harry to destroy them after they were read, but figured that letting Neville and Garrick in on the secret would make things easier for him to make plans for the trip to Egypt with Edward if he didn’t have to hide his training from them.

“So you have a double at Hogwarts then,” Garrick said, after the two slips of paper were incinerated.

“A double?” Neville asked, clearly confused, as he didn’t know the specifics of mage training.

“Yes, a double,” Garrick said. “Mage training can take years and commonly a magically created double is put in the trainee’s place to hide the fact that they’re gone. Most wand-makers know about mage training, since most of us are also capable of crafting mage staffs. However, there’s another reason that I’m aware of the specifics of mage training.”

Before anyone could ask, Garrick summoned a mage’s staff, and said, “Because I myself happen to be a mage. An Archmage, to be precise.”

“Yes, I have a double at Hogwarts,” Harry confirmed. “As does Neville currently.”

“I do?” Neville asked.

Harry nodded. “Surely you must have wondered how you fell asleep at Hogwarts and then woke up with Professor Sprout at Lakeview Hall.”

“Yes, I did wonder about that,” Neville said. “Although Professor Sprout was being very vague and then I get the summons for the Tribunal, so I couldn’t finish questioning her.”

“Well, Professor Black put a Sleeping Charm on you,” Harry said. “He then created a double for you so that your absence from classes wouldn’t be noticed, before he smuggled you out of the school and to Professor Sprout, who took you to your family home. And before you ask why she was out of the school, she’s actually one of my trainers and has her own double at Hogwarts taking care of her teaching duties.”

Neville’s eyes widened at this, as he asked, “Professor Sprout is a mage? I knew Professor Black and his son were mages, because they revealed that at the World Cup, but I never would have guessed that Professor Sprout was a mage, too.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, Professor Sprout is a Grand Magister and she and Professor Black aren’t the only mages on staff, either. I have four trainers in total and all of them are on staff at Hogwarts.” Since the note only mentioned Harry, he could talk about the training, so long as he made it sound like he was the only student. After explaining about the Glamours and the test the trainers had set in terms of their identities, Harry said, “So, Madam Hooch is also one of my trainers and she’s an Archmagister. Although, as of yet, I don’t know who the other two professors are.”

“Due to my kidnapping and subsequent imprisonment, it should go without saying that I have a few trust issues,” Edward said. “I have considered ordering Athena Gracey and Rose Ramsley to tell me who they really are, but thus far I haven’t done so, as Harry has assured me that they’re trustworthy and I figure if I can’t trust my Lord High Chancellor then who can I trust?”

Edward had a slight grin on his face as he said that, which Harry returned. “Anyway, in addition to planning for the Egypt trip, I seem to recall some mention of the focus sites at our meeting last night.”

“Indeed,” Merlin said. “One rather large issue that you face, Edward, is that you were imprisoned for so many years and thus never received even basic magical training. The magical restraining collar that you wore as a prisoner prevented any accidental magic which would have revealed the issue to the Nurmengard guards. At any rate, with the power of the focus site, we can actually encase you in a magical stasis field which will allow you to go through the full seven years of education you would have gotten at Hogwarts in a matter of minutes.”

Arthur nodded. “The field will prevent you from aging, while also inputting all of the knowledge of a Hogwarts graduate in your brain, taking about 2 minutes per year, so in 14 minutes you’ll be a fully trained wizard.”

“Mage training is much more complicated than basic wizard training,” Merlin added. “So the focus site technique we just outlined will not work for mage training. Also, you’ll still need to practice the practical side of the training, as this method will only give you the theory, but it will still help you quite a bit.”

“Okay, I understand, let’s get started then,” Edward said, at which point Merlin and Arthur proceeded to perform the technique they’d just outlined. Edward was soon encased in a stasis field which resembled the field that Barnabas Cuffe had been held in after he’d been found in contempt of the Tribunal, which brought back a few unpleasant memories for Garrick, Harry, and Neville, but they did their best to put those thoughts out of their heads.

Fourteen minutes later, Edward had all the theoretical knowledge of a Hogwarts graduate and the six occupants of the Tribunal Chambers began discussing specifics of their trip to Egypt.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Part 2, of Chapter 12. I hope you enjoyed it. There were some interesting revelations in this chapter, I think, though it also is setting things up for the trip to Egypt in the next chapter, in which you’ll meet Pharaoh Seti, and he and Edward will discuss the possibility of a marriage alliance between their empires. You will also meet one of Edward’s future husbands, as there will be one definite husband, in addition to the possibility of up to 5 others.
> 
> Questions, comments, suggestions? Feel free to contact me, as I love hearing from my readers.


	18. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Thirteen

-o-0-o-

In order to keep the fact that Edward had escaped from Nurmengard a secret from Dumbledore and Grindelwald, the trip to Egypt had to be handled discreetly. As much as Edward might have wanted to just go to the Imperial Palace in Thebes and request an audience with Pharaoh Seti, he knew that he couldn’t risk such a public appearance, as all it would take was one person with loose lips and the secret could be blown out of the water.

After wearing Glamour Charms for the last several years to look like Grindelwald, Edward wanted no part of them, although when he went to buy his wand from Nick, he had agreed to drink Polyjuice Potion to temporarily make himself look like Asterion Black. This had allowed him get to Nick’s shop from the Khan el Khalili Apparition Port without the worry of anyone spotting a reigning monarch walking through the streets of the extremely busy Cairo Bazaar. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was with his double at Hogwarts, Harry would have offered Edward the use of his invisibility cloak, but then that wasn’t really ideal when walking down crowded streets.

So due to the need for discretion, Ragnok offered the use of the conference table in his private office at the Thebes branch of Gringotts’. While it was true that he spent the majority of his time at the Cairo branch, Ragnok did have an office in almost every branch of Gringotts’ so that he could conduct business at any of them in the style that one would expect when dealing directly with the head of the bank. Ragnok also said that he would leave strict orders that nobody at the bank was to disturb him for any reason or heads would roll, literally, and that he would triple the usual number of goblin honor guards outside his office while the meeting was taking place, in addition to allowing for additional human guards, in the form of some of the guards employed by Harry’s, Garrick’s, and Neville’s families.

The meeting was tentatively scheduled for Sunday, 16 October 1994, although that was subject to change if Pharaoh Seti couldn’t make it that day, as nobody at Forest Cottage knew what the Pharaoh’s schedule was. It was hoped, however, that the Pharaoh would make time for a meeting with a fellow reigning monarch to discuss urgent business. The emergency Tribunal meeting was on Friday morning, so, after leaving the Tribunal, Garrick Ollivander headed for Cairo, Egypt. The reason he didn’t go directly to Thebes was because access to Thebes was strictly regulated by the Medjai and only people who lived in the city or who were granted permission to visit could venture to the city.

Of course, Garrick, who until now had never actually visited Egypt, had no idea how to contact the Medjai about getting access to Thebes. He hoped, however, that since his grandson now lived in Cairo, that he’d be familiar with how to contact them. Thus it was that Garrick found himself walking into Coulderton’s Fine Wands for the very first time.

As the bell above the door rang, one of Nick’s assistants smiled and said, “Welcome to Coulderton’s Fine Wands, how may I assist you today, sir?”

“I’m Lord Garrick Ollivander,” Garrick responded. “I’d like to see my grandson.”

“Of course, sir,” the assistant said with a bow. “It’s his day off, so he’s upstairs in his flat. If you’ll just follow me?”

Garrick nodded, before following the assistant through a door at the back of the shop that read ‘Employees Only’ into a hallway from which the work rooms, store rooms, and the stairs up to Nick’s flat could be accessed.

Motioning towards the stairs, the assistant said, “It’s just up those stairs, sir.”

“Thank you,” Garrick said, before climbing the stairs to the landing of the next floor, where a single door was visible. Raising his hand, Garrick knocked on the door and waited for Nick to answer.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, in Nick’s flat, the young wandmaker was thoroughly enjoying his day off. When King Edward had come to the shop earlier that morning before it opened, he had, of course, served the King personally, but afterward he headed back upstairs to his flat. Since they’d begun dating, Dominick was spending quite a bit of time in Egypt with Nick and their current activities were precisely why Nick was enjoying his day off.

“Oh, Nick, yes,” Nick moaned, his head on the back of the sofa and his legs spread wide, with Dominick kneeling between them as he worshipped his boyfriend’s cock. Running a hand through Dominick’s dirty blond hair, Nick moaned again as Dominick continued bobbing up and down on his cock.

Considering their current activities, it should go without saying that the knock on the door was extremely unwelcome. Lifting his head from the back of the couch, Nick groaned, as he whispered, “Maybe if we’re quiet, they’ll assume I’m sleeping and just go away.”

Dominick, who’d stopped what he’d been doing at the knock, nodded, as he hoped that Nick was right. Unfortunately, after two full minutes, the person knocked again, more insistent this time, and called out, “Gareth, it’s your grandfather. We need to talk.”

“So much for them going away,” Nick said with a sigh. “I guess we’ll have to finish this later, love.”

“Yeah,” Dominick said, as both men stood up.

Nick called out, “Just a minute,” as they both pulled on their clothes and scanned the room to make sure that there were no visible signs of what they’d been doing until a few moments ago. Once they were both dressed, Dominick pulled out his wand and dropped the Silencing Charm, while Nick walked over to the door, and undid the locks both physical and magical, before he opened the door with a smile, “Grandfather, what a pleasant surprise. Please come in.”

Walking over the threshold, Garrick almost immediately spotted Dominick and said, “I’d ask what took you so long to answer the door, but I have a feeling I know the answer to that. Hello Dominick.”

“Hello Lord Ollivander, sir,” Dominick said, as Nick closed the door.

“You don’t need to be so formal, son,” Garrick said. “You’re dating my grandson, after all, so call me Garrick.”

“As you wish, Garrick,” Dominick said.

“Can I get you anything? Tea, perhaps?” Nick asked as he came over and motioned towards the armchair, wordlessly inviting his grandfather to have a seat.

“We’re pressed for time, Gareth,” Garrick said, “although honestly a cup of tea would be most welcome. Maybe it’ll settle my nerves.”

Nick’s flat was a semi-studio in that the living room, dining room, and kitchen were all in the same room. So, walking over to his kitchen to put the teapot on the stove, he asked over his shoulder, “What happened to upset your nerves?”

Before Garrick said a word, he summoned his staff and cast a powerful mage-level Silencing Ward that would not only block anyone from overhearing what was being said in Nick’s flat, but would also make anyone attempting to listen in hear an annoying buzzing in their ears. The ward would also warn Garrick if anyone attempted to lower or circumvent the ward.

“An emergency Tribunal meeting,” Garrick said. “I imagine you already have some idea what it was about.”

“King Edward,” Nick said with a nod, as he leaned against the counter next to the stove, while he waited for the hot water to heat, which wouldn’t take as long as on a muggle stove, since Nick had used magic to speed it up a bit. “He was in my shop to buy a wand this morning and he told me what’s happening.”

“What kind of wand did you sell him?” Garrick asked.

Nick sighed, afraid this was going to cause an argument, because it wasn’t one of his grandfather’s supreme cores. “I made two for him. One was 16 ¾ inches, lignum vitae, and thestral tail hair. The other was 16 ¾, hawthorn, and a pegasus wing feather.”

Garrick pinched the bridge of his nose as Nick spoke, prompting him to think, ‘Here it comes.’

“I still think my supreme core theory has merit,” Garrick said, before he sighed and said, “Although, I have started to wonder if maybe I may have overestimated the perfection of my research.”

Nick looked quite shocked at this, as this is the closest he’d ever heard his grandfather to say that maybe his theory wasn’t the be all and end all of wandlore. Dominick had a similar look of surprise on his face, because even before they’d started dating, he’d been friends with Nick for a number of years and had thus heard about many of the arguments that Nick had had with his grandfather over the years on the subject.

“What brought this on?” Nick asked, as the tea kettle whistled and Nick turned off the burner, as Dominick came over and grabbed some tea cups from the nearby cabinet for Nick.

Garrick sighed. “Following the Tribunal meeting, I spent a rather unpleasant twenty minutes listening to a tirade by none other than Merlin Emrys himself telling me that I was a fool and that our ancestors have no doubt rolled over in their graves out of shame that I could come up with such a theory that Merlin described as being the most ludicrous, stupid, inane, and foolish theory he’d ever heard in his nearly 200 years of life and the over a thousand as a portrait that followed.”

As Nick prepared tea for the three of them, Dominick busied himself putting together a tray of a few small snacks to serve with it. When neither of them commented, Garrick added, “And then Arthur Pendragon jumped on the bandwagon and chewed me out for a further twenty minutes, saying that I clearly had no understanding of the fundamentals of magic if I thought that ignoring elemental resonance when it comes to water and air resonators was a sound idea. He at least, granted me some credit in that he said he could understand my desire to control the quality of the raw materials, but he still thought I was lazy and stupid to refuse to work with other materials because I’d found them to be too temperamental.”

“Well, I would never even consider putting it quite that way,” Nick said, as he handed his grandfather a cup of tea. “Though, I do hate to say that I told you so.”

“I’m sure you’re loving this,” Garrick said.

“No, actually, I’m not,” Nick said. “I take exception to anyone calling you lazy or stupid, because I know that you’re neither of those things. I think you’re a proud Ravenclaw who became a little too enthralled with your research and began to think of it as gospel, rejecting any evidence to the contrary out of hand as a result, but I would never call you lazy or stupid.”

“Well, you work with other cores, you don’t find them to be too temperamental?”

Shaking his head, Nick said, “Not particularly, but then I just view it as a challenge to be overcome. Although I will admit that I usually assign wands being made for air resonators to one of my assistants, simply because resonating with earth the way I do, and air being the opposing element, they’re among the hardest and most frustrating wands for me to create. I can usually do it well enough if I concentrate hard enough and I’ve found that wearing dragonhide gloves helps. I did, for example, personally craft Edward’s wands simply because I felt that I couldn’t trust anyone else with His Majesty’s wands.”

Garrick nodded. “Indeed, I would have done the same. Anyway, the real reason I came today is I was hoping that you had some idea how to contact the Medjai.”

“What do you need with the Medjai?” Nick asked.

“Permission to enter Thebes,” Garrick answered. “His Majesty has asked me to deliver an urgent message to the Pharaoh.”

“Well, as it happens, I actually do know how to contact them,” Nick revealed. “A few weeks ago the Great Royal Wife, Queen Meritites brought her son, Crown Prince Khufu, into my shop for a new wand after he broke his. They were pleased enough with my work that the Pharaoh decided to grant me an Imperial Warrant. The plaque is still being made, but when the Medjai delivered the news to me, they gave me a way to contact them if I had any questions.”

“Well, congratulations, first off,” Garrick said, who couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride that his grandson held an Imperial Warrant. Ollivander’s on Diagon Alley had held a Royal Warrant for over 700 years now, but being located on Diagon Alley, it wasn’t eligible for a Camelot Imperial Warrant, which was only awarded to businesses outside of Albion and Iwernia.

“Thank you, grandfather,” Nick said with a smile.

“Now, if you could contact the Medjai for me, I would greatly appreciate it,” Garrick said. “And if they’ll allow it, you and Dominick can come with me to deliver the message.”

Nick nodded as he finished the last of his cup of tea, before standing and walking over to his desk to find the contact information for the Medjai.

-o-0-o-

Roughly an hour later, Garrick, Nick, and Dominick entered the Imperial Palace of Thebes, where they had been told that Pharaoh Seti was currently holding court with the Egyptian nobility. Walking towards the grand double doors that led into the throne room, the pair of Medjai outside the doors crossed their spears in front of the doors, as one of them said, “The Pharaoh is currently holding court. Outsiders are not allowed.”

“Forgive me, but my party and I must see the Pharaoh,” Garrick said. “Privately.”

“That is impossible as the Pharaoh is holding court with his nobles,” the Medjai stated, before asking, “And even if it were possible for you to get a private audience, who are you to deserve such an honor?”

“Lord Garrick Ollivander, a Great Officer of State of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, and the Empire of Camelot. I bear an urgent missive from my monarch which he bid me to deliver personally into the hands of the Pharaoh in private.”

The two Medjai looked at each other for a moment, before they nodded and the one that had spoken previously said, “One moment, while I contact the Lord-Commander of the Medjai. He will pass on your request to the Pharaoh, but then it will be up to him if he deigns to see you or not.”

“Very well,” Garrick said. He wasn’t at all surprised by how the Medjai had just said that, considering the Egyptian belief that the Pharaoh was a living god.

A few minutes passed, before the Medjai said, “The Pharaoh, in his infinite wisdom, has decided to grant your request. Another officer of the Medjai will be here shortly to escort you to the secondary throne room for a private audience. Be aware, however, that the Lord-Commander of the Medjai will be in this meeting and that his presence is non-negotiable.”

“I expected as much,” Garrick said, as he and his party moved over to the side of the entrance hall to wait for their escort. It didn’t take long, maybe five minutes at most, before they were being lead through an archway into a corridor off the entrance hall where they ascended two flights of stairs, since the secondary throne room was directly above the two-story main throne room.

Stopping outside the doors, their Medjai escort said, “You’ve been granted a private audience with the Pharaoh, a truly rare honor that very few can claim. You will treat him with the respect that he, as a living god, demands or you will face not only his considerable wrath but also that of the Medjai. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Garrick said, as Nick and Dominick indicated that they did, as well.

“Very well, I will announce you, Lord Ollivander,” the Medjai said. “Who are your companions?”

Answering the question, the Medjai nodded, before he opened the doors to the secondary throne room, which weren’t quite as grand as the ones leading into the main throne room, if only because the secondary throne room was only one story tall. As Garrick, Nick, and Dominick crossed the threshold into the room, the Medjai announced them. “His Grace the Lord Garrick Ollivander of Albion, Duke of Whitehaven and Lord High Secretary of the Privy Council for the Court of Pendragon, accompanied by The Most Honorable Gareth Ollivander of Albion, Marquis of Coulderton and Proprietor of Coulderton’s Fine Wands in Cairo, Egypt, and The Right Honorable Dominick Burke of Albion, Earl of Gullane.”

Seti sat upon his golden throne at the far end of the room, with the Lord-Commander of the Medjai, a truly imposing looking man who stood over 7 feet tall standing to his left. As the Medjai announcing them finished speaking, Seti raised a hand ever so slightly, beckoning the new arrivals forward.

“Lord Ollivander, welcome to Egypt,” Seti said, as they came to a stop before the throne and bowed their heads.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Garrick said. He was about to say more, when Seti turned his eyes away from him to look at Nick, as he asked, “And you are the wandmaker in Cairo who made my son’s new wand, yes?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Nick answered.

Seti nodded. “He’s quite pleased with it and says that it works much better than his previous wand. Of course, I imagine you’d already guessed that he was pleased, after I granted you an Imperial Warrant.”

Nick nodded. “Indeed, Your Majesty, I had hoped that was the case.” Obviously, Nick knew that Khufu had to be pleased with his purchase, because otherwise it wouldn’t make much sense for Seti to grant a warrant, unless Khufu and Meritites gave the store a glowing review.

Lastly, Seti turned his eyes to Dominick as he asked, “And finally, Mr. Burke. Welcome, although I’m unclear about your connection with the Ollivanders.”

“Your Majesty, Gareth and I were classmates at Hogwarts,” Dominick revealed. “And we’ve recently begun dating, so I’ve been visiting him in Cairo often and was there when his grandfather arrived today asking about getting permission to visit Thebes.”

“Ah, I see,” Seti said, as he turned his head back to Garrick. “I understand from the message that the Lord-Commander passed on to me that you have a missive from King Edward Pendragon, which is why I granted you a private audience.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Garrick said, as he pulled the sealed missive from the pocket of his robes. Before he could hand it to Seti, however, the Lord-Commander took it and performed the standard security scan. Finding everything in order, he bowed his head and handed it to the Pharaoh.

Breaking the seal, Seti unrolled the parchment scroll and began reading.

**_To His Most Divine Majesty Seti, Pharaoh of Egypt, Greetings:_ **

**_I would like to meet with you in person to discuss the possibility of an alliance between our great empires, although due to circumstances that I cannot elaborate upon in a letter, I can’t meet you in the Imperial Palace. Ragnok, the Head of Gringotts’ Bank, has offered his private office at the Thebes branch of Gringotts’ for the meeting, which I’ve tentatively set for 10AM Egyptian local time on Sunday, 16 October, assuming of course that your schedule permits._ **

**_If it doesn’t, I’m open to the date of your choosing, although I would state that this meeting will involve the discussion of urgent matters of state which are extremely time-sensitive. I would very much like to formalize an alliance with Egypt, but if we are unable to meet within a week of the date I suggested, I will seriously have to consider approaching another country. I do not wish to do this, however, as Egypt was and remains my first choice for this alliance. I’m sending my Lord High Secretary, Garrick Ollivander, with this message and I must ask that any communication regarding this dialogue must go through either him or his grandson, Gareth Ollivander, or Gareth’s significant other, Dominick Burke._ **

**_In exchange for an alliance, I am prepared to offer my hand in marriage to one of your children, although I would state for the record that I do plan to practice polygamy due to my status as the last living Pendragon. I wish to repopulate my family to a strong and sustainable number and do not wish that burden to fall solely upon your child. Although, in truth, their role in any pregnancy will be somewhat negligible due to the need for a surrogate, as I prefer the male gender and would thus request the hand of one of your sons, between the ages of 14 and 35, who share my preference for males and are single. I share this detail, as any meetings I might have with any of your sons who fit that criteria will need to take place at Gringotts’ and thus I understand you must also take their schedules into account._ **

**_I look forward to hearing from you._ **

**_Edward RI_ **

**_His Imperial and Royal Majesty Edward IX, Rex Imperator of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, and the Empire of Camelot_ **

When Seti finished reading the missive, he looked up at the man who delivered it and said, “Interesting, very interesting. You may tell Edward that I will meet with him on the day he’s suggested and that I will bring my gay sons with me for his consideration.”

“I take it you do have some then, Your Majesty?” Garrick asked. “I know King Edward was worried that perhaps you might not have any or that you’d not be supportive of the match due to the same gender nature of it, as he was unsure of your feelings on the matter.”

“I fully support same-sex relationships,” Seti revealed. “I personally am not interested in engaging in any such relationship, but that doesn’t mean that I begrudge anyone who is interested in doing whatever their heart desires. As for having gay sons, yes, I have 15 of them in fact, although in the age range that Edward set, only 10 of them are single. The other five are already very happily coupled, married, or outside the requested age range.”

Considering that Seti was only 50 years old, Garrick, Nick, and Dominick assumed that he didn’t have any sons who were older than 35, so that would suggest that he must have at least one gay son who was younger than 14. Garrick found it a little hard to believe that someone could realize that they were gay that young, but then he had no personal experience with such things, as when he was that age, sex was the last thing on his mind, as he’d been a very devoted Ravenclaw who spent what some might consider an unhealthy amount of time studying to the exclusion of all else, including a social life.

Obviously Garrick did eventually get married to Nick’s late grandmother, Lord Bartemius Crouch’s elder sister Josephina. Although it was an arranged marriage as Garrick needed to provide an heir and the Crouch family wanted Josephina to marry well and you can’t do much better than marrying a Duke. Castle Windermere had two master bedrooms because from the time they married in 1946 until 1976, the Duke and Duchess of Whitehaven maintained separate bedrooms. It wasn’t until Nick’s father, Garrison Ollivander, was murdered that their shared grief over the loss of their son brought them close enough that they would actually define their relationship as romantic. Thus, when Josephina died in 1987, Garrick was heartbroken and swore off any and all future romance as he devoted himself entirely to his work.

Nick and Dominick, of course, had a different perspective on the issue. Although he doubted that his grandfather knew it, as he hadn’t told him until he was nearly 15, Nick knew that he was gay when he was 10. Dominick had also realized that he liked both genders when he was fairly young, being only 12, but for a number of years he devoted himself entirely to women, mainly out of fear of how his own grandfather would react to having a grandson who liked both men and women. Of course, as often as Caractacus Burke had been married, Dominick honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if his grandfather told him to marry a woman and quietly date men on the side.

“His Majesty will be happy to hear that,” Garrick said.

“Just out of curiosity what is the landscape in Albion like in terms of same-sex relationships?” Seti asked, as he wanted to know what kind of situation he would possibly be sending one of his sons into.

“There are some who are not in favor,” Nick answered. “Within Albion and Iwernia, the marriage laws are set by the Lords of the Thirteen Houses. Several of the lords have legalized same-sex unions, although some haven’t. The King sets the marriage laws in the Province of Camelot and the other royal lands, such as the Duchy of Penderleath, while the overseas holdings are mostly governed by the Governors General who answer to the King. Although without direct orders from the King, they have a fair amount of autonomy to govern as they see fit.”

“Ah, I see,” Seti said. “Interesting. I admit that I was always curious how an empire as large as Camelot was run. My own empire is quite large but very few can compare to Camelot in scale.”

The Lord-Commander leaned towards the Pharaoh at this and whispered something in his ear, prompting Seti to nod and say, “Well, tell Edward that I look forward to meeting him and that we succeed in forging this alliance between our two countries. For now, however, I have other important matters to attend to and must take my leave.”

-o-0-o-

On Sunday morning, Ragnok lead Edward, Neville, Garrick, and Harry through the magical portal that connected the Cairo branch of Gringotts’ to the Thebes branch. Leading them through the twisted maze of back passages up to his office, they were never seen in the public section of the bank, which was for the best. Plenty of goblins had seen them, of course, but if there was one thing you could count on it was that the goblins wouldn’t tell anyone anything, especially if Ragnok told them not to. This was because if there was a single thing in the world that a goblin valued more than gold it was the continued connection between their head and their body which is a connection that wouldn’t last long if they defied one of Ragnok’s direct orders.

One thing that had confused both Harry and Neville was the fact that they were able to even set foot in Gringotts’ Thebes branch without previously getting permission from the Medjai to enter Thebes. Ragnok explained that the portals connecting the various branch offices were immune to the restrictions, but that without the proper permissions, Harry and Neville would find themselves physically unable to leave the Thebes branch through the front door.

Arriving in Ragnok’s office, Neville’s jaw dropped open as he looked around the room as he’d never seen a room so well appointed in his life. True, he’d grown up the heir to a Dukedom and Lakeview Hall was a very nice place, but it wasn’t what could be considered opulent. Plus, the Longbottom family fortunes had dwindled a bit in the last decade, with Frank not around to run the family lands. Augusta had done everything she could as seneschal to the family, but there were some things that only a lord could do. Things that Neville knew he’d have to do now, although he hadn’t started yet because he hadn’t even told his grandmother or other family members that he’d taken up the family lordship yet.

The others didn’t seem all that shocked by the opulence of Ragnok’s office, but then that made sense. Harry had already seen Ragnok’s office at the Cairo branch, after all, and all of his offices were perfect duplicates right down to the placement of the quills on the desk. Garrick had also been in Ragnok’s office on Diagon Alley before and Edward, well, he’d grown up in the royal family’s Winter Palace, so to him opulence was an everyday thing. At least it was before he was kidnapped and thrown into Nurmengard anyway.

Moving over to the large conference table, Edward opted to take a seat in the middle of the left side of the table, rather than at the head, with the idea that Seti could then sit across from him and they’d be able to converse better than if they’d been seated at the opposite ends of the long table. Harry took the seat to Edward’s right, with Neville seated next to Harry while Garrick was seated to Edward’s left, with Ragnok taking the seat next to the wandmaker. The group had arrived a little early, but not by much, so they expected it wouldn’t be long until Seti’s party arrived.

They didn’t have to wait long before the goblin Mornuk, the Senior Vice President of Gringotts’ and Ragnok’s second-in-command entered the room with Pharaoh Seti and three other people, one of whom Garrick recognized as the Lord-Commander of the Medjai from his visit to the Imperial Palace.

“Thank you, Mornuk, that’ll be all,” Ragnok said, as Seti took the seat across from Edward.

Mornuk bowed and left the room without a word, as the doors closed behind him.

Once everyone was seated, Edward said, “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Your Majesty. I trust you know Ragnok and Lord Ollivander?” Seti nodded, as Edward motioned to the other two and said, “Allow me to introduce Lord Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston and my Lord High Chancellor, and Lord Neville Longbottom, Duke of Aldersey, who is both my Lord High Chamberlain and Lord High Constable.”

“They’re quite young aren’t they?” Seti commented, as he looked at the two teenagers. “I’d venture to say that they’re younger than my son and heir, Crown Prince Khufu and his twin brother, Prince Khafre, who’re 15.” Before anyone could say anything else, Seti added, “And you may call me Seti. I may be a living god, but on this mortal plane, we do share the rank of Emperor, so let us be on a first name basis.”

“As you wish, Seti,” Edward said. “As for Lord Potter’s and Lord Longbottom’s ages, you are correct. They are both only 14. However, their positions as Great Officers of State are inherited and Lord Potter is the last living member of his family. Lord Longbottom still has living family, including his father, Franklin Longbottom, the former Duke of Aldersey, but I’m afraid that he was rendered mentally incapable of carrying out his duties by repeated and prolonged use of the Cruciatus by the followers of Voldemort over a decade ago. So, I’ve recently passed the title and duties on to his son Neville since it is agreed that Franklin Longbottom’s injuries are beyond any healer’s ability to fix.”

“You have my sympathies, Lord Longbottom,” Seti said, before he motioned towards his companions in turn and introduced them, “Allow me to present Asim Bakari, the Lord-Commander of the Medjai. Khalid Khalfani, my Royal Vizier, and Tarik Zuberi, my top general.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Edward said. “So, shall we get down to business?”

“Yes, let’s,” Seti said. “I understand from Lord Ollivander that you’re interested in forming an alliance with Egypt, although ever since the offer was initially made, I have been quite curious as to why you would choose Egypt for an alliance. I’m pleased that you did, but there are other more powerful options closer to Albion that you could have gone to.”

Edward nodded. “True, although with many of them, I feared that my offer of my hand wouldn’t be enough to formalize an alliance. For example, I feel very safe in saying that the Bourbons wouldn’t ally with Albion unless I agreed to surrender all of my claims on the Atlantic coast of France, which I’m unwilling to do. I fear it would be the same scenario with the Habsburgs, as Camelot does have several holdings that the Iberian Empire of Spain-Portugal has made pretty clear over the years they want back.”

“Holy Roman Emperor Charles XXXIV is also a Habsburg and the uncle of King-Emperor Philip XVI of Spain-Portugal,” Garrick said. “So it was assumed that he too would insist on a deal that would benefit not only him but also his nephew. The same can be said for the Netherlands, since King Willem-Reinier XVI is married to the sister of King Francis VI of France.”

“And Albion has historical differences with the three Scandinavian countries,” Edward added, “as they’ve all tried to conquer Albion at one time or another. So, I felt that Egypt was the closest potential ally that my empire had no outstanding issues with and hoped that you might be more amenable to a marriage alliance since you have so many children to marry off.”

“It’s true, I do have an inordinately large number of children,” Seti agreed. “And you’re quite correct that several of them need spouses, as I’ve only married off or made arrangements for 30 of them, leaving me with 107 legitimate children with no prospects. I should also mention that my gay sons were quite thrilled to hear that they might have a chance to marry you, Edward, as some of them feared they might end up unmarried virgins for the rest of their lives, because there isn’t exactly a plethora of suitable choices available for royal princes who prefer men.”

Noticing the looks on the Albion contingent’s faces, Lord-Commander Asim said, “Every member of the Egyptian royal family has sworn an Oath of Loyalty to Pharaoh Seti, and that includes all of his children. So, they can’t discuss anything he tells them without his express permission.”

“And I very rarely, if ever, grant such permission,” Seti said. “Since there’s very little reason for my family to discuss things that I tell them outside of the family. My sons I told may have discussed it with their siblings or their mothers, but again, since they’ve all sworn an Oath of Loyalty to me, they can’t discuss it outside of the family.”

“Furthermore,” Vizier Khalid said, “magical precautions have been taken to ensure that any potentially sensitive information cannot be overheard or extracted from a member of the royal family. So, I apologize if you wanted this alliance offer kept a secret, Your Majesty, but I would point out that your letter never specifically said that. Besides, the secret is still quite safe.”

Edward nodded. “Yes, an unfortunate oversight on my part that I realize only now that you’ve mentioned it. The secrecy is necessary, however, and it has to do with why I’m seeking an alliance in the first place. True, I do need to get married and start rebuilding the Pendragon family, but if it was only my needing a spouse, I might well have gone to the Bourbons or the Habsburgs, as they’d likely have been more than willing to let me just marry one of their children and leave it at that. However, I need a full marriage alliance, with the promise of military support.”

“Military support?” General Tarik asked. “Firstly, I was unaware that your empire was at war with anyone. And secondly, I don’t see how it’s in Egypt’s best interests for us to get involved in a foreign war that doesn’t concern us.”

“We are not currently at war,” Harry said. “Although it is possible that we may be soon, depending on the outcome of certain events. And I think once you know all the details, you’ll agree that it is in Egypt’s best interests to help Albion, Iwernia, and Camelot with its current troubles.”

“And what troubles are we speaking of?” Seti asked.

“What I’m about to tell you Seti is something that very few people in the world currently know,” Edward said. “Only my three Great Officers, the heads of the other Thirteen Noble Houses of Albion, and a very small group of select allies know the truth and for the moment it needs to stay that way.”

Seti nodded. “As you wish, Edward.”

“The reason I’m seeking an alliance is that I need assistance in retaking my rightful throne.”

Seti looked quite surprised by this, as he asked, “Retaking your throne? I wasn’t aware that you’d lost it.”

“As I said, very few people know this,” Edward said. “However, as we speak there’s a usurper sitting on my throne using Glamour Charms to make himself look like me so that he can rule in my place. This usurper had help from a much unexpected source, who kidnapped me from my own bedroom the night before my eleventh birthday. Since then I’ve been being held at Nurmengard Prison in Wallachia, Romania.”

“Nurmengard?” Asim asked. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I’m afraid that I am,” Edward answered. “As we speak, Gellert Grindelwald sits on my throne posing as me, with my kidnapper, Albus Dumbledore, at his side, posing as his non-existent grandson Brian Dumbledore, the Seneschal to the Royal Court.”

“I will speak to the veracity of these claims,” Ragnok said. “As I personally guarantee on my honor as Head of Gringotts’ Bank and Leader of the Goblin Clans that this man is Edward Pendragon, as I accompanied him down to the Pendragon vault at the Diagon Alley branch of Gringotts’ yesterday and watched him remove the Pendragon crown jewels. Nobody but a Pendragon could even open the vault, let alone touch the crown jewels without being trapped inside the vault and simultaneously being burned and crushed to death as the Flagrante and Geminus curses on the contents of the vault activated.”

Seti remained quiet as he contemplated what he’d just heard. After a moment, he said, “That is indeed very distressing news and I can understand why you would be seeking allies. The idea of Gellert Grindelwald sitting on the throne of one of the wizarding world’s most powerful empires is indeed quite a troubling thought. The fact that he has Albus Dumbledore at his side only makes it worse, as his position as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards gives him quite a bit of power. And if he uses that power to further Grindelwald’s agenda then I shudder to think of what could happen.”

“I agree, it is extremely distressing,” Tarik said, as both Asim and Khalid nodded in agreement. “However, I’m not sure exactly what it is you want from Egypt because if you’re suggesting that we declare war on Camelot, then I must say that I would very strongly council His Majesty the Pharaoh against that.”

“As would I,” Khalid added.

“Ultimately the choice would be mine,” Seti said, “although in this case I must agree with my advisors. There is no way that a full-on war against Camelot would be in my empire’s best interests, so if that’s what you’re asking for, I’m sorry to say that you will leave these negotiations disappointed.”

“That isn’t what we’re asking for, Your Majesty,” Neville said. “We believe that something much more covert would be best. Egypt is known to have one of the best covert ops teams in the wizarding world and all we’d be asking for is that you lend them to us for the purpose of infiltrating Castle Camelot and hopefully taking both Gellert and Albus into custody.”

“Your people wouldn’t be going in alone,” Harry added. “As we have the armies of the Thirteen Noble Houses on our side and they’ll all be lending whatever support that they can. Although I’m afraid that it would be a more secondary role only because unless they’re told the reason for the infiltration, I’m afraid many of the soldiers would not do as their lords commanded, because without knowing the details, they’d view attacking the royal palace as treason and thus feel justified in not following orders, which could lead to some unacceptable security risks.”

“I could probably assuage their fears on that front,” Edward said, “because if they see their King clearing the operation, they’d probably do as they were told. However, it should go without saying that if they run into Gellert posing as me then the whole operation could end up as a failure, as they wouldn’t know who to listen to.”

Tarik stroked his beard at this as he said, “Indeed, it does pose an interesting tactical quandary although with the right planning it can certainly be overcome.” After a moment he added, “And I see no reason to deny a request for a covert op. We normally would never perform such operations in another country’s territory, especially at the royal palace no less, but you are the rightful king and the owner of said palace, so I personally see no reason to deny the request.”

“Neither do I and I would agree that everything must be done to remove Grindelwald and Dumbledore from their positions of power,” Khalid said, “because it is simply unacceptable that either of them remain in those positions.”

“Indeed, I would agree,” Seti said. “Although I do still find myself a bit leery about this alliance. I understand the need for it, Edward, but I’m not sure if it truly brings any true benefit to Egypt. Yes, it would certainly bring us prestige for one of my sons to wed you, Edward, and there’s the distinct possibility that you will one day be succeeded by my grandson. However, you have mentioned that you intend to practice polygamy and while I certainly have no problems with that considering that I have multiple wives myself, I do wonder where exactly that leave my son in the hierarchy of your kingdom.”

“I expected that issue might come up, Seti,” Edward said. “And I’m prepared to guarantee that no matter how many spouses I end up taking, your son will remain as my primary spouse. To borrow the Egyptian concept, your son would essentially be my Great Royal Husband. They will be crowned as King-Consort of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor-Consort of Camelot and I’m also prepared to name them my co-ruler, thus they would have the same level of authority that I possess. There would be some limitations, of course, as their authority would only be for my lifetime and they would not be allowed to overrule me and certainly not overthrow me, but in all other respects they’d be my equal.”

“And what about your other husbands?” Seti asked.

“They will only carry the title of Prince-Consort and will not share my authority,” Edward answered. “They will likely be granted seats on my Privy Council, but they’ll be advisors only. The hierarchy will be myself and your son, followed by my Great Officers of State, and then my other husbands. Now as for the throne, it follows agnatic primogeniture, so only sons can inherit, but sons will be placed in the order of succession by their age, but also by who their other father is and when I married them. So, since your son would be the first person I marry, our sons together will inherit before all others, even if I have sons from one of my other marriages who are older.”

“I can certainly live with that,” Seti said. “It’s the same way in Egypt, because I do have sons in their 20’s, but my heir apparent is my son Khufu, who’s only 15. My wife Queen Meritites gave birth to only daughters or sons that were either stillborn, died in infancy or from some childhood disease for a number of years until Khufu and his twin Khafre were born. Thus, I have older sons with some of my later wives, for example, my 20-year-old son Ramesses with my wife Princess Nefertari. Incidentally, both Khafre and Ramesses are gay and single, so I’ve brought them as potentials for your consideration, along with eight others.”

“Earlier when you mentioned that you’d told your sons about my offer,” Edward said, “you’d mentioned that some of your sons were worried that they’d be unmarried virgins for the rest of their lives. If I may ask, why would they be worried about that?”

“All of my unmarried children, both male and female, are virgins,” Seti answered. “And I can guarantee this because they’ve all worn a chastity belt since their tenth birthdays, which will only be removed when they marry. So, if they never marry, they will remain virgins. It may seem strange, but that’s been a custom in Magical Egypt for several millennia now. It also assures that whomever you pick, you can be sure that you will be their first.”

“Ah, okay,” Edward said, as he felt himself blushing slightly at this knowledge. “I guess one of your sons will likely be my first then, as well, because it should go without saying that spending the last several years locked up at Nurmengard under Glamours to look like Grindelwald, I didn’t have any opportunities to lose my virginity.”

Seti smiled. “Well, I’m sure that whichever one of my sons you pick, that between the two of you, you’ll manage to figure it out. Now, there’s just one more piece of business that I’d like for you to consider as a part of the alliance deal, in addition to the marriage.”

“And that is?” Edward asked.

“I’d like you to relax the tariffs due on Egyptian ships sailing through the Gulf of Aden,” Seti said. “As I’m sure you know, Camelot controls all the countries surrounding the Gulf which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and thus charges some fairly stiff tariffs on all shipping sailing through the area. As a result, most of my empires’ shipping has remained on the Mediterranean because it’s not economical for us to use the Gulf of Aden. If you could reduce the tariffs, however, I would be quite pleased.”

Edward remembered going over the numbers for the tariffs in question before he was kidnapped, as he’d been considering reducing them even then. As things were currently setup, all magical ships that intended to sail through the Gulf of Aden to reach the Red Sea ports in Egypt, Sudan, or Saudi Arabia were required to stop at the Camelot ports in Eritrea, Djibouti, Yemen, or Somalia in order to have their cargos inspected. The same held true for any ships originating from those ports who were sailing through the Gulf of Aden to reach other countries not on the Red Sea. While stopped at one of Camelot’s ports, the value of their cargos was then determined and a tariff was charged for the privilege of sailing through Camelot’s waters.

“Yes, I was considering reducing those tariffs anyway,” Edward said. “This was before I was kidnapped, as looking at the numbers I could see that Egypt and Byzantium weren’t sending many ships through the Gulf as a result of them. And while France, the Netherlands, and Spain-Portugal were sending the occasional ships through, I could see that the fees were probably causing more harm than good to the shipping in that region. I can’t eliminate them entirely, but I can certainly agree to lower them to a more reasonable level and as an ally of Camelot, I can give Egypt a special rate as a most favored nation that’s a bit lower than what the other countries would pay.”

“Well, in that case, you have a deal, Edward,” Seti said. “I look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Camelot.”

“As do I,” Edward said. “Now, perhaps I can meet your sons? We’ll remain here in this room, but I was thinking perhaps that Lord Potter and I would go over to the seating area on the other side of the room and use a Silencing Charm, while I meet with your sons. We have limited time and since you brought ten of them, I thought that Lord Potter could help me interview them so that I can narrow them down faster. Meanwhile, I was thinking that the rest of you could remain here at the conference table and discuss the Camelot operation.”

“I would ask that Lord-Commander Asim act as a chaperone,” Seti said, “but otherwise I have no issues with that arrangement.”

“That’s fine with me,” Edward agreed, as he and Harry stood, followed shortly after by the Lord-Commander, as the three of them moved over towards the seating area on the other side of the room. As Edward erected the Silencing Charm, Ragnok had Mornuk send the Pharaoh’s sons in, who had until now been waiting in the outer office until they were needed.

-o-0-o-

Roughly an hour and a half later, Edward and Harry were finishing up their interviews with the last of the Egyptian royal princes that Seti had brought with him. Once they finished, they began comparing notes so that Edward could begin narrowing them down from ten. One option that was almost immediately removed from contention was Prince Khafre, the 15-year-old identical twin brother of Crown Prince Khufu. In talking to him, Edward found him to be very negative and somewhat aggressive.

Of course, Khafre apparently realized how he was coming off and felt the need to apologize for it, before explaining that while he did think Edward was very attractive, he wasn’t interested in marrying him. The reason was because Khafre wasn’t interested in bowing to his father’s attempts to get him out of the picture by marrying him off to a foreign monarch. Khafre was second-in-line to the throne of Egypt and only one minute younger than Khufu, so in Seti’s mind, Khafre needed to be married off in order to prevent any possible friction in the future as the strength of Khufu’s and Khafre’s claims to the throne were nearly identical. Not to mention the fact that even Seti himself had trouble telling them apart and thus worried it would be quite easy for Khafre to replace his brother and nobody would be the wiser.

Another one that Edward eliminated fairly quickly was 17-year-old Prince Khyan, Seti’s son with his second wife, Princess Arsinoe. Edward found him physically attractive, but his personality left quite a bit to be desired, as he seemed to be very immature and was not somebody that Edward would feel comfortable giving the kind of authority that he intended to give the person that he ultimately chose. Some people were just not meant for absolute authority and in Edward’s opinion, Prince Khyan was about as close to the top of that list as it was possible to be.

Three of the options were all sons of Seti’s seventh and youngest wife, Princess Nefertiti, which made all of them pretty young. The eldest, Prince Neferkare, was sixteen, but Edward found him mediocre at best in terms of his attractiveness and his personality did nothing to make up for that. The other two were identical twins, Princes Menkare and Nikare, who were fourteen and while Edward did enjoy talking to them, as they were quite intelligent and mature for their ages, they had also only just turned fourteen two months ago and they were both a little more baby-faced than Edward was comfortable with. While by Albion standards they were legal, they both looked too young for Edward’s tastes and he couldn’t imagine himself bedding either of them because honestly, despite being fourteen they looked like they were only about ten.

Another one that Edward eliminated fairly quickly was 26-year-old Prince Amenhotep, Seti’s son with his third wife, Princess Hatshepsut, who while being one of the most attractive of the options in Edward’s opinion, was simply not somebody that he could see himself spending the rest of his life with, as in talking to him, it quickly became apparent that they had absolutely nothing in common. Amenhotep also didn’t seem all that interested in ever getting his chastity belt removed and Edward had a feeling that if he did marry Amenhotep, he’d have to rely heavily on his other spouses if he wanted sex on anything even remotely resembling a regular basis.

Prince Sneferu, Seti’s 23-year-old son with his 5th wife, Princess Cleopatra, was also eliminated because like Amenhotep, he didn’t seem to care one way or the other if he ever got his chastity belt removed. In fact, it almost seemed as if he preferred to keep it on, as he apparently liked the fact that the belt was magically charmed to vanish his waste products, thus making it completely unnecessary to ever go to the bathroom for anything other than bathing. He also seemed very simple-minded and uninterested in carrying on an adult conversation for more than a few minutes at a stretch.

In the end, Edward had narrowed his options down to three possible candidates that he wanted to talk more in depth with. Harry agreed with Edward’s choices, as he thought all of them were quite fit and even commented that he wouldn’t mind bedding one or two of them himself. Of course, this promptly caused Harry to blush redder than a Weasley’s hair and just made Edward grin. The final three choices were 19-year-old Prince Djoser, son of Seti’s 6th wife Princess Berenice, 20-year-old Prince Ramesses, son of Seti’s 4th wife Princess Nefertari, and 35-year-old Prince Neferkamin, son of Seti’s 2nd wife Princess Arsinoe and the elder brother of Prince Khyan.

Once the seven sons that Edward had eliminated had left the room, Seti came over and asked, “So, how are things going over here?”

“Quite well,” Edward answered. “As you can see, I’ve narrowed the field down to three that I’d like to spend a little more time with and get to know them better.”

Seti smiled. “Excellent. If it suits you, I can arrange for a private dinner at the Imperial Palace. It’ll just be me, your choices, their mothers, and any guests that you wish to be present. There are entire wings and several gardens that my nobles have never even laid eyes on, so, you needn’t worry about anyone finding out that you’re in Egypt. And I’m sure that as my guest, the Lord-Commander and the other Medjai will take your safety as seriously as they take my own. And of course I’ll see to it that you have plenty of chaperoned one-on-one time with each of your choices. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but these are my sons and until an engagement is made official, I must insist on a chaperone.”

Djoser, Ramesses, and Neferkamin all rolled their eyes at this, as they were all adults and found it rather annoying that their father insisted that they be chaperoned in the presence of their possible future husband. Of course, they all knew why Seti insisted on a chaperone was because of the rather obvious fact that while their chastity belts would prevent them from being able to top or bottom anyone, it couldn’t prevent them from giving Edward a blowjob. Which was actually one weakness that many of Seti’s sons, especially the older ones, had found ways to exploit from time to time.

It was actually something of an open secret in Thebes that if you wanted someone that was really good at giving head, you should visit the Pharaoh’s harem. His wives were off limits to everyone, as were his daughters, but he was a little more lenient with his sons, even though he still forced all of them to wear chastity belts. More than one of them, however, including the straight ones, were quite proficient at giving head, as many of them craved human contact and would take it in any way they could get it, even if it meant sucking some nobleman’s dick. Seti usually pretended not to notice and even occasionally gave them permission, usually on their birthdays. He was apparently deciding to be more stringent in this case, however.

“So, how goes the planning for our joint venture?” Edward asked, opting not to say anything more specific in front of Seti’s sons as none of them were aware yet of everything that had been discussed prior to their entering the room.

“Quite well,” Seti answered. “I think we have some good ideas in place for a successful venture. I’ve got my Vizier working with Ragnok on the paperwork, which we can get signed as soon as you make your final choice. I would also add that General Tarik and I were quite pleased to see that Lord Longbottom clearly knows what’s involved in a successful venture, despite his young age.”

“Are we undertaking some sort of military action?” Ramesses asked.

“Whatever makes you think that?” Seti asked.

Ramesses rolled his eyes again, although it was Neferkamin who answered. “Come on, Father, we’re not stupid. We know that Lord Longbottom is King Edward’s Lord High Constable and what that position entails.”

Djoser nodded and added, “Yeah, so, if you and General Tarik were impressed with his planning of this venture as you put it, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s military related.”

Seti shook his head and said, “As you can see, Edward, sometimes my sons are a little too smart for their own good.”

“I view that as a good thing, however,” Edward said. “And I look forward to getting to know them better at the palace. Lord Ollivander needs to get back to Albion, as he has a store to run, and Lord Longbottom needs to get back for school, but Lord Potter will be staying here in Egypt with me for a few days at least. Nick Ollivander and Dominick Burke may also join me at the palace, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s acceptable, Edward,” Seti said. “As I said, you’re welcome to invite whichever guests you wish.” He did look a little confused, probably because of the fact that Neville had to get back to Albion for school, but Harry, who was the same age, didn’t, but Seti chose not to comment on it. Instead, he asked, “Nick Ollivander?”

“Lord Ollivander’s grandson, Your Majesty,” Asim answered. “His first name is Gareth, although he apparently prefers to go by the shortened version of his middle name.”

“Ah, okay,” Seti said. “And does Dominick ever go by Nick?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, he does use Nick from time to time. It’s either Dominick or Nick. His grandfather, Lord Caractacus Burke, calls him Dom, but he doesn’t really like it.”

“Well, that would be a little weird,” Ramesses said. “I mean this Nick and Dominick are dating, right?” Harry and Edward nodded. “Not sure I could ever date someone who had the same name as me. I think I’d lose my mind.”

Neferkamin nodded. “I’d have to agree. All three of us already have siblings that have the same names as us, so, a boyfriend with the same name would be going too far.”

“Yes, well, you won’t have to deal with that issue,” Seti said.

“Well, one of us won’t, anyway,” Djoser said. “Unless we can convince Edward to pick all three of us.”

“And that would also be weird, Djoser,” Ramesses said. “Can you honestly say that you’d be okay with sharing your husband with Neferkamin and me?”

“Well it’s not exactly like we have suitors lining up, Ram,” Djoser said. “Preferring men severely limits our options if Father is going to insist on a royal or noble match. Although, yes, sharing a husband with my half-brothers, especially Neferkamin, might be a bit weird.”

“Why especially me, Djoser?” Neferkamin asked.

“Because you’re old,” Djoser said with a grin.

“I’m not that old, Djoser. 

“You're old enough to be both Djoser's and my father,” Ramesses said with a grin of his own. “Father was only 15 when you were born, after all.”

Neferkamin sighed. “Thanks so much for pointing that out, Ram. I may be 16 years older than Djoser and 15 years older than you, which I suppose does technically mean I'm old enough to be your father, but I don't feel anywhere near old enough to have children as old as you and Djoser.”

Djoser started laughing at this, as he said, “You should know by now that I’m just messing with you, Kamin.”

“I apologize for this,” Seti said, as he looked at his sons with an amused and indulgent look on his face.

Edward shook his head. “There’s no need, Seti. Honestly, I’m enjoying their banter.” And with a slightly sad look on his face, he added, “Makes me wish that I had siblings growing up, as I can’t help but feel that I missed out on something.”

“I can understand that,” Seti said, although he looked slightly off-put by the sentimentality that Edward was showing, as in his experience people who were too sentimental usually had a harder time making the tough choices that a monarch often had to make.

Edward obviously caught it, as he shook his head, schooled his features and said, “Don’t mistake my momentary sentimentality as a sign that I’m not prepared to do what must be done. I assure you, Seti, after enduring what I’ve endured, my resolve to see those responsible punished couldn’t possibly be stronger.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

So, there’s Chapter 13 of The Journey Begins. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm putting my end notes here instead of in the normal field because that's limited to 5,000 characters and this note is longer than usual. So, Edward has narrowed his choices down to three. I will tell you that Ramesses will be the final choice, but Djoser and Neferkamin may appear again in the future. So, next chapter, will be Edward getting to know his three final candidates a bit better, in addition to some conversation and decisions being made at Forest Cottage, although about what, well, you’ll just have to wait and see.

And now a Royal Proclamation from His Majesty King Edward, which I’m including here because the proclamation is more for your benefit as readers then it is for the characters in the story. It can be viewed in picture format on my Yahoo Group in the photo album for this story. Or also at the following link: http://jayson.worldofslash.com/unexpected/royal-proclamation.jpg. I’ll post the link in my FFNet profile for those of you reading this there, since the site will remove the link from the chapter. However, for those of you who’d rather just read the text of the proclamation, either because it’s easier, an inability to view pictures on your device of choice, or due to a visual impairment that renders it impossible to read the text on an image, I’m placing the full text of the proclamation below. Following the proclamation, I have a few further notes, so if you chose to view the image instead of reading the below text please scroll past it.

-o-0-o-

By the King.  
A PROCLAMATION

ANNOUNCING THE AGREEMENT TO UNITE THE IMPERIAL HOUSES OF PENDRAGON AND PTOLEMY IN A MARRIAGE ALLIANCE, AND ASKING HIS SUBJECTS’ ASSISTANCE IN SELECTING ADDITIONAL MATES.

WHEREIN WE would like to announce with great joy that we have concluded all of the necessary arrangements with the Court of His Most Divine Majesty Pharaoh Seti LVII to unite Ourselves in Holy Matrimony with His Imperial Highness Prince Ramesses of Egypt. We would also make it known that once we’ve taken our marriage vows that the Prince shall henceforth be styled as His Imperial & Royal Majesty Ramesses, King-Consort of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor-Consort of the Empire of Camelot and that he shall have full and equal status to Ourself in regards to the ruling of Our Empire.

FURTHERMORE WE would also take this time to announce Our intentions to court multiple suitors and ask that Our loyal subjects assist Us in choosing which of ten potential suitors we should ultimately choose to marry in addition to Prince Ramesses. We would also make it known that as Our most loyal subjects you may, if you so wish, submit additional people for Our consideration as potential suitors. However, we would remind you that We prefer the male gender and thus will be completely uninterested in any candidate of the female persuasion. We will also be uninterested in any candidate under the Albion Age of Sexual Consent, which We trust everyone knows is 14 years of age, and that We do not desire to become involved with anyone who is old enough to be Our parent and thus set a maximum age of 35.

WHEREFORE WE would also set forth additional stipulations in that We do not wish to intrude upon happy, committed relationships, unless both parties are willing to enter into a potentially romantic and sexual relationship with Us. We are also completely and unequivocally not interested in any potential suitor who is not 100% willing to enter into of their own free will a homosexual relationship. We may be both a King and an Emperor, but We will not use Our authority over Our subjects to force them to do anything of a romantic or sexual nature that is against their personal preferences.

WHEREIN WE make it known that of the potential ten suitors listed below and any others that are submitted for our consideration it is our wish to wed an absolute maximum of five of them, although we may ultimately choose to wed fewer than that. We do however confess to some interest in the idea of being a part of a seven-sided relationship due to the Number Seven being the most powerful magical number. Regardless of whether we marry two additional or five additional suitors, upon the conclusion of the marriages they will all gain the style of His Imperial & Royal Highness and be granted the titles of Prince-Consort of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and Prince-Consort of the Empire of Camelot.

FURTHERMORE WE would state for the record that only Prince Ramesses will share Our power and authority in regards to the governance of Our Empire. Any additional spouses will be granted seats in Our Privy Council, but will serve in advisory roles only and that those who are not already a Great Office of State will rank below Ourself, Ramesses, and Our Great Officers of State - Their Graces the Lords Longbottom, Ollivander, and Potter. Any potential spouse chosen who is a Great Officer of State will retain the duties and responsibilities delegated to their office and will retain the power and authority necessary to carry out those duties. Meanwhile, the birth family members of our spouses, whether they are or are not a Great Officer of State, will not be granted any preferential treatment, nor will they gain any additional powers, authority, rights, or responsibilities that they did not already possess.

WHEREFORE WE would also take this time to address the fact that the reason we are opting to practice polygamy is due to our status as the last living member of the Pendragon dynasty and our desire to repopulate the family to a strong and sustainable number, while also restoring the family to its former glory. We would also make it clear that all of Our spouses, including Prince Ramesses, will be allowed to enter into any form of relationship they wish with each other and that so long as they keep such relations limited to Our other spouses that We will not consider them guilty of committing adultery against Us. Any children born of Our Noble spouses who are determined not to be of Pendragon blood will be granted the birth surname and non-royal styles and titles of their highest ranked parent. Any such children will be possible successors to the Noble family whose surname they bear, though they will not be in line to any throne, whether it be that of Our Empire, or that of Pharaoh Seti’s Empire in the case of any non-Pendragon children that Ramesses has.

Given at Our Court at Castle Camelot, this tenth day of November, in the Year of the Gods, One thousand nine-hundred and ninety-four and the Twenty-second year of Our reign,

Edward RI

His Imperial and Royal Majesty Edward IX Rex Imperator of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, and the Empire of Camelot

GODS SAVE THE KING-EMPEROR.

The Potential Suitors - Single Candidates:

William Weasley, Curse-Breaker, Age 24  
Viktor Krum, Quidditch Star, Age 18  
Draco Malfoy, Viscount Bratton, Age 14  
Neville Longbottom, Duke of Aldersey, Age 14

The Potential Suitors - Paired Candidates:

Gareth Ollivander, Marquis of Coulderton, and Dominick Burke, Earl of Gullane, Both Age 24  
Regulus Black, Earl of Alnwick, and Kolin Mikaels, Personal Assistant, Ages 33 and 19  
Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston, and Cedric Diggory, Earl of Charwell, Ages 14 and 17

-o-0-o-

Now, as you can see Regulus/Kolin and Harry/Cedric are listed as paired candidates, even though they are not technically paired yet in the story. The reason for this is so that when it comes time to vote on whether or not they will be with Edward, it’ll either be both of them or neither of them marrying Edward. Now, in time I will put up an online survey which will allow you to pick how many spouses Edward should have, ranging from 1 (Ramesses only) to 6 (Ramesses and 5 others), in addition to choosing which of the above candidates should be included in Edward’s potential harem.

However, the time for that has not yet arrived, so please don’t vote for any of the candidates in the proclamation in your reviews of this chapter because your votes won’t be counted unless you in turn vote again in the survey when it goes up. At this time, I would however ask that if you wish to nominate any single candidates who are not listed in the proclamation for Edward’s consideration that you do so now. Please remember the rules that Edward laid out: must be male, between 14 and 35, and interested in engaging in a same-sex relationship. Thus all characters who have been identified in the story as being straight (Roger Davies, Cormac McLaggen, Erik Bones, Callum McKinnon, Marcus Flint, Asterion Black, and Gavin Wood to name a few) are not eligible. However, any character who fits the gender and age criteria whose sexuality has not been explicitly stated in the story is a possibility. Paired candidates not mentioned in the proclamation (Terence/Oliver and Charlie/Noah for example) are ineligible to wed Edward, so please don’t nominate them.

The nominating period will last from now until the next chapter is posted, which will be at least one week, possibly longer, depending on my schedule and how long it takes me to write the next chapter. With the posting of Chapter 14, voting will begin with the proclamation’s candidates and any additional eligible candidates that were nominated.

EDITED 06/16/2015: VOTING IS NOW OPEN!! http://jayson.worldofslash.com/unexpected/pictures/suitors/suitors-polls.html


	19. Chapter 14, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Fourteen  
Part One

-o-0-o-

Back in Albion at Forest Cottage, the five mage students were gathered in the training yard on the northeast side of the cottage. They had all been rather surprised the first time they’d visited this area of the property to find that the nearby building was a fully-stocked armory, filled with every manner of mêlée and ranged weapon they could think of, along with several suits of armor of varying weights from the very light leather armors to the much heavier mail and full plate. Near the training yard and armory there was also an archery range, although they’d yet to do anything with it.

The training yard was originally intended to allow the trainers’ past students to practice with mêlée weapons, since as the current batch of students had learned the first time that Pomona and Rolanda brought them to the yard, another of the mage specializations was that of a Battlemage. The most famous battlemages of all time being King Arthur Pendragon and the Knights of the Round Table, who all fought in full plate, wielding swords, shields, and casting spells against any who would threaten Albion, Iwernia, Camelot, or its people.

The trainee mages hadn’t understood how Arthur and the knights could possibly use spells if both of their hands were full with sword and shield, until Athena showed up in the yard, clad in gleaming plate and told them that she herself was a trained Battlemage and that part of the specialization was learning how to use a mundane weapon in place of a wand or staff, thus channeling magic through a sword, dagger, mace, or whatever weapon the Battlemage had in hand. Another part was learning how to magically reduce the weight of whatever armor they opted to wear so that it didn’t impede their ability to move as freely as if they were wearing normal wizard robes.

Of course, at this early stage of their training, the mage students were not practicing the specifics of the Battlemage specialization. Being a Sunday, they technically weren’t even in class, but they’d all opted to go out to the training yard together to practice their magic, figuring that doing so outside was probably preferable than doing it in the cottage. And being mid-October the time remaining before they wouldn’t be able to go outside without heavy winter clothing was rapidly diminishing and thus they wanted to take the opportunity to be outside while they still had the chance.

Of course, Oliver would have preferred to be playing Quidditch, but that was pretty much impossible with only five players. So, instead, he was hard at work practicing his magic along with everyone else, attempting and failing to get an Engorgement Charm to work properly on an apple.

Pointing his wand at the apple, he incanted, “Engorgio!” A moment later he shouted, “Oh Merlin’s balls!” as his apple exploded, sending bits of fruit and a splatter of apple juice flying in every direction.

Coming over to his boyfriend, Terence laid a hand on Oliver’s back and said, “Calm down, Will. I know it’s frustrating, but you’re letting your frustration get the better of you. Remember the breathing and centering technique that Rolanda taught us last Friday.”

Oliver nodded, as he counted backwards from 10, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Clearing his mind and breathing in and out for a few moments, he raised his wand and opened his eyes. “Engorgio!” he tried again, this time at an orange that Terence had placed where the apple had been moments ago while Oliver was centering himself. Unlike with the apple, however, the orange didn’t explode and instead inflated to the size of a volleyball.

Terence smiled. “See, you did it! I knew you could.”

Oliver smiled. “Thanks, babe,” as he leaned over and kissed Terence on the cheek, before he grinned and said, “So, your turn.”

Nodding, Terence took a moment to repeat the breathing and centering technique, before raising his wand at the orange. “Reducio!”

“Well, not quite the size you were going for,” Oliver said, as he and Terence looked at the now golf-ball sized orange, “but at least it didn’t explode.”

“Yeah, there is that,” Terence said, as he took another deep breath. It was supremely frustrating to him that his double was only a couple of miles to the north studying the seventh year NEWT-level curriculum and here he was at Forest Cottage having difficulty with a second year spell.

“I know it’s frustrating, Liam, but we’re all making progress,” Cedric said, as he came over to the lovebirds. “Maybe not as quickly as we’d like, but then the trainers did warn us that our training could take a while.”

“I know,” Terence said with a sigh. “I just never thought that I’d reach a point in which casting such a simple spell as the Shrinking Charm would be this difficult. I thought I’d mastered it years ago.”

“As did we all,” Roger said. “But, this whole power increase thing has wreaked havoc on the control we thought we had. That breathing and centering technique that Rolanda taught us is certainly helping, but some of the results are still less than satisfactory.”

“And to think, it’s not over yet,” Gavin said.

“What do you mean, Gavin?” Cedric asked.

“Well, you, Liam, and Will have all had your inheritances,” Gavin answered. “Roger and I haven’t, however, so we’ve still got power increases coming.” With a grin, he added, “And Roger potentially has two coming if he decides to bond with you, Liam.”

“How many times do I have to say that that’s not happening?” Roger asked.

Shaking his head, Oliver said, “Oh come off it already, Rog. Straight or not, you’re a Ravenclaw for pity sake. Are you really going to let a not so little thing as having to take my gorgeous Liam’s cock up your ass stand between you and six additional levels of power? Depending on your inheritance you could end up being able to learn two or three specializations instead of just one. You can’t tell me that your Ravenclaw thirst for knowledge isn’t chomping at the bit for that opportunity.”

Roger growled slightly, but nodded in the end. “Fine, yes, I’ll admit that I’ve been thinking of little else since we found out that the Friendship Bond came with an equalization, followed by six additional power levels. I’m still not sure about the whole bending over for Liam thing, but yes, I’d love to learn two or three specializations instead of just one.”

“I’m sure you’re not the only one who’s been thinking about it, Rog,” Gavin said, as he turned to Cedric and said, “Right, Ric?”

“Way to put me on the spot, thanks,” Cedric answered.

“Don’t pretend that you haven’t thought about it, Ric,” Terence said. “I know you’re struggling because you’re afraid that your parents will find out and never let you see Lucy again, but we’ve all seen the way you look at Harry when you think nobody’s looking. We’ve also seen the way he looks at you when he thinks the same. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if you two end up doing a Love Bond.”

“I’m not in love with Harry!” Cedric insisted. “I’m not even gay!”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Ric,” Oliver said. “Nobody’s buying it. And besides how exactly are your parents going to find out? It’s your double with them, remember? Let him worry about keeping your sexuality a secret and just enjoy being who you are.”  
Before anyone could say anything, Cedric spun around as he sensed movement behind him and saw a spell coming his way, although considering that it was Rose casting the spell, with her staff, he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. It turned out, however, that the spell wasn’t intended for him, as it whizzed right past him and hit Roger instead. After a moment of disorientation, Roger asked, “What was that spell?”

“The Sexuality Revealing Charm,” Rose answered as she came closer to the five students. “It’s an obscure mage-level spell that used to be taught as part of the normal healer training. Of course, as the number of mages began falling it was dropped, along with most other mage-level magic. There was a time when every healer on staff at St. Mungo’s could have cast that spell on their patients, but now I doubt there’s more than maybe one or two who would even be capable, assuming they even know the spell.”

“There’s a spell to determine one’s sexuality?” Roger asked.

Rose nodded. “Indeed, there is, Roger. Unlike what many muggles may think, one’s sexuality is as hard-wired into every person as the color of their hair, eyes, and skin. The idea that it’s a choice or a mental illness is ludicrous, because it’s neither. Every single person on this planet is hard-wired from birth to like one gender or the other. Although most people fall somewhere in between. Have any of you ever heard of a New Albion biologist by the name of Alfred Kinsey?”

“The name sounds vaguely familiar,” Roger said. “I think I’ve read it somewhere, but I can’t remember where.”

“Kinsey was a professor of entomology and zoology, in addition to being a sexologist,” Rose explained. “Of course, unknown to the muggles, he was also an accomplished magizoologist, because he was a mage. In the muggle world, he’s known for creating the Kinsey Scale, which rates human sexuality on a scale from 0 being exclusively heterosexual to 6 being exclusively homosexual. As I said though, most people rate somewhere between, so 0s and 6s are not very common. In the magical world, Kinsey also created the Sexuality Revealing Charm, which basically uses his scale to magically determine one’s sexuality and I would point out that in the over half a century since its creation it’s been proven to be accurate.”

“So what were Roger’s results?” Gavin asked.

Rose smiled. “Healer-patient confidentiality forbids me from telling you that Gavin, unless Roger gives me permission to do so.”

Roger groaned. “Great! Thanks for backing me into a corner, Rose, because you damn well know that I almost have to give you permission since you cast that spell so publicly! I’ll never hear the end of it from these louts if I refuse to give you permission.”

“A minor and unimportant detail,” Rose said. At Roger’s disgruntled look, she added, “Did you think that it was only your fellow mage students who were getting sick to death of you insisting at every available opportunity that there was no way that you and Terence were ever going to bond? Have you never heard the line, ‘Methinks thou doth protest too much’?”

“Yes, damn it, I’ve bloody well heard it,” Roger said. “Go ahead then, tell them that I’m a 0 on Kinsey’s scale.”

Shaking her head, Rose said, “First off, language, Roger. Secondly, do you really want me to lie? Because that’s what I’d be doing if I said that the spell indicated that you were a 0.”

“What?!” Roger asked. “That’s impossible! I’m not gay!”

“Roger, Roger, Roger,” Cedric said. “Remember what Athena always says. Nothing is impossible, just improbable.”

“Thank you, Cedric,” Rose said. “Now, Roger, as for your results, the spell indicated that to an accuracy of 99.999998% you are in fact a 2 on Kinsey’s scale, which means you’re still considered straight, but you’re also considered borderline bisexual. A 3 on the scale is perfect bisexuality, liking both genders in equal measure. At a 2 rating, you prefer women, but even if it isn’t your dominant preference, you are hard-wired to be able to desire and derive pleasure from homosexual relationships. Now whether you acknowledge it or not is immaterial, because facts are facts. If I had to guess, I would say that when you were born the cosmic powers recognized that you had a living soulmate in Terence and thus your sexuality was wired accordingly.”

“Shouldn’t he have been wired as a 6 then?” Oliver asked. “Since he has a male soulmate and he’s also a male?”

“A mystery of the cosmos that I doubt we’ll ever truly understand,” Rose answered. “Although, if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that some soul pairs may be wired to have their dominant preferences be the opposite gender of their soulmate in order to ensure that every soul pair doesn’t end up falling madly in love with one another and entering into Love Bonds. Love is a very difficult thing to understand, which is probably why it’s one of the concepts that’s studied in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry for Magic, but many of the wizarding world’s most learned scholars have theorized that people who rank 0 to 2 on Kinsey’s scale are very unlikely to fall in love with the same gender. A 2 has more chance of doing so than a 0 or 1, but it’s still unlikely.”

“So what’s my rating?” Terence asked. “I think it’s obvious considering, but I still want to know and you have my permission to share the result.”

Casting the spell on Terence, Rose said, “You’re a 5, Terence. So, predominantly homosexual, with only incidental heterosexual leanings. As a male rated at a 5 you would not be likely to derive much pleasure from sex with a woman or desire it in the first place, but you are capable of acknowledging that a woman is attractive. A male 6, on the other hand, is exclusively homosexual and thus unlikely to be able to find a woman attractive because their brains are wired to think of only other men in that regard.”

Following this statement, Rose ended up testing Oliver, who like Terence, turned out to be a 5. Completely shocking Oliver to his very core, however, as he had totally expected a different result was the fact that Gavin turned out be a 0 on the scale. Gavin, however, looked thrilled as he said, “So, that’s that, Will. Now do you finally believe that I’m straight?”

Oliver was silent for a moment, before he said, “Huh, I guess I have no choice do I? You really are exclusively heterosexual. How in Merlin’s name did my clone end up exclusively hetero?”

Rose smiled. “The fact that he’s your clone means nothing, Oliver. Gavin is still a separate person and since you and Gavin were not identified as being soul mates during the blood ritual, you clearly have separate souls. So, I don’t think it’s at all surprising that his sexuality would be completely different from your own. I realize one might think identical twins have identical looks and thus should be identical in every way, but that is not always the case. There are plenty of instances in which one twin is straight and the other is gay. I don’t have exact numbers, of course, but I know from experience that there are instances. In fact, two of the mage students that we trained alongside Regulus were a set of male identical twins where one was straight and the other was gay.”

“Really? Who?” Terence asked.

“I sincerely doubt that you’d know them,” Rose answered. “Aedan and Ardan Callahan, the latter being two minutes younger and gay. They were born in Iwernia and spent their entire lives there until we took them for training. Coming to Forest Cottage was the very first time in their lives that they’d left Iwernia and they went back when their training was finished.” Rose’s face shifted to one of sadness, before she added, “And I’m sorry to say that Ardan was killed during the war with Voldemort. Aedan is still alive, although he became something of a recluse after his brother died. I know he married and had children, but I haven’t seen or spoken to him since Ardan’s funeral.”

After a moment of silence, Gavin turned to Cedric and said, “Well, I guess it’s your turn now, mate.”

“No, I don’t want to know,” Cedric said, as he raised his hands up in an almost defensive stance and backed up from the others by a few steps.

“Come on, Ric, we all did it,” Terence said. “And I understand that your father is a royal jackass when it comes to his homophobia and that you’re afraid he’s going to find out, but none of us are gonna tell him your results you know. And I’m sure you’re not going to, so he’s not going to find out and cut Lucy out of your life.”

“Besides, he can’t disown you,” Roger added. “You’re his only living heir other than Noah, so, unless he reinstates Noah or has another son, you’re guaranteed to remain Earl of Charwell no matter what.”

“You think I bloody care about my damn title?” Cedric said. “I only have it because my Dad disowned Noah when he came out as liking both men and women. But I have to be straight… I have to be… I can’t lose my relationship with my sweet little sister. I love her too much. Dad’s often busy at the Ministry and Mum with her social engagements, so over the summers, taking care of Lucy often falls to me. I can’t handle her being taken from me and raised to hate me, which is exactly what will happen if I’m gay or bi. So, no, I don’t want to be tested. I have to be straight.”

Through this, Cedric’s whole body began shaking with what the others assumed was fear and his voice changed pitch as it became clear that he was panicking. He even had tears rimming his eyes, as the others all looked at him with nothing but concern and friendship in their eyes.

Rose shook her head as she raised her staff and said, “I’m sorry, Cedric, but as your healer I must insist that you be tested. The test could very well identify that you’re straight, although I doubt that. Still, this emotional turmoil that you’re putting yourself through is not good for your health and it’s completely and totally unnecessary because as your fellow students have already pointed out, none of us are going to tell Lord Diggory your results, so there’s no possible way for him to find out, which means that your relationship with your sister is safe.”

Cedric shook his head and turned, obviously intent on trying to run away, but Rose was too quick for him as she said, “Locomotor Mortis!” Which she followed up with, “Mobilicorpus,” to prevent Cedric from falling flat on his face.

While he was unable to move his legs, he could still speak and clearly panicking, he was hysterical as he said, “No, please, don’t!”

“Hush, Cedric, it’ll all be over soon and really is for your own good,” Rose said, before casting the charm that Cedric so desperately wanted to avoid. A moment later, she said, “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No, no, no, I can’t be gay, I can’t be!” Cedric exclaimed, as he began hyperventilating.

“Oh, for pity sake,” Rose said, as she cast a Calming Charm on Cedric before his overall state of panic caused a more serious health issue. “Technically speaking, I haven’t been a practicing healer since I left St. Mungo’s and took my teaching job at Hogwarts, so there are some who would say that I’m no longer bound by healer-patient confidentiality. I have always tried to honor it regardless, although in this case, I think an exception needs to be made because Cedric needs his friends to reassure him now more than ever.” After a moment of silence, she added, “Cedric is a 6 and is thus exclusively homosexual.”

Positioning the teen on the ground and cancelling the first two spells she cast on him, Rose looked on with pride as all of Cedric’s friends, including Roger, gathered around him to show their support. Terence was the first to speak as he said, “It’s going to be okay, Ric, I promise you. I know you’re terrified about losing your relationship with Lucy, but that’s not going to happen. None of us will tell your father about your results. Right, guys?”

Everyone nodded in agreement, as Cedric, tears falling from his eyes, just shook his head and said in a morose tone, “You don’t get it. I didn’t want to know for sure because not knowing made it easier for me to continue pretending. I’ve suspected for years now that I was fooling myself by saying that I was straight because—damn it—the spell is right. I’ve never once in my life looked at a girl and thought about being with them in a sexual manner. Friends, sure, but anything more? No, it’s always been guys for me. But growing up with my parents, I learned to hide that part of myself away, long before Noah was disowned. It’s not like Mum and Dad never made any comments before that didn’t reveal their feelings on the matter. Although, Dad is much more vocal about it and I think Mum just goes along with him because she views it as her duty to agree with her husband.”

“They’re fools, Cedric,” Rose said, as she knelt on the ground a few feet away from him and the group of friends that encircled him. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you liking boys instead of girls and anyone who says anything differently is wrong. I understand that you fear losing your sister over this and I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for you growing up in a household so full of hate. But, as your friends have said, you don’t need to worry. Your fear of your father finding out is irrational because he’s not going to find out. How can he? You’re certainly not going to tell him and none of us will either, so unless he’s a mind reader, he’s not going to find out. And I think we all know he’s not a mind reader, because if he was you couldn’t have hidden your thoughts as long as you did.”

“But what about my double?” Cedric asked. “What if I accept myself for what I really am and it makes my double start accepting it too? My dad will find out and my relationship with Lucy will be over forever.”

Shaking her head, Rose said, “It doesn’t work that way, Cedric. Your double has very limited access to your memories and while that access is opened more fully while it’s dormant during those times when you step back into your life, it’s not going to be able to access that part of you, as it only gets access to the memories and information that occur while it’s dormant. So unless you step back into your old life and kiss a boy, your double won’t be able to access your change of feelings. And if it makes you feel better, I suppose there’s always the Fidelius Charm.”

Cedric took a deep breath and nodded, insisting that Rose help him cast the Fidelius Charm to keep his secret. When asked who he wanted to be his secret keeper, he hesitated. His first thought was that he trusted nobody but himself with this information, but then he was also afraid of the possibility of slipping up and making a mistake which would reveal the secret and if he was the keeper then the Fidelius was pretty much useless. In the end, Oliver volunteered to be Cedric’s secret keeper and swore a vow on his honor and magic that he wouldn’t reveal the secret to anyone without Cedric’s express permission.

Once the spell was cast, Cedric felt drained and exhausted from the ordeal, which led to Oliver and Terence helping him to his feet and guiding him upstairs to his bedroom so that he could lie down. When they were out of earshot, Rose sighed and said, “While I do feel bad for forcing the issue, I do believe it was for the best. Cedric was tearing himself up inside and that’s never good for one’s health. Plus, I think he really does like Harry and that those feelings are returned.”

Roger nodded. “I agree with that.”

“Yeah, I think it’s obvious to everyone but them,” Gavin said. “Well, at least anyone who has spent the amount of time with them together as everyone here at the cottage has. I doubt it’s all that obvious to anyone else, though.”

“Indeed,” Rose said. “Plus, there’s the fact that the two of them bonding, if they’re truly in love…” she stopped here for a moment, before continuing with, “I know what you boys were discussing as I walked up. I cast the spell on Roger first, even though Cedric was the one proclaiming that he wasn’t gay right before I arrived. At any rate, Roger, in order to learn a third specialization, you will need to reach the level of Magus and you’re only an Apprentice Mage at the moment. However, if you bonded with Terence today, due to the equalization you’d be a Master Mage, and then you’d both go up six levels to Grand Magister, placing you only three levels away from Magus and a third specialization.”

Roger’s face fell, as he said, “Damn then that means I won’t get that third specialization, will I? When Regulus cast Temporal Sight he said he only saw me gaining two additional levels, which would only put Terence and I up to Apprentice Magus.”

Rose rolled her eyes as she said, “Remember what Athena told you, however. Temporal Sight is not a guarantee, Roger. Just because Regulus only saw you gaining two levels doesn’t mean that you can’t get more than that. Besides which, if you don’t bond with Terence, you’ll need to have the maximum inheritance of six levels in order to reach the level of Magister, which you’d need to reach in order to learn two specializations. And while Temporal Sight can be wrong, it’s not likely that you’ll gain 6 levels when Regulus only saw you gaining 2. 1 to 3 is more likely.”

Roger sighed. “So in other words, I pretty much have no choice but to bond with Terence if I want to be guaranteed to be able to learn two specializations and have the chance of maybe getting to learn three.”

Rose nodded. “Indeed. Now, the reason I forced the issue with Cedric is because I don’t think he’s realized it yet. Or that any of you have, actually.” At Roger’s and Gavin’s confused looks, Rose elaborated. “Harry had his inheritance early during the blood ritual, pushing him up to the level of Master Magister… seven levels below the ultimate pinnacle.”

“So, if he bonds with Cedric,” Roger said, “they’ll both end up being Grand Magi.”

Rose shook her head. “If they only undergo a Friendship Bond, yes. Remember what Arthur said during the war council in the library. He said that he jumped from Sorcerer to Grand Magister and then because of his Love Bond with Merlin, they both went up to Archmagus, wasting two levels of potential increase when they hit the maximum power level.”

Gavin’s eyes widened as realization hit him. “The Love Bond increase is eight levels, not six.”

Roger was looking similarly wide-eyed, as he said, “That means, Harry and Cedric may well be the first Archmagi in over a thousand years.”

Rose nodded. “Indeed. Harry is only seven levels from the pinnacle now so if he and Cedric fall in love and bond, that will put both of them at the level of Archmagus. And I think with the threat of Voldemort, Dumbledore, and Grindelwald looming, having two Archmagi on our side would certainly be a great thing.”

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile back in Thebes, after enjoying a delicious dinner with Seti, Queen Meritites, Djoser, Neferkamin, Ramesses, and their respective mothers, Edward and Harry had settled into the guest suite that Seti had prepared for them. There was a common living area with a total of four bedrooms, each with their own private bathrooms. At the moment, only two of these four bedrooms were being used as only Edward and Harry had remained in Thebes. There were plans, however, that Nick and Dominick would be joining them for at least one night and would thus use one of the unused rooms.

“I suppose I’ll have to decide on a seneschal, at some point,” Edward commented over breakfast the following morning. “Obviously Brian Dumbledore, or should I say Albus, is not staying on in that position. So when I retake my throne, I’ll need a new one.”

Harry nodded. “True. I know it’s tradition to pick from the younger sons of the noble families, so I had Robert prepare dossiers for me that I could pass on to you.”

Edward smiled. “That was very industrious of you, Harry, and I do appreciate the initiative.”

“Well, I am your Chancellor and a Privy Councilor, so I figured it’s my job to council you. Kind of hard to do that if I’m unprepared for matters like this. Of course, if I’m being perfectly honest it was Terence who mentioned it, although not directly to me. The evening of the war council he made an offhand remark to Oliver which they made sure I heard. Whether it was all Terence or if his father was involved I couldn’t say.”

“Either way, I can’t exactly argue with the results,” Edward said, as he took a sip of tea. “And Harry, I understand that you’re new to all of this, so don’t think that I expect you to have all of the answers all of the time, as I don’t expect that of anybody. Now, I’ll look at the full dossiers later, but for now can you summarize?”

“Robert gave me two that he said fit all the traditional criteria,” Harry said as he stood, grabbed the folders from the satchel that Robert gave him, and returned to the table. On the cover of each folder, Harry had clipped a short summary of each, as Robert’s letter suggested that he read the dossiers and summarize them, in case Edward asked, which Robert had thought was likely.

Looking at the notes he’d clipped to the first folder, Harry said, “First option is Tiberius McLaggen, Viscount Dalness. He’s second in line to the McLaggen lordship, after his nephew Cormac. He’s 41 years old, a successful solicitor, although he doesn’t handle any noble clients, including his own family, as he seems to prefer handling legal issues for the less fortunate. He’s married to Lavinia McLaggen, 38, and has two young sons, James, 11, and Duncan, 9.”

“Yes, his not having worked for any noble clients will avoid any potential conflicts of interest. Sounds promising. Next?”

“Tristan Nott, Baron Trelawynd. He’s the younger brother of Lord Malcolm Flint and Lord McLaggen’s wife, Caroline, and is thus second in line to the Flint lordship, after his nephew Marcus. He’s 28 years old, and an Unspeakable, working primarily in the Time Room in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry for Magic. He has no children of his own, although he has a stepson, Theodore Nott, 14, who is also his nephew.”

“How did that happen?”

“According to the dossier, his sister is Theodore’s mother, but she died giving birth to him. It would seem that in their grief over the loss, Tristan and Theodore’s father, Thomas Nott, 29, got closer and started dating. They were one of the first couples to get married after Lord Ollivander legalized same-sex marriages on his lands. There was apparently a minor scandal when Tristan chose to take the Nott name, instead of Thomas taking the Flint name, but apparently at the time of the wedding it was believed that Lord Flint wouldn’t approve of Thomas bearing his name, as he hadn’t yet legalized same-sex marriages on the Flint lands as he did following Gellert naming Marcus as one of his suitors.”

“Hmm, interesting,” Edward said. “Is there a picture included with the dossier?”

“Yes,” Harry answered as he opened the folder and removed a picture that showed the three Nott men together. Handing the picture over to Edward, Harry added, “The one standing on the right is Tristan. That’s Thomas that he’s leaning against, and the one sitting in the chair in front of them is Theodore.”

“Very handsome looking family,” Edward said as he looked them over. “If they’re willing I may have to consider Thomas and Tristan as additional potential husbands. They’re clearly okay with same-sex relationships if they married each other. Do we know anything about Theo’s preferences?”

“There wasn’t anything in the dossier, but Robert concentrated mostly on Tristan,” Harry answered. He hesitated here for a moment, but then added, “Something you should know though, Edward, is that there are allegations that both Thomas and Tristan are Death Eaters. Although from what Robert was able to dig up, it looks like they were marked only a couple of months before Voldemort killed my parents. Robert said he was also able to find a former student who was at Hogwarts with them who was willing to speak with Robert on condition of anonymity. Robert granted the request and says the former student told him there was a rumor going around the school at the time that Thomas and Tristan did not take their marks willingly.”

“Hmm,” Edward said. “I did hear of a few cases in which the children of Voldemort’s inner circle were forced to take the mark, whether they wanted it or not. Only the male children, however, as I’ve never heard of Voldemort forcing any woman to take his mark. My advisors before my imprisonment said that there were women who had willingly taken it, but that was seemingly rather rare. I suppose before I would consider Tristan as a potential seneschal or spouse, I’d have to know if those rumors were true. If they were and he truly didn’t want the Dark Mark, his having it shouldn’t be held against him.”

“True,” Harry agreed. “Of course, his actions as a Death Eater would still have to be held against him. Although he was only a Death Eater for about two or three months before Voldemort lost his body when he attempted to kill me and Robert wasn’t able to find any mention of crimes that were attributed directly to either Thomas or Tristan.”

“Lost his body?” Edward asked. “I was under the impression that he was dead from a backfired Killing Curse. The Death Eater who attempted to kill me was named Octavius Warrington, but he died when Merlin’s protections kicked in and the curse backfired.”

“Voldemort apparently took precautions. Based on information I’ve been able to provide, my mother’s portrait thinks, and my trainers agree, that Voldemort made at least one Horcrux and possibly as many as seven of them.”

“Great, just great,” Edward said. “As if Dumbledore and Grindelwald wasn’t enough to deal with. We may also have to worry about a resurrected Voldemort.”

“Yes, but for the moment, we can concentrate on Dumbledore and Grindelwald. As far as I know, Voldemort still doesn’t have a body, although I’m told that there are rituals he could perform in order to get one. And I can’t imagine he’ll try possessing someone again after I killed his last host.”

“You killed his last host?”

“In my first year at Hogwarts,” Harry answered. “Voldemort had possessed Professor Quirrell, formerly the Muggle Studies professor, who Dumbledore made Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that year. Long story short, I had a confrontation with Quirrell and he touched my arm. I guess due to Voldemort inhabiting his body, Merlin’s protections didn’t react well to that since Voldemort had tried to kill me, so Quirrell spontaneously combusted. Unfortunately, Voldemort was able to escape in his spirit form before Quirrell died.”

Before anything else could be said, an owl flew into the room from a nearby open window and landed on the breakfast table next to Harry’s plate. Once Harry had taken the missive, the bird stretched its wings and left. Unrolling the scroll, Harry perused it for a moment, before Edward said, “Nothing bad, I hope.”

“No, it’s nothing bad. Honestly, I was expecting this would happen.” At Edward’s raised eyebrow, Harry elaborated. “Bruce McLaggen has called an emergency meeting of the Hogwarts Board of Governors to discuss the imminent sacking of Albus Dumbledore and who should be named as head of the school in his place. He adds that Dumbledore won’t be informed and the announcement of his sacking won’t be made until after you’ve retaken your throne, but he felt that we needed to have plans in place to allow for as seamless a transition as possible considering that Hogwarts is about to host the Triwizard Tournament.”

“The Triwizard Tournament?” Edward asked. “I hadn’t realized that was brought back. It’s the first time in centuries, isn’t it?”

Harry nodded. “Yes, it was discontinued after the 1792 tournament. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are scheduled to arrive at Hogwarts on 30 October, with the champions being selected the following evening at the annual Hogwarts Halloween Feast. There have been some rule changes to try and prevent deaths, such as the fact that nobody under the age of 17 is allowed to enter their name into the Goblet of Fire. The plan is to draw an Age Line around it so that nobody under 17 can get close enough to put their name in.”

“That sounds like a wise precaution. In the tournaments of the past, students of every age were allowed to compete, including the first years, which honestly I always found to be ridiculous. I mean how could a first year possibly be expected to already know enough to compete in such a dangerous tournament?”

“Yes, after all the reading I’ve done on the tournament, I would agree that an eleven-year-old competing would be insanely stupid.”

“So, when is this meeting of the governors?”

“Tomorrow at noon at Kinloch Hold, as per usual.” Harry answered. “After which I imagine I will not be returning here, Your Majesty, as my trainers are not likely going to want me to put off my training much longer.”

“Unless, of course, one of them comes to you,” a familiar voice said, prompting Harry to turn in his seat to face the main door of the suite, where he saw the speaker, Athena, standing alongside Nick and Dominick.

“Athena, I didn’t expect for you to come here,” Harry said.

“Well, Harry, I didn’t want you to fall too far behind,” Athena explained. “So, I contacted Nick and he got me permission to enter Thebes. Although getting into the Imperial Palace while wearing Glamour Charms was no easy feat, as the Medjai weren’t particularly fond of the idea.”

“So how did you convince them to allow it?” Edward asked.

“I can be very persuasive when I need to be,” Athena said. “Plus, being the guest of the visiting foreign monarch that’s in alliance negotiations with the Pharaoh helps.”

“Well, that and having the Crown Prince order the Medjai to stand down,” Dominick added. “Prince Khufu was crossing through the entrance hall on his way to one of his lessons and saw the Medjai trying to detain Athena. Apparently seeing her with Nick and him saying that we were all guests of King Edward was enough for Khufu. So he ordered the Medjai to let her pass with her Glamours intact.”

“I fully expect that concession won’t last,” Athena added. “As I’m sure the Medjai will probably take the matter to the Pharaoh, but I’m hoping that he’ll be content with an offer of me privately revealing to him who I am.”

“I don’t imagine that will be a problem,” Edward said. “He wants this alliance too much, so I don’t think he’s going to do anything to risk upsetting me or my guests.” Pausing to look at the clock, he added, “Speaking of, I should start getting ready. Djoser, Neferkamin, and Ramesses are scheduled to be coming in an hour. We’re supposed to have a group date of sorts before I spend some one-on-one time with each of them… well, as much as it’s possible to have one-on-one time under the watchful gaze of Prince Khaneferre.”

“Khaneferre?” Harry asked. “I don’t remember him from yesterday.”

“He wasn’t there yesterday,” Edward explained. “Remember when Seti pulled me aside as we were leaving dinner last night?” Harry nodded. “It was to tell me that all of his wives and Lord-Commander Asim were going to be busy today, so one of Ramesses’ older, straight, and married brothers, Khaneferre, would be acting as chaperone today.”

“Okay,” Harry said as he finished his breakfast and stood up. “Well, Athena, Nick, Dominick, I’ll show you to your rooms and then I guess Athena and I can get some training in while you go on your dates, Edward.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Edward said, as he finished his tea, before heading into his room to freshen up and get ready for his day.

-o-0-o-

Nearly an hour later, Nick and Dominick made themselves scarce by going for a walk in the gardens, while Athena and Harry, with permission from the Medjai, made their way to an old, disused Medjai training room in the basement of the palace that hadn’t been repurposed after a new facility was built for the Medjai a few years back. Edward was thus alone in the guest suite when there was a knock on the door, which turned out to be the four guests he was expecting.

“Your Majesty,” Khaneferre said with a bow, as he entered the room, followed by Djoser, Neferkamin, and Ramesses.

“Prince Khaneferre, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Edward said, as he shook hands with the twenty-eight-year-old prince.

“The pleasure is mine,” Khaneferre said. “As you undoubtedly know I’m your chaperone for the day.”

Neferkamin rolled his eyes at this, “And can I just say that I find it mildly insulting that Father thinks any of us, especially me, needs a chaperone? Especially one that’s younger than me?”

“I get it, Kamin, I do,” Khaneferre said. “If I was in your place I’d find it insulting too, but Father is a living god, so we must abide by his will. I will try to make this as painless as possible, however. I’m supposed to watch you four and make sure you don’t do anything untoward.”

Now it was Djoser who rolled his eyes as he said, “Yeah because untoward is so easy when you’re wearing bronze-studded basilisk hide underwear, complete with multiple padlocks.”

“I grew up in the Imperial Harem the same as you did, Djoser,” Khaneferre said with a smirk. “I know all too well how limiting those garments are, but I also know what their weakness is.”

“Weakness?” Edward asked.

“He means they don’t block our mouths,” Ramesses said with a grin. “So basically he’s here to make sure that none of us try to give you a blowjob, Your Majesty.”

“Ram, you really shouldn’t be quite that familiar with a ruling monarch,” Khaneferre chastised.

For his part, after he stopped blushing, Edward said, “It’s okay, Khaneferre. I did ask, after all.” After a moment’s pause, he asked, “Would it be too inappropriate if I asked to see it? I’ve never actually seen a chastity belt before, so I admit I am kind of curious what it actually looks like.”

Even as Khaneferre was saying, “I suppose there’s no harm in that,” Djoser was pushing his white linen harem pants down to his knees, revealing the chastity belt beneath.

Looking at it, Edward could see that it essentially looked like a pair of string bikini briefs, only instead of just having straps that went around the waist, there were also straps the wrapped around both legs, in addition to a pair of straps that went upwards under Djoser’s tunic. All the straps were studded with bronze studs and there were four small padlocks securing them together.

“Those straps that go upward, do they go over your shoulders?” Edward asked.

“Yeah,” Djoser said as he pulled off his linen tunic to reveal that the longer straps were much like a pair of suspenders, crossing in an ‘x’ on the back and having two additional straps across his chest and lower down across his abdomen that ensured that the longer suspender-like straps couldn’t be parted far enough to be removed. All of the straps and the bikini briefs themselves were made of a black leather like material which judging by Djoser’s previous statement, Edward could only assume was in fact basilisk hide.

“Same here,” Ramesses said, as he pulled his tunic up with one hand and pushed his own harem pants down with the other. Neferkamin did the same, showing that they all were indeed wearing the same getup.

“Alright, Djoser, he’s seen it now, so you can get dressed again,” Khaneferre said.

“Ah, come on, Khan,” Djoser said. “Can I at least leave my tunic off? There’s no harm in letting Edward see the goods is there? I mean, he’s going to be marrying one of us, he should at least have some idea what he’s getting.”

Khaneferre rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine, you can leave your tunic off, but pull up your damn pants, will you?”

As Djoser pulled up his pants, Ramesses and Neferkamin grinned, as they pulled their own tunics off Ramesses flashed his elder brother a cheeky grin and said, “If Djoser’s going to show off his chest, we might as well do it too.”

Khaneferre said nothing to this. Meanwhile, Edward was busy looking at the three half-naked princes in front of him and enjoying what he was seeing. Djoser was slimmer than his brothers, almost a little scrawny, but he had some good definition in places, including the faint outlines of what may at some point be a nice set of six-pack abs. Like all three of the princes, Djoser had black hair, although his eyes were silvery grey, and his skin was well-tanned, making it clear that he enjoyed spending time outside in the Egyptian sun.

On the other side of the spectrum, Neferkamin was quite a bit more muscular, with a very well-defined six-pack, and ocean blue eyes. It was clear that the elder prince spent a lot of time in the gym bulking up his muscles, and while Edward certainly found him attractive, he couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated by the prince’s nearly bulging muscles.

Ramesses, meanwhile, was in Edward’s opinion a happy medium between the other two, with good muscle definition and a nice flat stomach with the beginnings of a six-pack. Edward found him neither too scrawny nor too brawny, and judging on looks alone, while finding all of them attractive, Edward felt a little more drawn to Ramesses. Something which Ramesses and the other two had clearly noticed when Edward’s eyes lingered on the 20-year-old hazel-eyed prince a bit longer than they had on the other two.

Djoser sighed. “Well, I think Edward likes Ram more than us, Kamin.”

Neferkamin nodded. “I noticed.”

“No, I like all three of you,” Edward corrected. “You’re all very handsome and attractive, although I will admit that I do find Ramesses’ body type the most appealing of the three. But, seeing as how I’m looking to marry and spend the rest of my life with one of you, it’ll take more than a hot body for me to pick you. Personality wise I found all of you acceptable when we were at Gringotts’, so now I need to get to know all of you better.”

“What do you want to know?” Djoser asked, as he sat down on a nearby settee, the other two taking nearby chairs not long afterward.

“Likes, dislikes, hobbies,” Edward listed off. “Favorite foods and drinks, that sort of thing.”

Djoser started things off by revealing that he liked Quidditch, reading, gardening, and swimming and that he disliked dishonest people. With a grin, he added that he also disliked a certain accessory that would remain nameless. Obviously Edward had no trouble identifying what Djoser was referring to and after having seen it with his own eyes, Edward could definitely see why Djoser would dislike it, as Edward was quite certain that if he was the one wearing it, he would not just dislike it, but hate it. Neferkamin piped in at this point that he also disliked the accessory in question, especially when the auto-resizing charms on the straps didn’t always keep up as well as they should with his muscle mass. As for his likes, he enjoyed Quidditch, chess, winged chariot racing, and working out in the gym.

Just as the Ancient Egyptians had, both Djoser and Neferkamin were quite fond of beer, although they also liked wine and milk, although Djoser preferred white wine and chocolate milk, while Neferkamin liked red wine and regular milk. Various fruits and vegetables were a staple of both of the princes’ diets, although they also consumed meat and fish. When asked to pick one favorite food, Djoser said that for him it was probably peanut butter while Neferkamin liked shellfish, particularly lobster.

“Well, that could pose a problem,” Edward said. “Anything made from peanuts and every type of shellfish are banned from the premises in the royal households back home, to ensure that there’s no possible way that I can accidentally ingest them, because I’m allergic.”

“If it means the difference between you living and dying,” Neferkamin said, “then I’ll gladly give up shellfish. I like it, yes, but it’s just food. Nowhere near as important as my potential husband’s life.”

“Same here,” Djoser said.

“Okay, then. Ramesses, what about you?”

“I enjoy Quidditch, reading, swimming, and horseback riding,” Ramesses answered. “I also enjoy working out, although not to the extent that Kamin does.”

“Ram, I’m a single man who’s been wearing a chastity belt for 25 years,” Neferkamin pointed out. “I had to find something to fill my time and the gym ended up being it.”

Djoser grimaced. “I pray daily that I don’t end up having to wear this leather and bronze prison as long as Kamin has. I’ve already been wearing it for 9 years and that feels like an eternity. I don’t even want to imagine another 16 years.”

“Yeah it’s been 10 years since I’ve seen my penis,” Ramesses said. “If I have to wait another 15 years, I think I’ll go crazy.”

“Well, at least one of us will be getting out of this damn thing soon,” Neferkamin said.

“You guys are making me feel guilty that I can’t pick all of you,” Edward said. “I mean I do plan to practice polygamy, but I also feel like I need to pick my other potential husbands from my subjects. It’s been several generations now since any new Albion blood was added to the Pendragon line and I think it’s time, lest the family end up a different nationality from the country I rule. However, in picking my other husbands, I’ll make sure to keep the two of you I don’t pick in mind. As maybe one of them won’t end up being a match for me but might end up being a good match for one of you.”

The three princes thanked Edward for the consideration, before going back to talking. Ramesses revealed that his favorite foods were pasta and pizza, both of which Edward himself was quite fond of, and that his favorite drink was lemon iced tea. He imagined that he could make the switch to hot tea without much difficulty if he moved to Albion, but while in Egypt he tended to drink iced tea simply because when living in a desert climate, one tends to avoid hot drinks.

Before anything else was said, Khaneferre stood up and said, “Well, it’s time for your one-on-one dates. Djoser is up first, so, Ram, Kamin, make yourselves scarce.”

-o-0-o-

The following day, Athena took Harry back to Albion via Side-Along, because while it was true that Harry had now obtained his Apparition license, Athena wasn’t comfortable allowing him to attempt an intercontinental Apparition of the distance between Egypt and Albion. Of course, truth be told, Harry wasn’t comfortable with that idea either as the distance was quite intimidating. So, taking him back to Forest Cottage’s apparition point, Athena went into the house to check up on things there, while Harry immediately Apparated over to Kinloch Hold for the emergency Governor’s meeting.

Arriving in Kinloch’s Apparition Chamber, Harry smiled as he saw Lady Caroline McLaggen in the chamber, who got the duty of greeting the attendees this time around instead of Cormac since being that it was Tuesday, the 18th of October, he was in school.

“Welcome to Kinloch, Lord Potter,” Caroline said.

“Lady McLaggen, a pleasure,” Harry said.

“Here for the super-secretive Governor’s meeting my husband called?” Caroline asked.

“Yes, I am,” Harry confirmed.

“I don’t suppose you know what it’s about do you?” Caroline asked. “Bruce wouldn’t tell me anything. Which is strange for him, considering that he never keeps secrets from me."

“I do, Caroline, but for the moment, I’m afraid I must keep it to myself,” Harry answered. “I realize that the Alliance Oath would prevent you from saying anything, but for the time being at least, it really is necessary to keep what we’ll be discussing known to as few people as humanly possible. Please don’t be offended.”

Caroline smiled and said, “Oh don’t worry, Harry, I’m not offended. Extremely curious yes, but not offended.” With a sigh, she said, “So, I’ll just be the dutiful wife and do as my husband asks by greeting the governors and directing them to the library, as per usual. I’m sure in time I’ll find out what’s going on and hopefully all of this secrecy will make sense then.”

Before Harry could respond, five more people Apparated into the Chamber within seconds of each other—Malcolm Flint, Callum McKinnon, Bruce McLaggen, Sirius Black and Neville Longbottom. Kissing his wife on the cheek, Bruce said, “Ah, Lord Potter, good to see you.”

“And you, Bruce,” Harry said.

“Let’s head up to the library shall we?” Bruce asked, as the others nodded. Turning to his wife, he said, “Anyone else arrive while I was out?”

“Lords Ollivander, Bones and Malfoy,” Caroline revealed. “I sent them up to the library already. And your idea of accompanying my brother here to ensure that he didn’t arrive alone, giving me the chance to grill him, wasn’t necessary, my dear husband.”

Malcolm Flint remained quiet at this, but for anyone who knew the Flint family well, they’d know that Malcolm had a large soft spot for his younger sister and if she grilled him enough, he’d probably crack and tell her what she wanted to know. Knowing this, Bruce went to Flint Castle to accompany Malcolm back and ensure that Caroline didn’t get the chance.

“Thank you my dear,” Bruce said. “As for accompanying Malcolm here, I’m sorry, but I had to take the precaution. Anyway, just send the others up as they arrive.” Gesturing to the lords present in the chamber, he said, “Follow me.”

Arriving in the library, Bruce moved over to take his usual seat at the head of the table, as the other lords moved to take their normal seats.

“So, your first governor’s meeting as the new Duke of Aldersey,” Harry said, as he and Neville sat down. “How you holding up, mate? Nervous?”

Neville grinned. “A little, but I’m okay. I just wish the reason for this meeting wasn’t as serious as it is. Anyway, Professor Black arranged for me to be here by asking me to meet him in his office for a lunchtime tutoring session. Then he smuggled me out of the castle via a secret passage into Hogsmeade, where we met Sirius, who brought me here. Since it hasn’t been publicly announced that I’m Lord Longbottom yet, I obviously haven’t gone to get my Apparition license.”

“And what about you, Callum?” Harry asked, as he turned to look at the other man. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure if you’d be here today or not, considering that you’re one of Gellert’s suitors. Hopefully your being here won’t tip him and Albus off.”

Callum shook his head, “No, I don’t think that will be an issue. Gellert tends to spend only one night a week with his various suitors and since I was just with him on Thursday night into Friday morning, my time hasn’t come around again yet, thankfully. Gellert doesn’t really seem to care what I do on the days that I’m not with him at Castle Camelot, so I doubt he’ll realize I’ve even left McKinnon Hall. I’m hopeful that this will be all over before it does again, however, because I don’t know if I’m a good enough actor to pretend that I don’t know who he really is.”

“I think we can all agree that we want this sham over as quickly as possible,” Malcolm said. “Me especially considering that today is actually my son’s day with that bloody imposter. Obviously I haven’t told Marcus what’s going on yet and I don’t look forward to that conversation. It really does make my blood boil when I think about that man having sex with my only son. I was willing to accept it when I thought he was the King, but…”

“I know exactly how you feel, Malcolm,” Lucius said. “Tomorrow is Draco’s day with him.” Turning to Harry, he asked, “I know you’ve been in Egypt with Edward, Lord Potter, can you give an update on the status of the negotiations?”

“I can, Lucius,” Harry said. “Although, forgive me, but I’ll wait until the others arrive so that I don’t need to repeat myself.”

Lucius nodded. “Fair enough.” As he spoke, Lords Burke and Diggory arrived, leaving them waiting only on Lord Crouch and Arcturus Lestrange to arrive.

Arcturus showed up five minutes later, mentioning that he would have arrived sooner, but he had standing brunch plans with his younger sister, Araminta, and couldn’t think of a reason that she’d accept for him cancelling on such short notice. The other lords agreed that he’d done the right thing, because at the moment, they couldn’t afford for anyone to be suspicious that anything was going on.

“Well, that just leaves Bartemius,” Caractacus said, as he pulled a golden pocket watch out of the pocket of his robe and looked at it. “Hmm, it’s noon now, so he’s late. That’s unlike Barty Crouch, he’s usually very punctual.”

Twenty minutes later, Bartemius Crouch made his way into the library. As he took his usual seat, he said, “Sorry for being late. I had a minor crisis pop up regarding the Triwizard, so I had to stay at the Ministry and handle it. Seems the Beauxbatons delegation will be arriving via a carriage pulled by several Abraxans and someone in the Beast Division didn’t file the necessary paperwork to allow them to bring the creatures over the border.”

“I heard something about that,” Amos said, since he worked in the Beast Division. “Bloody idiots up top, I tell you. We’re only talking about winged horses for crying out loud. Nowhere near as dangerous as the dragons being imported from Romania for the First Task.”

“Dragons are the first task?” Neville asked. He’d known about the tournament because his grandmother had kept him up to speed about it, since he was the Longbottom heir and thus she discussed the Governor business with him, since she couldn’t discuss it with Frank. This was the first time he’d heard anything about dragons, however.

Bartemius nodded. “Yes, we’re making arrangements with Romania’s dragon reserve to import a Hungarian Horntail, Swedish Short-Snout, and Chinese Fireball. Nesting mothers all of them. The champions will have to get a fake egg containing information about the Second Task away from them.”

“Neville, Harry, I’m sure I don’t need to say this,” Bruce said, “but it’s imperative that neither of you mention anything about this to any of your classmates at school. Especially those who might be thinking about putting their names into the Goblet of Fire, as it would give them a very unfair advantage if they knew the details of the First Task before the other champions.”

Neville nodded in understanding, while Harry said, “Considering that it’s nesting mother dragons I’d say they can use every advantage they can get. But, I understand that’s not how the tournament works and so I will keep my mouth shut. The fact that it’ll only be the seventh years or seventeen-year-old sixth years competing makes me feel better about it, because they at least have a better chance of surviving such a task alive and with all their limbs still intact than say a first year would.”

Harry paused for a second, before adding, “Speaking of, I was in the middle of having breakfast with His Majesty when the owl with Bruce’s note about this meeting arrived, so I had to tell him what it was about. Thus the King knows about the tournament and he’s very happy about the new age requirement, as he said that he always thought it was ridiculous that everyone, including first years, were allowed to enter in the past.”

“On that point I think we can all agree,” Erik said. “An eleven-year-old has no business competing in such a dangerous competition, especially not when they might be pitted against a dragon.”

“Agreed,” Bruce said, as several of the other lords nodded.

Before Bruce could say anything more, as he was about to call the meeting to order, Lucius cleared his throat and said, “With respect, Lord Potter, I do believe you said that you’d answer my earlier question regarding the status of negotiations in Egypt once everyone had arrived?”

Harry nodded. “Indeed, Lucius, I did say that. The initial alliance talks have been completed and the necessary documents are being drawn up as we speak. They won’t be signed, of course, until one further detail is figured out and that is which of the Pharaoh’s sons the King will wed. The Pharaoh brought 10 possibilities and Edward has narrowed it down to three. As we speak, he’s working on narrowing it down to just one.”

“And what’s the status of the operation to retake Castle Camelot and capture the imposter?” Bartemius asked.

“In my capacity as Lord High Constable I was privy to all of the details,” Neville answered. “In order to maintain operational security and ensure that everything goes off as planned, I’m afraid most of the precise details are classified. When the time is right, you will each be given your orders to pass on to your own troops, but all information on the operation as a whole will remain on a strictly need to know basis with each component knowing only what they need to know to carry out their part of it. Reduces the chance that anyone captured can give away the entire plan.”

“I would only add that we do have a distinct advantage,” Harry said, “and that is that Edward was able to provide blueprints of Castle Camelot, which are guaranteed to be accurate since the palace has been protected from any and all structural changes since the days of Merlin and Arthur. So we know where all the guard rooms and potential choke points are located. It certainly makes the planning and execution easier when you’re not going in blind.”

When it looked like everyone’s questions regarding the status of things in Egypt were answered, Bruce cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Now, since we’re all here and we’ve handled the matter of the Egyptian status update, I call this emergency meeting of the Hogwarts Board of Governors to order. As I said in my note, I felt that we needed to discuss who should replace Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster, as I’m sure we all agree that he cannot under any circumstances be allowed to remain as head of the school now that we know that he kidnapped and imprisoned King Edward.”

“Well that much is obvious,” Lucius drawled. “He committed high treason against the realm, of course we would never leave such a person in power. The question, however, is who should replace him.”

“Isn’t it obvious who should replace him?” Neville asked. “Professor McGonagall is the Deputy Headmistress, so that would make her next in line.”

“The Deputy Head is not always named as the new Head when such decisions come up,” Amos said. “Now, I’m not saying that I’m not favor of Minerva McGonagall becoming Headmistress, but there have been instances in the past where the Deputy Head was passed over for one reason or another.”

“Well, if we go by who has the most seniority,” Caractacus said, “then the choice would obviously be Horace Slughorn. I realize that he’s only just returned to the school’s employ after over a decade away, but he did originally start teaching at Hogwarts in 1922, so when he retired in 1981 he had 59 years in at the school. Minerva, on the other hand, has only been teaching since 1956.”

Garrick shook his head and said, “True, Grangemore, however, I think most people would agree that Horace’s seniority expired when he retired. You can’t expect to leave your job, spend 13 years away, return for a month and a half and then claim seniority over someone who’s been on the job for 38 years with no interruptions.”

Caractacus shook his head and said, “I still think that Horace Slughorn has the best claim to the job.”

“Forgive me, Grangemore,” Sirius said, “but are you saying that because you think he’s the best man for the job, or because you were a member of his Slug Club when he was your professor?”  
“Or is it because he’s one of the few Slytherins still on staff?” Callum asked. “I assume we can all agree that Severus Snape is out of the running? Now that he holds a position on par with the caretaker?”

From the looks on several faces around the table, it was clear that the meeting was moments away from devolving into chaos as everyone started fighting, which prompted Erik to say, “My lords, let’s all take a moment and calm down. We’re not here to fight with each other, as doing so will not accomplish anything.”

“I quite agree,” Bruce said. “Did you have a suggestion about how we should proceed, Lord Bones?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, I do,” Erik said.

“You’re a kid, barely out of Hogwarts yourself,” Arcturus said. “Why should we listen to you?”

“You will listen to him, Arcturus, because I said so,” Bruce said. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that as the lord whose lands Hogwarts sits on, I am the board chairman, and since this meeting is happening in my house, I will decide who has the floor. And as of now, Lord Bones has the floor and the rest of you will remain quiet while he tells us his plan. Afterward, we can discuss it and the rest of you can certainly offer alternatives, but we will do so in a calm and orderly fashion. Now, Lord Bones, your suggestion?”

“Thank you, Lord McLaggen,” Erik said. “I think instead of trying to pick the next head of the school based upon who has the most seniority or arguing in favor of candidates presumed to be next in line or suggesting people merely because they were in the same house as us, we should do things in a slightly more modern way. I understand that tradition would have us pick the next Head from within the ranks of the current professors and that’s fine. But instead of just arbitrarily picking one, I think we should hold off on choosing a definite head and for now agree to select only an Interim Head who will run the school for the time being until a more definite decision can be made.”

“And do you have any thoughts on how that decision should be made, Waringsford?” Garrick asked.

“I think we should announce our choice of the Interim Head,” Erik answered. “They will in turn run the school from now until the end of the current term. During this time, we ask that the Interim Head and any other professors interested in the job present their thoughts and vision for Hogwarts to us in writing. We can then look over these documents and compare them with their employment histories and documented achievements and decide not only which vision for the school we like the best, but also who we think is the most qualified to carry out that vision. Then assuming that we can come to a consensus during a meeting held over the Winter Break, the new permanent Head will take over from the Interim Head starting in January.”

“I find the suggestion intriguing,” Bruce said. “Does anyone else have any thoughts?”

“I’d agree that it is intriguing,” Bartemius said. “Although I’m uncertain if now, while we’re playing host to the Triwizard Tournament and thus have two foreign delegations watching our every move, is the time to be making any sweeping changes or having the uncertainty of who is the Head of the school to deal with.”

“I disagree,” Harry said. “What better time to show that we have confidence not only in the Head of the School, but also their deputies and every professor working under them? Hogwarts is and always has been more than just one person, after all, it was founded by four people and while they still lived, the founders shared the duties of running the school equally. I think that presenting the fact that we are a team, working towards a common vision for a strong and fruitful future for both the staff and the students is the best possible message that we could show to the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations. Personally, I like Erik’s proposal and think that it shows a great deal of promise.”

“With respect, Your Grace,” Malcolm said, “are you saying that because you truly like Lord Bones’ proposal or because you feel the need to back up your ally?”

“House Longbottom and House Bones are not allies,” Neville said, “nor are we currently allies with House Potter. So, I think I can safely say from an unbiased place that I also quite like Erik’s suggestion and urge the board to agree to it.”

“With respect, Lord Longbottom, I would point out that while you are not officially allies,” Lucius said, “that you have been allies in the past. And you are currently friends and housemates with Lord Potter in the same year at Hogwarts and that could also color your thoughts on the matter.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Amos said. “I quite like Lord Bones’ suggestion as well and I think given recent events nobody can claim that I am showing any favoritism towards Lord Potter by agreeing with him on this.”

“Thank you, Lord Diggory,” Harry said with a respectful inclination of his head in the other man’s direction. He still didn’t like Amos or his positions on certain matters, but as long as he was being agreeable for the time being, he could show him some respect. “We’re not saying no to any candidate, irrespective of house loyalties. Just that we need a process in which we can consider all potential candidates who wish to nominate themselves for the position. I think Lord Bones’ suggestion works quite nicely in finding the right answer and move that we put it to a vote.”

“As I quite like it myself, I’ll second the motion,” Amos said. He didn’t like Harry or agree with everything he’d done recently, especially recognizing Noah and legalizing same-sex marriages on the Potter lands, but he did take his job as a Governor of Hogwarts seriously and he truly did believe that Erik’s proposal was ultimately in the school’s best interests. So he could temporarily put aside his disagreements with Lord Potter for the betterment of the school.

“A motion has been called for and seconded,” Bruce said. “So we will now vote. My vote is Aye. Lord Ollivander?”  
“Aye.”

“Lord Potter?”

“Aye.”

“Lord Longbottom?”

“Aye.”

And so it continued on with Caractacus Burke, Malcolm Flint, and Arcturus Lestrange being the only ones who voted nay. They did seem surprised when Lucius didn’t vote with them and while he didn’t give a reason for voting aye, Harry assumed that it was likely because he liked the idea of delaying the decision of a permanent head as it would potentially give him time to find a candidate which he thought was suitable and one that he could then attempt to sway the other lords to vote for.

“With a vote of 10 to 3 the motion passes,” Bruce said. “With that decided, I think we should pick an Interim Head and I would suggest that we name Minerva McGonagall in that position, if only because she has done a good job in her capacity as Deputy Head. And I believe she is more than capable of providing the leadership that Hogwarts will need during this time of transition. Now whether or not she keeps the position come January will depend entirely on her stated vision for the school, assuming of course she opts to put her name forward as a candidate.”

There were a few nods, at which point, Bruce asked, “Are there any other nominations?” When nobody spoke up, Bruce said, “Very well, then, it is the decision of this board that upon the successful retaking of King Edward’s throne, the announcement that Albus Dumbledore is no longer Head of Hogwarts will be made. At that time, Minerva McGonagall will be named Interim Headmistress and we will open up the floor to the professors on staff to submit their written visions for the school.”

“That works for me,” Garrick said. “The only other piece of business than that I can think of is who should at least temporarily take over Minerva’s duties as Deputy Head, Transfiguration Professor, and Head of Gryffindor House, as she can’t hold all four jobs at once.”

“A valid point,” Bruce conceded. “The Head of the School cannot hold a Head of House position and they normally do not teach classes, although exceptions to that have sometimes been made in the past. I would suggest that we not name any of the current Heads of House as the Interim Deputy Head and instead perhaps one of the elective professors to fill that role for the time being.”

“I can live with that suggestion,” Callum agreed. “Perhaps Septima Vector of the Arithmancy department? She’s known to be strict, but fair, and she also respects the chain of command. I think she could handle the job.”

The lords all agreed on the appointment of Septima Vector as Interim Deputy Headmistress, leaving them only with the decision of who should at least temporarily assume the mantle of Head of Gryffindor House and Professor of Transfiguration.

After some debate back and forth, Harry said, “Perhaps in the interest of wrapping things up here as I’m sure we all have other things to be doing, we can agree to allow the Interim Headmistress to pick her temporary replacements for those two positions? She knows who among the staff were in Gryffindor and she knows her subject well and has won many awards, so I’m sure she has contacts in the Transfiguration community that would aid her in finding a replacement in a timely manner.”

“I think that would work,” Bartemius said. “And you are correct, Lord Potter, about all of us having other things to be doing.” Looking at his watch, he said, “I should probably be getting back to the Ministry soon if I don’t want to arouse any suspicion about my absence.”

“Same here,” Amos said. “So, I agree with Lord Potter’s suggestion.”

Going around the room and asking for everyone’s opinions on the matter, Bruce said, “Very well, Minerva McGonagall will pick the new Head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration Professor as her first official acts as Interim Headmistress of Hogwarts. If there’s no other business,” he paused a few moments, during which nobody said anything, “then I call this meeting to a close.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, Part One of Chapter Fourteen. I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will be Edward spending a bit more time with the three Egyptian princes before he makes his final choice and comes home to Albion. It’ll then be time for the operation to retake his throne to happen, so the next part should be quite exciting.
> 
> Voting for Edward’s husbands is now open, at the link below. With nominations there’s several options for your consideration. The polls will remain open until at least July 14, 2015. More detailed instructions are available on the page linked below.
> 
> http://jayson.worldofslash.com/unexpected/pictures/suitors/suitors-polls.html
> 
> Also, I’ve made a quick reference guide for the royal and noble families, available here:
> 
> http://jayson.worldofslash.com/unexpected/pictures/royal-noble-quick-ref.html
> 
> For those of you reading this on FFNet, as they’ll remove the links, I’ll add them to my profile, although it may take a little while for them to show up after I make the changes.


	20. Chapter 14, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Fourteen,  
Part Two

-o-0-o-

While the Board of Governors was meeting at Kinloch Hold, a young man in his early twenties, with brown hair and eyes, apparated onto the grounds of Forest Cottage and looked around the place that he’d spent a number of years not that long ago. Spying a familiar person working in the vegetable garden, which thanks to some very powerful magic would continue producing fresh vegetables even in the dead of winter, the young man walked over.

“Hey, Pomona.”

Pomona Sprout jumped slightly, as she hadn’t seen anyone approaching her. Standing up and wiping her hands on her apron, she turned to the source of the voice and smiled, “Ah, Cailan, what brings you here?”

“I need an excuse now to visit my former trainers?” Cailan asked.

“No, you don’t need an excuse,” Pomona said, as she glanced down at her clothes and said, “I’d offer to give you a hug, but I’m afraid your clothes would get rather filthy.”

Cailan shrugged and said, “They’re just clothes, Pomona. I can always buy more, besides we’re mages, aren’t we? I’m sure we can both think of a few cleaning charms that can handle a little bit of dirt.”

Pomona laughed. “True, very true. Fine, come here,” as she pulled Cailan into a hug, pulling his head downward as she did so in order to close the vertical distance between them since Cailan was eight inches taller than Pomona’s 5’1” frame. With his head closer, Pomona gave Cailan a kiss on the cheek in addition to the hug.

When the hug ended, Pomona smiled at her former student as they began chatting, their backs to the Apparition Point, and commented, “I’m sure the others will be happy to see you.”

“I’d love to see them as well,” Cailan said. “Especially Aunt Minnie.”

“Cailan Gregory Urquhart!” Pomona shushed him. “Keep your voice down. I’m not wearing my Glamours because they’ve already figured out who I am, along with Rolanda, but our current batch of students don’t know who Athena and Rose are yet.”

Cailan looked apologetic as he said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d taken on a new batch of students so quickly. You just finished with my group in July so I figured you’d all want to take a little break before committing to another three years with a new group of students.”

“Yes, well, we figured that this particular group needed to enter training sooner rather than later.”

“Really, what’s so special about them, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“You’d have to ask Athena,” Pomona answered. “You know the Fidelius prevents me from revealing their identities since I’m not the keeper. But, something I can tell you is that two of our current students stand a very good chance of doing something that nobody has done since Merlin.”

“Really and what’s that?” Cailan asked, clearly intrigued by this bit of knowledge.

Pomona looked very proud and also a little shocked, when she said, “It is very possible that we are in the process of training the world’s next two Archmagi.”

What neither Pomona nor Cailan had noticed, however, was the arrival of one of the current mage students, arriving back at Forest Cottage from Kinloch Hold. Spying the unfamiliar person standing in the garden talking with Pomona, Harry started walking over to investigate, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the young man mention his, “Aunt Minnie.”

Since finding out about his birthright as Lord Potter, Harry had done quite a bit of reading, including brushing up on numerous different aspects of Wizarding culture, some of which he was already vaguely aware of from the Muggle world, including the Ancient Greek and Roman gods.

‘ _Caught you,_ ’ Harry thought as a grin spread across his face, and he headed into the house in search of his quarry, before Cailan and Pomona’s conversation turned to talk of Archmagi.

-o-0-o-

After bringing Harry to Forest Cottage so that he could go from there to Kinloch for the Governor’s meeting, Athena headed into the house to check up on her other students and the trainers to see what had been happening since she’d left for Egypt. What she found was mostly good, as she was pleased to see that the boys were independently practicing their magic without being told to do so. However, Athena was less than thrilled about Rose casting the Sexuality Revealing Charm on all of the boys, including Cedric, whom she essentially forced it upon. She was pleased to hear that following a nap of a few hours he’d had a long talk with Pomona about it, which led to him feeling more comfortable with the truth. In fact, he even agreed to cancel the Fidelius and release Oliver from his oath, which was how Rose was able to update Athena without Oliver in the room.

“I’m sure that there was a better way to handle that, Rose,” Athena chastised. “Traumatizing and potentially alienating him does nobody any good. As one of his trainers, he needs to be able to trust you.”

Rose nodded, as she sighed. “I realize that, Athena, and a part of me does feel bad about it. However, in my defense I would add that when I gave him a checkup following his inheritance, I picked up on some very distressing readings.”

Sitting down in a chair near where Rose was already sitting in the ground floor sitting room, Athena asked, “What kind of readings?”

“The kind that showed that his health was starting to be affected,” Rose answered. “He’s a 6 on the Kinsey Scale, Athena, so hard-wired to like men exclusively. However, due to his belief that he had to be straight, he was doing his level best to deny that and go against his perfectly natural preferences. The stress of that was starting to cause a bio-chemical imbalance that if left unchecked much longer would start to negatively affect his immune system, among other things, including his magical core. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that a severe bio-chemical imbalance is one of the main symptoms of the rare, always fatal, and incurable magical wasting sickness that destroys both the magical core and the body.”

“No, you don’t need to tell me that,” Athena said. With a sigh, she added, “In light of what you just told me, I’d say you were justified in forcing the issue, but I suggest you have a talk with Cedric.”

“A talk with me about what?” Cedric asked, as he came down the stairs.

“Ah, Cedric, Rose was just filling me in on events that happened while I was away,” Athena said. “And I think there’s something you really need to hear.”

“I’m listening,” Cedric said.

Rose sighed. “Cedric, I want you to know that I do feel bad about forcing that spell on you, but it really was for your own good.” Seeing that Cedric looked ready to retort, Rose held up her hand and said, “No, let me finish. If you still want to object afterwards, you may, but please hear me out.”

“Okay,” Cedric said as he took a seat on the sofa, as far away from Rose as possible.

“You remember when I examined you following your inheritance?” Rose asked, and Cedric nodded. “When I did that I picked up on some very distressing readings. So, I cast several other spells to try and figure out the cause of the readings I was seeing, including the Sexuality Revealing Charm. That’s when I realized that your continued insistence in denying your preference for other boys and trying to force yourself to like girls—when you’re not wired to like them sexually—was beginning to cause a bio-chemical imbalance. It was in it’s very early stages and thus not very dangerous yet, but if left unchecked much longer and if you continued to act in a way that made it worse, the consequences would have been quite serious.”

“What kind of consequences?” Cedric asked.

“In witches and wizards, a bio-chemical imbalance can affect them in a myriad of ways, some of which are completely different from a muggle,” Rose explained. “But, if left unchecked, that imbalance would have begun to affect your immune system, making it weaker, thus you’d get sick more often, and have a harder time fighting off any illnesses you did get. Much more seriously, however, there is a rare and incurable magical wasting sickness that is always fatal which not only eats away at the magical core, but also the body.”

Athena took over at this, and added, “A severe bio-chemical imbalance is the main symptom of that disease and once you’ve got it, it’s too late to fix the imbalance. Now, Rose assures me that you weren’t even close to a point yet where that would have been a concern, but if you’d continued to deny your preferences for a few more years, it very likely would have killed you.”

“I don’t want to scare you, Cedric,” Rose said, “but it’s possible it wouldn’t have even taken a few years to reach that point. If your immune system had started being affected and you’d come down with the right illnesses and not been able to fight them off, the process could have sped up. Now, I realize I should have sat you down and explained all of this rather than forcing the issue, but you seemed so intent on refusing to accept your sexuality that I was afraid you wouldn’t have been willing to sit down and let me explain why it was bad for you to continue doing it.”

Cedric sighed and said, “You’re probably right, I would have refused to listen. I might have pretended to listen, but I wouldn’t have heard anything you had to say. Even earlier, before you cast the spell, when everyone was telling me that it was going to be okay and that they wouldn’t tell anyone, I didn’t really hear any of them, because I didn’t want to.”

Before anyone else could say anything, an alarm went off and Rose stood up, as she said, “I’m sorry, but that’s an alarm I set. I’ve got a batch of Wolfsbane brewing for Remus and I need to go tend to it.”

The others nodded, as Rose hurried out of the room and down to the basement potions lab. Not long afterwards, the sound of the front door opening could be heard and moments later, Harry walked through the empty kitchen and into the ground floor sitting room. Looking at the clock on the mantle, Athena asked, “Harry? You’re back early. The governors meeting is over already?”

“Yeah, it is,” Harry answered. “Lords Crouch and Diggory were on their lunch breaks and both had to be getting back to the Ministry before they were missed, so we wrapped things up pretty quickly, Athena.” And then with a grin, he asked, “Or should I say Minnie? As in Minerva McGonagall?”

“What makes you think that Athena is Professor McGonagall, Harry?” Cedric asked, clearly interested in the answer.

“Well, only Athena and Rose are unidentified,” Harry said. “And when I got back from the meeting a few moments ago, I overheard a conversation in the garden between Pomona and a young man who said he was here to visit his former trainers, including his Aunt Minnie. That’s when I remembered that Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and that her Roman counterpart was Minerva.”

Pulling out her wand, Athena cancelled the Glamour and Voice-Changing Charms to reveal that she was in fact, Professor Minerva McGonagall. “You’ve caught me and I’m clearly going to have to have a stern talking to with my nephew Cailan.”

Cedric looked confused as he asked, “Didn’t you mention that you had a son who was an elected member of the Wizengamot? I don’t recall anyone with the name Gracey or McGonagall as being members of the Wizengamot, elected or not.”

Minerva shook her head. “I did say that and my son’s surname is not Gracey or McGonagall. In fact, he’s actually only my stepson, as he’s my late husband Elphinstone Urquart’s son from a previous marriage. I was over fifty when I got married for the first time and thus never had children of my own. I also opted to keep my maiden name when we married. Elphinstone, however, had a son from a previous marriage that I came to think of as my son. Additionally, there were nieces and nephews on both sides of the family. One of them, Cailan Urquhart, was in the group of mages that we just finished training in July of this year.”

As the front door opened, Pomona’s voice could be heard, calling through the kitchen as she said, “Look who I found outside.” As they approached the entry to the living room, however, Pomona’s eyes widened slightly as she saw Harry standing there, as she hadn’t seen him arrive, despite having a clear view of the Apparition Point from the vegetable garden. She also couldn’t help but realize that Athena wasn’t wearing her Glamours. “Oh dear,” Pomona said.

“Yes, Pomona, oh dear,” Minerva said, as she smiled at her nephew and said, “Hello, Cailan, dear, lovely to see you, although I wish your visit hadn’t revealed to my current students who I am.”

“I’m sorry, Aunt Minnie,” Cailan looked down at his feet as he said this. “But I didn’t know you’d taken on another group of students already. Having finished with my group in July, I figured you’d want to take a break, because you usually do for at least six months to a year between groups.”

Minerva sighed. “True enough, so I suppose I can’t really be angry with you. I never could stay angry at you for long anyway.” Standing up, she held her arms open and said, “Now come over here and give your old auntie a hug.”

Cailan grinned as he came over and gave his aunt a hug, saying, “You’re not old, just experienced.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, young man,” Minerva said, as she kissed the side of her nephew’s head.

As the hug ended, Minerva turned Cailan’s attention towards Harry and Cedric, as she said, “Anyway, Cailan, meet two of my current students, Lord Harrison Potter, and Cedric Diggory. Harry, Cedric, this is my nephew, Cailan Urquhart.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Harry and Cedric both said, in almost perfect unison, causing them to look at each other and grin, before quickly looking away.

“The pleasure is mine,” Cailan said, as he discreetly checked both of them out, before turning to his aunt and asking, “So, how many students are you training right now?”

“Six at the moment,” Minerva answered. “Although, we’re looking at having to take in at least one more quite soon, possibly three, if the potential candidates are interested.”

“Three?” Cedric asked. “Who?”

“We’ve been considering extending an invitation to Nick Ollivander,” Pomona revealed. “He is powerful enough. In addition to a certain individual who I can’t name, but some of you know who I mean, and potentially a third who may soon be related to that unnamed individual.”

“Make that four potentially,” Rolanda said, as she walked into the room with a letter in her hand. She did a slight double-take upon seeing Minerva without her Glamours, but said nothing. She did, however, say, “Hello Cailan,” who nodded, before she held up the letter and said, “This is a letter from Regulus. He’s found a student at Hogwarts that’s powerful enough to be trained and he thinks we should consider doing so now, while it’s still early enough to take new students.”

“Did we miss someone when we checked?” Pomona asked.

Rolanda nodded. “It would seem so, although you’ll recall we’d originally thought to only take on four students this time around, one from each house. So, once we’d found one student from each house, we didn’t check anyone else. The student is Slytherin Blaise Zabini, who Regulus says is currently a 13 on the scale, so the ritual will put him at 17. And because he’s only 14 years old, he also still has his inheritance to undergo, which will push him higher yet.”

“Well, in the past, we haven’t normally taken on additional students after some of us have been revealed,” Minerva said, “but, I suppose taking on Mr. Zabini couldn’t hurt, if he’s willing. I have a feeling that despite the fact that we may well be in the process of training the world’s first pair of Archmagi since Merlin and Arthur, we’re going to need all the help and power we can muster if we’re going to weather the upcoming storm.”

“Upcoming storm?” Cailan asked, at the same time that Harry asked, “First pair of Archmagi? Who?”

Minerva smiled. “I’m afraid I can’t answer your question, Cailan, as it would require me to reveal highly sensitive information that I have no right or authority to reveal.” Cailan looked confused by his aunt’s answer, but nodded anyway. “As for the Archmagi, Harry, I’m referring to you and Cedric.”

Harry’s and Cedric’s eyes both widened at that, as Cedric asked, “What? Me? An Archmagi? How?”

It was Rolanda who answered. “Well, Cedric, as you know, the blood ritual somehow triggered Harry to have his inheritance early, placing him at level 23 on the power scale.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with Cedric and me possibly being Archmagi?” Harry asked.

“The ritual also revealed that the two of you were soul mates,” Minerva answered. “Now, if you two opt to take advantage of that and bond, Cedric will be brought up from his current 20 to match your 23, Harry. A Friendship Bond would then see you both at level 29, but if you two fall in love and thus enter a Love Bond instead, you’ll reach 30 with one level of potential power increase wasted. Thus, you two will be the first two people in the world to reach the level of Archmagus in a thousand years.”

Cedric was already sitting, thankfully, although the same couldn’t be said for Harry, who suddenly felt weak in the knees as he digested what Athena had just revealed. He probably would have fallen on his arse, but thankfully Cailan had quick reflexes and managed to catch him and guide him to an empty chair.

“Is Harry even gay?” Cedric found himself asking. “I mean, I know Rose’s spell revealed that I… I’m… g… gay,” saying it aloud was still difficult for Cedric, since this was the first time he’d ever actually said the words, “but what about Harry?”

“Spell? What spell?” Harry asked, as he looked around at all the others in the room, clearly confused.

“I assume Cedric is referring to the Sexuality Revealing Charm,” Cailan answered, which caused everyone in the room except him and Harry to nod.

“There’s a spell for that?” Harry asked, before he shook his head and said, “Oh what am I saying? Of course there is. More and more, I’m beginning to think there’s a spell for everything.”

“Well, not quite, Harry,” Minerva said. “If there truly was a spell for everything the spell creators of the world would be quite bored since there’d be nothing left for them to do. But yes, there is a spell that reveals to a very high accuracy one’s sexuality.” Athena then gave Harry a short run down on the spell, including information about Kinsey and the scale he’d created.

“I’m afraid that of your four trainers, however,” Pomona said, “Rose is the only one who actually knows that particular spell. It’s usually only learned by those who specialize in the healing arts, after all, and Rose is the only one of us who has.”

“I know it,” Cailan said. “I’m sure you remember that I picked Shape Mage and Mage Healer as my specializations, so I know the spell.”

“That’s right, you do, don’t you?” Minerva asked. Looking at Harry, she asked, “Would you like my nephew to cast the spell on you, Harry?”

Harry remained quiet for a moment, clearly in thought before he said, “I guess it’d be interesting.”

“Okay then,” Cailan said, as he summoned his staff. Harry and Cedric both took a moment to look at it, as other than their four trainers’ staves and those belonging to Regulus and Asterion, they hadn’t seen any others. Well, Harry had also seen Garrick Ollivander’s, but he hadn’t mentioned that to anyone at Forest Cottage yet.

Cailan’s staff, however, was made of a polished wood that Harry and Cedric were both sure was mahogany since their primary wands—the ones with chimaera cores—were made of it. The staff was five feet, eight inches tall, only an inch shorter than Cailan himself. In the center, where Cailan held it, the staff was smooth and had what looked like dragonhide wrapped around it as a grip, but above and below that the wood was intricately carved in a twisting pattern. A small dagger-like blade was attached at the bottom end, while the top end was probably one of the more impressive tops that Harry and Cedric had thus far seen. A pair of exquisitely carved ravens, their wings spread in flight, were mounted parallel to each other on the top, their heads turned to face each other, with a large cobalt blue sapphire held between their open beaks.

“That’s a really cool-looking staff,” Cedric said, in awe. “You weren’t a Ravenclaw by chance were you?”

Cailan smiled and nodded. “Yeah, Ravenclaw, Class of 1990. And thanks, I think Nick did quite a good job on it.”

“Nick Ollivander?” Harry asked, prompting Cailan to nod. “I didn’t realize he made mage staffs.”

“Indeed, he does, Harry,” Rolanda said. “You’ll find that there’s very few wandmakers who don’t also make mage staffs. Why do you think we took you to his shop to get your wands? It wasn’t just because he’s an Ollivander, but that he’s the one who made all the staffs for our last group of students, so we knew he was good. Of course, by that time, we’d been identified, so he’d previously never seen us in our Glamours, as we appeared the day we took you wand shopping.”

“Can’t say I’d mind seeing Nick again,” Cailan said with a grin. “He’s cute and I’ve always had a bit of a crush on him.”

“He’s not single anymore, Cailan,” Minerva said. “As he’s dating Dominick Burke now.”

“Dominick? I wouldn’t have pegged him as swinging that way,” Cailan said, before he shook his head and added, “Anyway, the spell…” as he raised his staff and muttered an incantation under his breath, causing the sapphire to flash brightly for a second.

“So, what am I?” Harry asked after a moment of silence.

“A 4,” Cailan answered. “Which is borderline bisexual, but with enough of a male preference that you can accurately identify as gay. You can still find girls attractive and could even fall for and date one, if you meet the right girl. Chances are you’ll still prefer men though.”

“And what are you Cailan, if you don’t mind me asking?” Harry asked.

Cailan smiled. “No, I don’t mind you asking. I’m a 6, so no interest in girls at all.”

-o-0-o-

Since Minerva had brought Harry up to speed on the training his fellow mage students had received while he was in Egypt, Harry stayed at Forest Cottage and attended Rolanda’s afternoon class with Terence, Oliver, Gavin, Cedric, and Roger. Meanwhile, Cailan and Minerva spent some time together, while Pomona headed back out to the garden and Rose stayed holed up in the potions lab working on the batch of Wolfsbane. Since Remus had to drink a goblet of it every day for the week leading up to the full moon, Rose liked to keep a large supply on hand to ensure that she wouldn’t run out. After eating dinner at Forest Cottage, Cailan said his goodbyes to his aunt and everyone else, before heading to his flat on Diagon Alley. Not long after this, Harry and Minerva headed back to Thebes, as Edward was expecting him back.

Over the course of the next two days, Minerva continued training Harry in the old Medjai training room in the palace basement, while Nick and Dominick enjoyed being guests at the palace. Edward also continued to spend time with the three princes that he was deliberating on, although more and more he was finding himself drawn to Prince Ramesses, which was becoming increasingly apparent to Djoser and Neferkamin as the amount of time that Edward was spending with them was decreasing. The more time he spent with Ramesses, however, the more Edward was sure that he was the one.

This surety that Edward felt was only strengthened by a rather interesting encounter he’d had with Ramesses on Wednesday evening while he was enjoying a moonlit dinner with Ramesses on the balcony of his suite. Ramesses’ mother, Princess Nefertari, as their chaperone for the evening, but following dessert, she got up and said, “If you boys will excuse me for a few moments, I feel the need to use the powder room. In my quarters. On the other side of the palace. I’ll be back in about thirty minutes, Ram, so I trust you can find something to do while I’m gone, say with your mouth?”

Ramesses was blushing redder than a tomato as his mother left the balcony, while Edward looked shocked and asked, “Was she actually implying what I think she was implying?”

Taking a moment to get over his mortification at his mother making the suggestion that she’d just made, Ramesses nodded and said, “Yes, Edward, she actually was suggesting that I give you a blowjob.”

It was Edward’s turn to blush now, as he said, “Bloody hell. I… I can’t believe that any mother would actually suggest that to her son.”

“I know, it’s rather shocking and completely mortifying,” Ramesses said, as he shook his head. “Although, my mother has never been one to stand on ceremony. She’s also Byzantine by birth, and they’ve developed into, let’s say, a very unrepressed society. Over the years, she’s made it clear that she doesn’t agree with the chastity belt tradition, but she was brought up to respect the customs of other countries, even if she doesn’t agree with them.”

“Even so, I find it shocking that she’d suggest that,” Edward said. “The royal in me is tempted to be so shocked as to allow this to cause an international incident that ends all negotiations with Egypt.” At Ramesses’s clearly saddened look, Edward hastened to add, “However, the red-blooded male in me who is still a virgin in every respect, unfortunately, does find himself extremely interested and if I’m honest, more than a little turned on by the forbidden nature of it.”

Ramesses saddened look almost immediately morphed into a mischievous grin, as he asked, “Really, Your Majesty?” Edward nodded, a rather mischievous grin of his own spreading across his face. “And would you perchance like some help with that issue?”

In a low and sultry tone, Edward said, “Any help that Egypt, specifically you, could provide in dealing with our present uncomfortably hard circumstances would be much appreciated.”

In a tone that matched Edward’s, Ramesses said, “Well, if the help of Egypt, specifically mine, is what Your Majesty requires, then as a Prince of Egypt I feel duty-bound to do all I can to relieve you of the hard burden you carry.”

As Ramesses moved from his chair into a kneeling position and proceeded to walk on his knees over to where Edward was seated, the young King asked, “Just duty-bound?”

Ramesses grinned, “Oh, trust me, Your Majesty, it’s not just duty, as I will greatly enjoy rendering whatever assistance I can.”

Nearly twenty minutes later, Ramesses and Edward were back in their seats, as Princess Nefertari called out, “I hope you boys are decent.” Moments later, she returned to the balcony to find that Ramesses and Edward had moved their chairs closer together and were gazing up at the full moon and star-filled sky. Taking her seat off to one side, she winked at them and said, “I hope you enjoyed yourselves while I was away.”

Turning to look at each other, Ramesses and Edward stared deeply into each other’s eyes, as Edward said, “Oh yes, very much so,” and Ramesses, with a hint of redness creeping up his cheeks, said, “Yes, Mother. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Ram.”

-o-0-o-

On the morning of Friday, the 21st of October, Pharaoh Seti asked that King Edward meet him in the secondary throne room of the Imperial Palace. Harry stood off to one side of the room, remaining respectfully silent as the two monarchs talked.

"You've had a few days now," Seti said. "Have you made a decision?"

Edward nodded. "I have. If it pleases you, Seti, I wish to formally court and, in time, wed Prince Ramesses."

Seti nodded. "Very well," as he turned to his Lord-Commander Asim and said, "Summon Prince Ramesses."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Asim said with a bow.

Not long afterward, Prince Ramesses entered the room and bowed deeply to his father, as he asked, "You asked to see me, Father?"

"Yes, my son," Seti answered. "I’ve asked you here so that you can accept the formal courtship of His Majesty King Edward Pendragon."

With another bow to his father and a sidelong grin at Edward, he stated, “It would be my most profound honor to do so, Father.”

"Then let us proceed with the formal courtship bonding, shall we?" Seti asked.

Edward and Ramesses nodded, as they turned to face each other and clasped their hands together.

"I, Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, King-Emperor of Albion and Iwernia, Emperor of the Empire of Camelot, and Head of the Most Ancient and Royal House of Pendragon, do formally request to court you, Ramesses Ptolemy, and state my intentions and desire upon the conclusion of our courtship, to unite our two houses in wedlock. Upon our marriage, I further promise and proclaim that you will be styled as His Imperial & Royal Majesty Ramesses, King-Consort of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor-Consort of the Empire of Camelot, and that you shall have full and equal authority to myself for as long as I live. Upon my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be."

Ramesses was more than a little taken aback by the vow, as he hadn't expected to be granted equal authority and this was in fact the first time he was even hearing that such an offer was even on the table, but knowing he had to say his part of the ritual, he cast his thoughts aside for the time being, and said, "I, Ramesses Jibade Seti Omari Damien Alexander Sebastian Ptolemy, Prince of Egypt, do formally accept your request to court, Edward Pendragon, and state my acceptance, with pleasure, to the terms you've laid out for the conclusion of our courtship. I further vow to be the best husband, lover, and ruler that I can be and swear that I will not abuse the authority you are granting me nor will I ever attempt to use the authority against you for any reason. Upon my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be."

Placing his left hand on Ramesses’ right shoulder and his right hand on Edward’s left shoulder, Seti said his part of the ritual. “I, Seti Menkare Khufu Ramesses Neferkamin Khaneferre Djoser Ptolemy, Pharaoh and Living God of the Magical Dominions of Upper and Lower Egypt, the Realms of the Egyptian Empire and Head of the Most Ancient and Imperial House of Ptolemy, do stand witness to the vows given by both Edward Pendragon and Ramesses Ptolemy and furthermore grant my full permission and blessings for my son Ramesses Ptolemy to court and, in time, wed Edward Pendragon. I also vow that so long as the marriage between them exists, that I will do everything in my power to assist both of them in any way that I can and that my empire will remain united in a state of alliance with that of King Edward Pendragon. Upon my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be.”

Normally, a Pendragon would speak the next part of the ritual, but since Edward was the only living Pendragon, Harry came over to the group at this point and placed one hand each on the opposite shoulders of Edward and Ramesses that Seti was touching. Taking a deep breath, Harry said the next part of the ritual which he’d been rehearsing for the last day or so.

“I, Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston, Lord of Seacliff Castle, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Lord High Chancellor to the Court of Pendragon and Privy Councilor to His Majesty King Edward, do stand witness to the vows given by both Edward Pendragon and Ramesses Ptolemy, and as the appointed representative of the late Michael Charles Phillip Edward Pendragon, Duke of Penderleath and Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and the Empire of Camelot, grant my full permission and blessings for my king, Edward Pendragon, to court and, in time, wed, Ramesses Ptolemy. I also vow that so long as the marriage between them exists, that I will do everything in my power to assist both of them in any way that I can and that in my capacity as a Great Officer of State and Member of the Privy Council to advise them both to the best of my ability. Upon my honor, my magic, and my very life, so mote it be.”

Much like the Alliance Bonds done by Lords of the Thirteen, upon the completion of all four men speaking, there was a swirl of magical energies, as a burst of magic was released. Unlike the Alliance Bonds, however, the resulting burst of magic for this bonding was quite a bit stronger, since not only were there two sovereign lords involved, but also four people. Standing at the epicenter of the burst, the four men who had just performed the ritual remained standing, but the same could not be said for Lord-Commander Asim or anyone within a mile radius of the Imperial Palace, who all found themselves knocked off their feet by the powerful burst of raw magic.

With the ceremony finished, Edward released Ramesses' hands, as Seti and Harry removed their own from the other men’s shoulders and Lord-Commander Asim stood back up. Turning to Seti, Edward asked, "I trust that meets with your approval?"

"Indeed, it does," Seti answered. “Now, if I might suggest, Edward, why don’t you and Ramesses take a walk in the gardens? Now that you’re officially promised to one another, I’ll even allow you to do so without a chaperone.” When Ramesses looked like he was about to say something, Seti cut him off and added, “No, son, the belt stays on until are you are actually married.”

Ramesses sighed and muttered, “Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.”

Seti laughed. “Trust me, son, I understand your frustration as I was once in your position myself. However, believe me when I say, the anticipation only makes the act once you finally do it that much more satisfying.”

Ramesses smiled. “With respect, Father, I imagine my frustration level is greater than yours ever was. After all, I’ve been wearing this thing for 10 years now, whereas you only wore yours for 5 before you married Queen Meritites.”

Seti was quiet for a moment, before he smiled and patted Ramesses on the shoulder. “Touché.” Turning to Edward, Seti added, “I’ll see to it that Princes Djoser and Neferkamin are informed of your decision, Edward, although I suspect that they’re already aware of it, due to that burst of magic.”

“Indeed, I did enjoy my time with both of them,” Edward said, “but in the end I felt that I had to choose Ramesses, because there’s just something about him. I can’t explain it, but I felt drawn to him in a way that I didn’t to the others. I hope I didn’t overstep, but I did tell all three of them that I would keep them in mind as potential mates for some of my nobles back home. As I know there are a few who prefer men who might be interested.”

Shaking his head, Seti said, “No, you didn’t overstep, Edward. While it’s true that I would prefer royal matches for all of my children, I fully accept that I have too many of them to think that is actually possible, so I’m more than willing to consider any noble match for my sons.”

Edward and Ramesses nodded and said their goodbyes to Seti, before they turned and headed for the gardens, hand in hand. Harry, however, lingered, prompting Seti to ask, “Is there something I can help you with, Lord Potter?”

Harry bowed to Seti and said, “Yes, with respect sir, another one of King Edward’s guests requests a meeting with you. I’m uncertain if you’ve been informed yet or not of the woman who arrived a few days ago wearing Glamour Charms that your son Prince Khufu vouched for?”

Seti shook his head. “No, I wasn’t informed.” Turning to Asim, he asked, “Where you aware of this, Lord-Commander?”

“Yes, sir, I was,” Asim said. “She was granted permission to continue wearing her Glamours, as a guest of King Edward, and was granted the use of the old Medjai training room in the basement for purposes which I can’t reveal as they’re protected by the Fidelius.”

“The woman in question no longer has need of her Glamours,” Harry revealed. “And would like to discuss something with you, if it pleases you, sir. She is also the Secret Keeper of this particular secret and can thus be much more forthcoming in sharing the details with you.”

“Well, I must say that you have me intrigued, Lord Potter,” Seti said. Falling silent for a moment, clearly in thought, he finally nodded and said, “Very well, I will meet with this woman. Lord-Commander, if you could have her summoned?”

“Yes, sir,” Asim said.

Ten minutes later, Minerva entered the secondary throne room and curtsied to Seti, who had resumed his seat upon his throne. Motioning for her to rise, Seti asked, “May I inquire who you are, Madam?”

“Your Majesty, I am Minerva McGonagall, Professor of Transfiguration and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” Minerva answered as she rose. “I am also an Archmagister and Mage Trainer, who, among others, am currently in the process of training Lord Potter.”

“I see,” Seti said. “I’m afraid I don’t have the best experience with Mage Trainers. I trust you are also aware of the issues which brought your King to my country in the first place?”

Minerva nodded. “Yes, sir, I am aware of the fact that King Edward was imprisoned in the guise of Gellert Grindelwald and that the latter is currently sitting on Albion’s throne, pretending to be Edward.”

“Then you are also aware that the kidnapping was perpetrated by Albus Dumbledore?” Seti asked. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but is he not the current Headmaster of Hogwarts?”

Before Minerva could respond, Harry said, “Your Majesty, if I may clarify, currently, yes he is the Headmaster, although not for long. The Hogwarts Board of Governors, of which I am a member, has already held an emergency meeting to discuss the issue and after the operation to retake Edward’s throne is completed, it will be announced that Albus Dumbledore has been officially removed from that position.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Seti said. “And what about you, Professor McGonagall? Do you have any loyalty to Albus Dumbledore?”

“For a number of years now, I’ve thought him to be a fool,” Minerva answered. “I have many reasons to think that, although to some degree, I did still hold some respect for the man, if for no other reason than because he was at one time my own Transfiguration professor and fostered my love of the subject. However, any respect or loyalty I felt for him died completely when I learned of his actions against King Edward and his involvement in placing Gellert Grindelwald on Albion’s throne.”

“Fair enough,” Seti said. “So, what precisely did you wish to talk with me about?”

“Three trusted colleagues and I are currently in the process of training Lord Potter as a mage. We will additionally be offering a place in our training program to King Edward and Lord Ollivander’s grandson and would make the same offer to your son, Prince Ramesses.”

Seti frowned. “As I’ve already said, I don’t have the best of experiences with Mage Trainers, especially where Ramesses is concerned.”

Minerva nodded. “I heard about the unfortunate incident with Prince Ramesses. However, I assure you, sir, that my fellow mage trainers and I, are actually qualified to train mages, unlike that charlatan who attempted to train Prince Ramesses in the past. Lord Potter, and the six other students that we are currently training have already undergone the blood ritual that nearly killed Prince Ramesses and are doing quite well. As for that charlatan, he so completely botched the ritual that I have no choice but to conclude that he was either self-trained—and thus ignorant of what he was doing—or that he had more nefarious motives.”

“So those descriptions do not pertain to you then?”

“No, sir, they do not,” Minerva replied. “I’ve been a fully-qualified mage for 45 years now and was trained by the late Prince Cornelius Pendragon, the younger brother of King Edward’s late grandfather, King Charles. I’ve personally been training mages for 35 years and between myself and my three colleagues we have a combined 140 years of experience and have trained over 70 men and women of varying ages. Recently, we also acquired an additional asset that most other mage trainers would probably kill for.”

“And what pray tell is that?”

Minerva smiled. “A copy of the shared portrait of Arthur Pendragon and Merlin Emrys. I suspect that Merlin’s insights will be invaluable, considering that he along with Morgana le Fey literally wrote the book on mage training.”

Seti remained silent for several minutes as he contemplated everything that he’d just been told. Finally, he said, “Very well, Professor McGonagall, if you wish to approach Ramesses about training him, you have my blessing to do so, but it will be his decision whether he takes you up on it or not.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Minerva said as she curtsied again and Harry bowed, before they both left the room.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, in the gardens of the Imperial Palace, Edward and Ramesses walked hand in hand along the flower-lined pathways until they came to the large fountain in the center of the garden. Sitting down upon the edge of it, Edward grinned, as he leaned over and gave Ramesses a chaste kiss on the lips.

“I have to say that I like this no chaperone deal,” Edward said when it ended.

Ramesses nodded. “As do I.” After a moment, he said, “I hope you know that you’ve made me a very happy man, Edward, and not just because our union will free me of this accursed belt.”

“I’m glad you’re happy, because I am as well. I’m not going to go so far as to say that I’m in love with you, because we’ve only known each other for a few days and that would seem to me to be premature, but I do like you and greatly enjoy your company.”

“I feel the same way, Edward. I do hope that love will come for us at some point, but I’m thankful that we do at least get along with one another and enjoy being together. That’s definitely more than some royal couples can claim.” After a moment, he added, “I must admit, however, I was shocked by your vow as I had no idea that you were planning on sharing your crown or authority with me.”

“It was one of the negotiated terms in the alliance with your Father.”

“Okay and may I ask exactly what led you to seek the alliance with Egypt in the first place? I know that some sort of joint military action is in the works, but I don’t know what the goal is.”

Edward sighed. “Well, I suppose now that we’re officially betrothed I can entrust you with the truth.” Pulling out his wand, Edward cast a Silencing Charm around the two of them, before launching into an explanation of the events leading up to his kidnapping and imprisonment. He then proceeded to reveal everything that had happened since his rescue from Nurmengard and the purpose of the planned military action.

When it was done, Ramesses was at a loss for words for a moment, before he said, “Wow, that’s quite a harrowing ordeal. From everything I’ve heard of Albus Dumbledore I never would have thought him capable of that and the thought of Gellert Grindelwald sitting on your throne is, well, more than a little terrifying.”

“On that I agree whole-heartedly,” Edward said, as he placed his hand on Ramesses’ inner thigh and massaged it for a moment, before moving his hand up to the prince’s crotch and squeezing it, or trying to at least. “Damn, that basilisk hide is tougher that I thought.”

“Yeah, that’s not the basilisk hide you’re feeling.” At Edward’s questioning look, Ramesses added, “The basilisk hide is only the visible top layer. There’s a bronze cup beneath it which completely covers both my package and my arsehole. Under the bronze there’s a layer of silk so the metal isn’t actually touching my bare flesh.”

“Well, normally courtships like we just entered would last several months, but if you want I’m sure I can pull a few strings to make this a very short courtship. How would you feel about us getting married a week from tomorrow?”

“It’s definitely sooner than I dared hope for,” Ramesses answered, although from the smile on his face it was clear that he liked the idea. “I can’t say that I’m opposed, however. And I suppose with magic, a royal wedding can be pulled off pretty quickly.”

“Indeed it can,” Edward agreed, as he kissed Ramesses again. “So, first things first, we’ll get my throne back. We’re planning for that to happen on Monday, which will give us a few days to rest and relax before our wedding on the following Saturday and your coronation on Sunday.”

“My coronation,” Ramesses said, the awe clear on both his face and in his tone. “I still can’t believe that you’re trusting me to rule your country as a co-ruler.”

“Well believe it, Ram,” Edward said. “I had to make that concession in order to get the alliance from your Father, but truth be told, even before my imprisonment, I was considering the idea of taking on a co-ruler simply because running an empire as big as Camelot all by myself would be rough. I mean, yes, each of Camelot’s foreign domains has a regional authority. For example Pathik Patil, the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, who oversees the country on my behalf, but even then it’d be a lot of work and I thought having someone at my side to share the burden would be a good thing.”

“I promise I’ll do my best to help you.”

“That’s all I ask.”

-o-0-o-

The following day, Edward, Minerva, Harry, and Ramesses left Egypt and returned to Forest Cottage. As the seventh son of his father’s fourth wife, Ramesses didn’t do anything in terms of royal visits abroad and thus other than a few trips to visit his mother’s family in Byzantium, Ramesses had never left Egypt. Thus going to Scotland was definitely an adventure for him, especially since he’d agreed to enter mage training with Minerva and the others. A part of him was scared by his near death experience, but knowing that Harry was being trained and that Edward was trusting Minerva and the other three to train him, eased his mind.

Of course, before they even left Egypt, Tarik—the clothier who’d made completely new wardrobes for Harry, Cedric, Roger, and Terence after they’d entered training—was called to the Imperial Palace to take Ramesses’ measurements and then make him a whole new wardrobe. Ramesses had been a little confused as first about the need, because being relatively close to one another, Egypt and Byzantium had similar climates, and thus there’d never been any issues in regards to Ramesses’ Egyptian clothing not being appropriate for the climate. He’d be lying if he said that a part of him wasn’t surprised by the amount of clothes necessary to stay warm in the colder climes of Northern Scotland.

Arriving at the cottage, the room assignments were juggled a bit, so that Roger moved into one of the rooms above the barn, thus allowing Edward and Ramesses to share the room in the main house that had previously been Roger’s. One of the Medjai accompanied Ramesses from Egypt in order to check out the location the prince would be living and found himself happy with the protective measures in place. He also had no qualms about Edward and Ramesses sharing a bedroom before they were married because the chastity belt would ensure that they behaved. Cedric also moved into one of the rooms above the barn as Nick and Dominick moved into what had been Cedric’s room, as Minerva felt that the Duke of Granston, King-Emperor of Albion, and the courtesy Marquis of Coulderton should have the three rooms in the main house.

Terence had said that maybe Cedric, as courtesy Earl of Charwell, should also have a main house bedroom and should bunk with Harry, what with them being soulmates and all. Harry and Cedric, however, nixed that idea because while they had gotten to the point of calling each other friends, they weren’t ready to share a bedroom, especially considering the feelings that they were having for one another. They were both, after all, still coming to terms with the whole idea that they were gay, so they didn’t want to rush into a relationship or deal with the possible uncomfortableness that sharing a bedroom and bathroom might provide. Oliver argued it would probably bring them closer, but Harry and Cedric were adamant that they weren’t ready for that step.

Also moving into Forest Cottage was fourteen-year-old Blaise Zabini, who the trainers had decided to take on as a fourth person in the new and final group of mage students for the current round of training. They did have their eye on a few additional students they might consider taking in the future, including Neville Longbottom and Slytherin Cassius Warrington, but both of them were currently low enough on the power scale that the blood ritual would not make them mages and thus they weren’t viable candidates for training unless their inheritances upped their power levels a sufficient amount. At sixteen, Cassius was due to have his sooner than Neville, but neither of them would be taken as students for at least three years, as that’s how long it would take to finish training Harry, Cedric, and the others.

“Now, Mr. Zabini, it’s time for you to meet the people you’ll be training with,” Minerva said, as she led him into the kitchen of Forest Cottage. “I imagine you’re familiar with most of them from Hogwarts.”

“Hey Blaise,” Terence said to his fellow Slytherin.

“Terence,” Blaise said with a nod of his head. He hadn’t spent a ton of time with his older housemate, but he liked him well enough. Or at least, he’d never had any issues with him, like he’d had with some of his other housemates.

“Don’t know if you remember Oliver Wood,” Terence said, as he tilted his head in Oliver’s direction.

“Gryffindor’s Keeper and Captain until last year,” Blaise said.

“Indeed,” Oliver said, as he wrapped an arm around Terence’s waist and said, “And Terence’s boyfriend of the last three years.”

“Okay, that I didn’t know,” Blaise said.

“That’s not going to be a problem for you, is it, Mr. Zabini?” Minerva asked.

Shaking his head, Blaise said, “No, that’s not going to be an issue. I’m gay myself, well, technically borderline bisexual, but I still prefer men.”

“So, you’ve had the Sexuality Revealing Charm cast on you then?” Pomona asked.

Blaise nodded. “Yes, my mother asked the family healer to cast it on me during my annual physical when I was twelve. I’m not entirely sure why and I think she was a little put off at first that it turned out I preferred men.” After a moment, he added, “Although, it’s not because she has an issue with gay people, because she doesn’t, but I think she might have been worried that I might be interested in the same men that she was.”

“Well your mother does certainly have a bit of a reputation,” Terence said, and noticing the looks on some of the faces of his fellow mage students, he added, “but given that she’s been married seven times and buried seven husbands, that’s rather unavoidable.”

“True,” Blaise agreed. “Many see her as a black widow and say that my father and the other six husbands all died under suspicious circumstances, although I personally don’t see what’s so suspicious about it, because they were all old as Mum prefers her husbands to be rich, old, and barely breathing. Most of them already had one foot in their graves before she married them, so I don’t see what’s so suspicious about her outliving them.” Shaking his head, he said, “At any rate, I’m not my mother and I have no interest whatsoever in pursuing the same type of men that she goes for.”

“I’m Gavin,” Gavin said. “As I’m sure you can figure out, I’m Oliver’s brother. I never went to Hogwarts and despite appearances I’m not Oliver’s identical twin brother, as I’m a little over a year younger than him. Long story, that I can tell you some other time if you’re interested.”

“Okay, I might take you up on that,” Blaise said with a grin that prompted Gavin to add, “I’m straight.”

Blaise looked slightly crestfallen at that news, but seemed to get over it quickly, as his eyes turned to the last two mage students in the room, “Roger Davies, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter… er, sorry, I mean, Your Grace Lord Potter. I’m still not used to that.”

“You’re not the only one,” Harry said.

“Well, now that you’ve met them,” Minerva said, “it’s time to introduce you to three more people who like you, will be new additions to our class list, not to mention being the absolute last additions. Nicholas?”

Nick and Dominick came into the kitchen from the library at this point, as Minerva said, “Seeing as they both finished Hogwarts a few years before you started, I don’t know if you’re familiar with Gareth Ollivander and Dominick Burke?”

“I’ve heard of them, due to them being noble heirs,” Blaise said, “but I’ve never met either of them.” After shaking hands with both of them and Nick telling Blaise about his preferred name, Blaise asked, “So they’re both training with me?”

Shaking her head, Minerva said, “Nick is, but Dominick isn’t. He’s here only because he’s Nick’s boyfriend and we have no desire to break up happy couples. At any rate, there’s two more students being added and I suggest you prepare yourself for a shock.”

Harry held up a hand and said, “Before you bring them in, Professor, I have to ask Blaise to swear an Oath of Secrecy to me, as he’s momentarily going to be learning a few secrets that must be protected at all costs.” Turning to Blaise, he added, “Blaise, I’m afraid that as Lord High Chancellor, I must insist that you swear the Oath or I will have no choice but to insist that our trainers reconsider training you at this time.”

Blaise looked a bit upset at basically being ordered to do something, but he schooled his features after a moment, because he knew that it was certainly well within Harry’s rights to do so, not only as Lord Potter, but also as a Great Officer of State. He didn’t understand what secrets he could possibly be learning that would be so important that he couldn’t be trained without the Oath, but now that he knew that he could be, he wanted to be trained, and thus he realized he had no choice.

Dropping to his knees in front of Harry, Blaise took his hand and kissed the Potter family ring, as he said, “I, Blaise Xavier Zabini, do solemnly swear to keep any and all secrets that I learn from you or any member of your family in the strictest of confidences and to only reveal them with your express permission. On my magic, so mote it be.”

As Blaise stood up, Harry looked apologetic. “I’m sorry that I had to insist on that, Blaise, but I think you will very shortly understand why it was necessary.”

Blaise didn’t say anything, as Minerva said, “Ramesses?”

Ramesses joined the group in the kitchen, still feeling slightly out of place in the jeans and jumper that he was wearing as he’d never worn such items in Egypt. Due to his torturous undergarment, he was glad, however, that magic allowed the interior of the jeans to be roomier than they outwardly appeared to be—since Edward had said that hiding his body under the much looser-fitting clothes he’d previously worn was a crime and thus his jeans were almost skin-tight.

Motioning towards Ramesses, Minerva said, “Blaise, allow me to introduce His Imperial Highness Ramesses Ptolemy, Prince of Egypt. Ramesses, this is Blaise Zabini.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Ramesses said as he held out his hand, which Blaise shook, although everyone could clearly see the momentary hesitance and nervousness that they all assumed, correctly, came from the fact that Blaise had never actually met royalty in person before. “As we’ll be training together, you can drop the formalities and just call me Ramesses, Ram, or even RJ if you prefer. Either one is fine with me.”

Blaise nodded, a bit more shakily then he had previously, as he said, “Okay… er… Ram.”

“And finally, we have one last student to introduce,” Minerva said, “Ramesses and this final person are newly engaged to be married. It’s the identity of this last person, Mr. Zabini that prompted Lord Potter to insist you swear that oath,” Blaise nodded, before Minerva continued. “His Imperial and Royal Majesty Edward Pendragon, King-Emperor of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor of the Empire of Camelot.”

Blaise’s eyes widened with each word, as he spun around on his heel towards the library archway and practically fell over when he saw King Edward emerge. Meeting a foreign prince was one thing and certainly very unexpected, but the very last thing that Blaise had thought when he’d gotten out of bed that morning was that he’d find himself meeting the ruling monarch of his own country.

-o-0-o-

“So, let me get this straight,” Blaise said, about half-an-hour later, once he’d been let in on the secret. “Not only am I going to be training alongside the King and several nobles, but the King I saw from afar at the World Cup wasn’t the real one?”

“Yes, Mr. Zabini,” Minerva said. “I’m sure that comes as a shock.”

“Ah, yeah, definitely,” Blaise said.

“You understand now why Lord Potter insisted on that Oath, correct?” Edward asked.

Blaise nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty, I understand completely.”

Edward smiled. “We’re going to be training together, so, call me Edward.”

Moments later, Rolanda entered the kitchen where everyone was gathered and said, “Well, I’ve finished everything necessarily to do the Blood Ritual. Nick, Blaise, at 15 and 12 respectively, you two must do the ritual if you want to continue in your training.” Blaise and Nick nodded in understanding. Turning to Dominick, Rolanda added, “Dominick, as we’ve previously discussed, we can’t train you because you’ve already had your inheritance and you’re only an 11 on the power scale, so the Blood Ritual would not push you into the mage range.”

Dominick nodded. “I understand. I’m just grateful that despite that you’re letting me live here so that I can be with Nick. I know his new double will be running his shop for the foreseeable future, so I could’ve spent time with it, but I’ve gotta say, if I have to pick between the two, I greatly prefer the genuine article to the magically created fake.”

Nick smiled as he leaned over and kissed Dominick lightly on the cheek. “Same here.”

Rolanda turned her attention next to Edward and Ramesses and said, “Now, Edward, Ramesses, you two have a decision to make. Like the younger Mr. Wood, neither one of you actually has to go through the Blood Ritual in order to become mages. You’re already at 23 on the scale, Edward, and you’re currently sitting at an 18, Ramesses. So it’s entirely up to the two of you if you want to do the ritual or not.”

“As I told Minerva when she offered to train me,” Ramesses said, “I’m a little leery about the ritual due to my past experience. I understand that the trainer who attempted the ritual with me previously didn’t know what he was doing and that you do, Rolanda, but I still can’t help but feel more than a little nervous about it.”

Pomona nodded. “I don’t think anyone can blame you for being nervous, Ramesses, as a near death experience is definitely cause for nervousness when redoing what caused it the first time around. But, as Minerva no doubt told you, I assure you that Rolanda knows what she’s doing and as you can see, Harry, Cedric, Roger, Terence, Oliver, and Gavin are all still hale, after undergoing the ritual over a month ago now.”

“Not to mention all the other students we’ve trained over the years,” Minerva added. “Including my nephew Cailan.”

“Yes, and unlike the last time I prepared this ritual,” Rolanda added, “this time I actually had assistance from Merlin’s portrait. He didn’t have a hand in creating the ritual as it was created a few centuries after he died, but after reading the notes, he agreed that it was a viable and safe option. He was able to give me a few tips that allowed me to prepare the ritual a bit faster than I’ve been able to in the past, but it’ll still only raise your power level by four. Merlin said that if the creators of the ritual were around, he’d compliment them on their thoroughness and agree that four does seem to be the most one can hope for if the ritual is to remain safe.”

“Given time to study the issue more in depth, I could probably devise a new ritual that would work better,” Merlin added, as he stepped into the landscape above the kitchen fireplace, “possibly one that even makes use of the focus sites, now that I think about it. But, I’d need a few years to study the issue from all angles and then a few more to test any theories I devised, before I’d be willing to allow any new and improved ritual I created to be used, so unfortunately, unless you want to put off your training for another decade or so, I can’t help you at the moment.”

“If Morgana and Dakota were around to help us,” Arthur added, as he wrapped his arms around Merlin’s waist, “we might be able to cut that decade in half, but I’m afraid we don’t know if Morgana and Dakota have any existing portraits left. I know they did have a portrait in Sir Lancelot’s house in King’s Landing, as did Merlin and I, but unfortunately the property burned to the ground in the late 1400’s, so everything inside of it was obviously destroyed.”

There was a time that Harry would have been greatly confused by the mention of King’s Landing, but he now knew that it was the name of the largest city in the Province of Camelot and that Castle Camelot overlooked it. In Merlin’s and Arthur’s day, the city was called Camelot and Castle Camelot was usually just referred to as the Citadel, but much like how Highever was once called Seacliff Village, things tend to change over the centuries.

Merlin nodded. “Other than that, they did maintain a home in the magical section of the Duchy of Aquitaine in France, but I don’t know if it’s still standing and if it is, Morgana’s blood wards have no doubt shut the place up tighter than a Gringotts’ vault and the only way you’d get inside was if Morgana and Dakota have a living heir who could unlock the wards and I’m afraid I don’t know if they do or not.”

“Well, we can consider looking into that at a later time,” Minerva said, as she turned to Edward and Ramesses and asked, “So, what is your decision you two?”

“I’m doing the ritual,” Edward said in a definitive tone. “I know that I’m a natural-born mage, which I imagine probably has something to do with my being a direct descendant of Arthur and Merlin, but the ritual will make me a Magus. And I don’t think it’ll come as a great shock to any of you that after losing my entire family to Voldemort and then being held prisoner by Albus and Gellert for over a decade, that I’d like the idea of having as much power at my fingertips as possible. All of which I intend to use to defend not only myself and my family,” he grabbed Ramesses’ hand at this and smiled at him, since they’d soon be family, “but also as many of my people as I possibly can.”

Ramesses squeezed Edward’s hand back, trying to reassure him that he’d be there to help him every step of the way, but in truth, it was probably Ramesses himself who got more from their clasped hands. Taking a deep breath, he said, “I’m going to do the ritual, as well, although I would prefer to go last, if that’s possible.”

Rolanda nodded. “Of course you can go last, if you prefer. Considering your previous experience, I don’t blame you one bit for wanting to see with your own eyes that everything is going smoothly before participating yourself.”

“Well, then, the four of you, follow us down to the basement,” Minerva said. Turning to the others who’d already gone through the ritual, she added, “The rest of you, go into the library. Merlin and Arthur are going to teach you a new focusing technique that they say will work even better than the one that Rolanda taught you previously.”

-o-0-o-

Arriving in the basement, the four trainers led the four new students into Classroom One, where much as it had been over a month ago, the student desks were all pushed to the sides of the room, while resting on the teacher’s desk was the silver ritual goblet.

Ramesses tilted his head to one side, and said, “Well, that’s certainly a lot smaller than what I saw in the previous ritual, but then again, the charlatan tried to use six pints of my blood, so he was using a silver cauldron instead.”

“All the more reason to call that man a charlatan,” Rolanda said with a disgusted shake of her head. “Anyway, when we call you forward, one at a time, we will give you a charmed silver needle, which you will use to prick the pad of your wand hand’s index finger. You then must say, ‘ _Sângele meu cu voie dat,_ ’ which means ‘My blood willingly given,’ in Romanian, before turning your finger over and allowing the blood to drip into the goblet.”

Rose launched into a quick explanation here about the dangers of blood magic and why it was necessary for the students to say that they were willingly giving their blood and why it had to be said in Romanian. When she was finished, Ramesses said, “The guy who did it previously said the incantation in Ancient Egyptian.”

“And that, Ramesses, is why you’re able to do this ritual a second time,” Pomona said. “As Rose said, the creators of this ritual made it a requirement that the incantations for this ritual be said in Romanian and thus that charlatan using Ancient Egyptian instead rendered the ritual useless and it didn’t mark you as having already performed it.”

“Even if the incantations had been said in Romanian,” Rolanda added, “I doubt the ritual would have worked properly simply because that charlatan didn’t use any of his own blood and way too much of yours. It’s a mistake that only someone who had absolutely no clue what they were doing would make. Unless, of course, his goal was to actually kill you.”

“Well, that’s a scary thought,” Ramesses said.

“Yeah, I’d agree with that,” Nick said. “Especially since I was approached by the same trainer before you were, Ram. My turning him down is what led him to move on to you, so I’m sorry about that.”

Ramesses shook his head. “Don’t be, Nick, it’s not your fault he was an idiot.”

After having the four students practice with the Romanian incantation for a few minutes to make sure that their pronunciation was perfect, Rolanda motioned Edward forward and said, “All right, you’re first, Your Majesty.”

Edward nodded as he stepped forward and pricked his finger, said, “ _Sângele meu cu voie dat,_ ” so perfectly that it seemed as if he was a native-born Romanian as he said it. Of course, during practice, he’d revealed that he actually had taken Romanian as a language growing up, along with several other languages, including French, Spanish, Greek, and Egyptian Arabic, as his tutors thought it would be a good idea for him to be able to speak directly to his fellow monarchs, in their native tongues, without an interpreter or the Translation Charm, which while good, wasn’t exactly perfect.

Once Edward’s blood was added to the goblet, Blaise stepped forward next, followed by Nick, and then finally it was Ramesses turn.

“You can do this, Ram, I have faith in you,” Edward said with a smile.

“Thanks,” Ramesses said as he took a deep breath, before stepping forward, pricking his finger and uttering, “ _Sângele meu cu voie dat,_ ” before turning his finger over and allowing six drops of his blood to fall into the goblet. As had happened previously, Ramesses’ blood mixed with the clear concoction in the goblet, before there was a small burst of white light. Before he could step away, however, there was a second, larger burst of white light as the entire goblet started glowing brightly.

The four trainers’ eyes widened, as they realized what was happening, as they’d witnessed it the last time they’d done this ritual. Just as this realization came over them, twin beams of white light shot out of the goblet—one into Ramesses’ heart and the other into Edward’s, as prince and monarch were drawn together into a full-body hug that they couldn’t extricate themselves from no matter how they tried.

“What’s happening?” Ramesses asked, even as Edward asked, “Was this supposed to happen?”

Instead of answering them, Minerva said, “Rose, leave the room, please.” Rose nodded, knowing exactly why she was being asked to leave the room. Once she was gone, Minerva summoned her staff, and struck the bladed end of it against the floor, as she said, “Negatio Agri!”

As the waves of magic from the mage-level Mystical Negation Charm began pouring off of Minerva, Edward and Ramesses were finally able to move away from each other, as the magic holding them together dissipated. Stopping the spell, Minerva said, “Now, to answer your questions, no that wasn’t a normal part of the ritual, but it is something we’ve seen twice before.”

“What does it mean?” Ramesses asked. “Nothing went wrong did it?”

Pomona shook her head, “No, Ramesses, nothing went wrong, so you can relax. As Minerva said, we’ve seen this happen twice before, once with Harry and Cedric, and also with Terence and Roger.”

“What does it mean?” Blaise asked.

Rolanda smiled. “It means that Edward and Ramesses are soulmates.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Part Two of Chapter Fourteen. I originally intended to include a scene detailing final preparations for the covert operation and even the operation itself in this chapter, but doing that, I think I would have exceeded 20k+ words and I’m trying to avoid that. So, that’ll be in the next chapter. So did anyone guess that Edward and Ramesses would turn out to be soulmates? The reason for it is because, honestly, I feel bad about what I’ve done to Edward in this story and thus wanted to make it up to him somehow, so I figured letting him find his soulmate was a good method of doing that.
> 
> The polls to pick the rest of Edward’s husbands are still running until Midnight (12:00AM Central, UTC -06:00) on July 15th, 2015. So, if you want to vote, time is running short and more than likely the next chapter won’t be out until after the polls are closed. For those of you on FFNet, the links are in my profile – just make sure to read and follow the link instructions in my profile in order to visit the pages, since FFNet is now adding their own address into every link in profiles or making all links point right back to the same profile that you’re viewing. Nothing I can do about that, however. For those of you reading this elsewhere, the link for the polls is below.
> 
> http://jayson.worldofslash.com/unexpected/pictures/suitors/suitors-polls.html
> 
> Questions, comments, suggestions? Feel free to contact me via review, email, my Yahoo group, or on Twitter @JVascardi. I love hearing from my readers.


	21. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC: Noah, OMC: Edward/OMC: Ramesses, OMC: Nick/OMC: Dominick
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Twincest, Threesome, Foursome, Moresome, Harem

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Fifteen

-o-0-o-

Shortly after finishing up the blood ritual, the four trainers and their four newest students made their way back upstairs. They’d just stepped into the kitchen when the front door of the cottage opened and a woman wearing a red dress covered by a white apron entered the house.

“Hello everyone,” she said. When she spotted Edward, she curtsied, adding, “Your Majesty.”

“Who are you?” Edward asked in a confused tone.

“Don’t worry, I guarantee she’s trustworthy,” Pomona said as she walked over to the newcomer and said with a smile, “Allow me to introduce my wife, the Matron of Hogwarts, Madam Poppy Pomfrey.”

“I didn’t know you two were married, Professor,” Blaise said.

“Of course you didn’t, Mr. Zabini,” Rose said. “I can’t imagine many of your professors are in the habit of telling their students about their personal lives. As it is, however, Pomona and Poppy have been married for nearly two years, as they opted to wed about a month after Lord Ollivander legalized same-sex unions on his lands in 1992.”

Poppy nodded. “Indeed. Pomona and I will be celebrating our second wedding anniversary in November, although we’ve been together for 34 years now.”

“You’re married but your names are still Sprout and Pomfrey?” Dominick asked, as he and the others entered the kitchen from the library, having just finished up learning the focusing technique from Arthur and Merlin. Dominick wasn’t doing mage training, but Arthur said that didn’t matter as a focused mind was still beneficial to non-mages.

Pomona nodded. “Yes, we’ve both got a feminist streak and thus opted to keep our own surnames. I also don’t tend to wear a wedding band because digging around in dirt as often as I do, it might get damaged or lost. Not to mention a few breeds of dangerous plants that are attracted to sparkly things like diamonds.”

“So, Rose,” Poppy said, “I see you’re the last one to go unidentified. Did your plan to drop false hints to suggest you were me throw off your students?”

“Well, they haven’t guessed who I am yet,” Rose answered. “Although they’ve known for some time now that I wasn’t you, thanks to Rolanda’s big mouth.”

“I’ve apologized for that, Rose,” Rolanda said. “I’m sorry that I ruined your plans, but after seeing poor Kolin lying there with his wrist slit open and knocking on death’s door, I really wasn’t thinking about anything but him. Besides that, I’m 93 years old and while I’d like to think that my mind is still a steel trap, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still occasionally have forgetful moments and that was unfortunately one of them.”

After a moment of silence, Poppy said, “Anyway, other than wanting to see and spend some time with my actual wife instead of her double, I do have some intelligence from the school to report.”

“Go on,” Minerva said.

“Albus left the castle early this morning,” Poppy said. “Shortly after breakfast. He said that he’d be out of the castle for the next few days, ostensibly attending to ICW business, but I checked with my contact in the ICW and they’re not due to be meeting again until early next month. It’s certainly possible that he’s dealing with some pre-meeting business, but my contact had no idea what that might be. Not that the Supreme Mugwump is required to report his movements to her, but still. At any rate, he said not to expect him back until sometime around lunchtime on Tuesday the 25th.”

“Hmm,” Harry said, before he called out, “Barin?”

“Yes, Master Harry, sir?” the elf asked as he popped into the room.

“Could you do me a favor?” Harry asked, which prompted the elf to nod his head. “Being a Saturday I assume she’s at home, so go over to Kinloch Hold and ask Lady McLaggen if she can find out if any official portkeys have been issued to Albus Dumbledore recently.”

“Yes, Master Harry, sir,” Barin said as he popped out of the room.

“You do know that Dumbledore knows how to create his own portkeys, right?” Pomona asked.

Harry nodded. “I figured as much, but since doing so is illegal, I assume that if he actually was engaging in any sort of official ICW business, he’d use a legally obtained portkey to do it and thus as the Head of the Department of Magical Transportation, Caroline McLaggen will know, or be able to find out, if he obtained one recently.”

“Exactly how much of what’s going on are you aware of, Madam Pomfrey?” Edward asked.

“You can call me Poppy, if you wish, sir, and I know everything about your imprisonment and the situation with Albus and Gellert. I understand the need for discretion and you have my word that I won’t tell a soul who doesn’t already know.”

Pomona nodded and said, “I know I should have asked your leave to tell Poppy, but she is my wife and I trust her implicitly, so we don’t keep any secrets from each other. Minerva, Rolanda, Rose, and I all have our doubles at Hogwarts, plus we have Regulus now as well, but I figured that having another set of eyes at the school couldn’t hurt. Plus, as the Matron of Hogwarts, Poppy is pretty much on equal footing with Dumbledore, as her authority supersedes his own in health matters.”

“Very well,” Edward said. “I’m not mad at you, Pomona. Poppy is your wife and I would never ask that you keep secrets from her, as I have no desire to cause any friction between you. And you’re right, having an extra set of trusted eyes and ears at the school certainly can’t hurt anything.”

“Well, Head of the Department or not, I imagine that it’ll take a while for Caroline to check,” Minerva said. “She doesn’t know the full truth, as Bruce has opted to keep her in the dark, but she knows enough to know that she should handle any requests from Lord Potter as discreetly as possible. So, simply pulling rank and having one of her underlings check out of the blue would get tongues wagging.”

“Indeed,” Rolanda said. Looking at the students, she added, “In the meantime, why don’t you all head upstairs and get cleaned up for dinner? Barin usually does the cooking, but I’m sure between the three of us that Rose, Minerva, and I can whip something up.” Turning to Pomona and Poppy she added, “And you two should go spend some quality time together before Poppy has to get back to the school.”

There were nods all around, as the mage students and Dominick left the kitchen and began climbing up the stairs in the living room in single file, since the wrought-iron spiral staircase wasn’t wide enough for two people to ascend next to each other. Pomona and Poppy left the kitchen and went down the hall to Pomona’s bedroom, while Minerva and Rose got started on dinner, as Rolanda began setting the table.

-o-0-o-

Twenty minutes later, Harry had showered and was just pulling a t-shirt over his head when there was a knock on his door. Pulling it down and quickly checking himself in the mirror, he walked over to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open to find Cedric on the other side.

“Hey, Ric,” Harry said, more than a little surprised to see him standing there. Outside of classes, meals, and group activities, they’d been avoiding one another pretty much since the blood ritual. “Something I can do for you?”

“Can I come in?” Cedric asked.

“Sure,” Harry said, as he moved aside to let Cedric into his bedroom.

“Wow,” Cedric said, as he entered and looked around the room. “You know I think this is the first time I’ve ever actually been in your room. You were in mine before I moved over to the barn, of course.”

Harry smiled. “Yes, the dancing lessons, for which I’m eternally grateful because I’m sure I would have made a fool of myself without your help.”

Cedric shook his head. “You’re too hard on yourself, Harry. You’re actually quite good at dancing, once you let go of the idea that you weren’t.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at that. “Really? Cause I seem to recall stomping on your feet more than once.”

“True,” Cedric acknowledged. “Although honestly, as I said at the time, you weren’t nearly as bad as I was when my Mum was first teaching me how to dance. She had to wear flats for a week, because even with Pain Relieving Charms, her feet hurt too much for her usual heels.”

“Well, I don’t imagine you wear heels very often, Ric,” Harry said with a grin, “so you didn’t have that particular issue, but I’m sure your feet still hurt for a while afterwards.”

“Some yes, but it was bearable,” Cedric said. “And you’re right, I generally don’t wear heels, although there are some wizarding fashions that do call for men to actually wear boots with higher heels than most muggles would think belonged on a man’s shoe.” Shaking his head, he added, “But I didn’t come here to discuss fashion or footwear.”

“I figured that much,” Harry said. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Cedric hesitated at this question, as he knew they had to talk and he’d resolved to do it now, but he was feeling more than a little nervous about it now that it was actually time for it to happen. After a moment, he asked, “Could you close the door? This is a conversation I think is best had in private.”

Harry shrugged and said, “Okay,” as he pushed the door closed. “Lock it too?”

“Would probably be a good idea,” Cedric answered, as he pulled out his wand and took a moment to perform the new focusing technique that Merlin and Arthur had just taught them. They’d been correct in that it worked much better than the one that Rolanda had previously shown the class. When he was done focusing, Cedric cast a Silencing Charm, a couple of locking and privacy charms on Harry’s door, and finally another charm on the landscape hanging above the fireplace.

“What was that last one?” Harry asked, having recognized all the spells that Cedric had cast, except for the one he’d cast on the painting.

“A security charm to prevent anyone from entering the picture,” Cedric said. “It’s taught in fifth-year Specialized Charms and is quite useful.”

“I’d say so,” Harry agreed. “Damn good thing I guess that Dumbledore and Grindelwald didn’t cast it on the pictures at Camelot or we might never have known about Edward if Merlin and Arthur hadn’t been able to investigate.”

“True,” Cedric agreed, as he moved over to one of the wingback chairs in front of Harry’s fireplace and sat down, as Harry came over and sat in the other one. “Anyway, first, I wanted to apologize to you for avoiding you since the blood ritual.”

“You don’t have to apologize for that, Ric. I know why you were doing it and let’s be honest here, you weren’t the only one doing the avoiding, because I was doing my own fair share of it too.”

“I guess finding out you have a soulmate is a lot to take in.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, it was definitely something I think we both needed time to digest. I’d never really given my sexuality any serious thought. I mean, I’d seen a few girls at Hogwarts that I thought were good-looking, but I never really paid much attention to that kind of stuff as I usually had other things on my mind.”

“I think that’s a bit of an understatement, Harry,” Cedric said with a grin. “Having heard about all your adventures since you started school, I can’t really say that I’m surprised that you weren’t thinking about girls or dating.”

“Well, I suppose being gay also has something to do with why I wasn’t thinking about girls,” Harry said, in a very matter-of-fact tone. “I was more than a little confused when I started noticing boys recently and thinking they were fit, but that charm that Cailan used on me cleared things up for me.” After a second, he added, “What about you?”

“I’ve known for a while now that I was gay. If I’m honest, I knew it even before I knew that Noah was bisexual and I knew that for about a year to a year and a half before he told our parents.”

“Did he tell you?”

Shaking his head in a negative gesture, Cedric said, “Not exactly.”

“You’re blushing, Ric,” Harry said with a grin, as he watched the other boy’s cheeks redden even more than they had been previously because apparently having it pointed out had only made it worse.

“Yeah, I know,” Cedric said, as he made a concentrated effort to stop the ever-growing redness in his cheeks. “My dorm mates at Hogwarts were always talking about girls and I pretended to go along with them and act like I was attracted to the girls they were talking about, but it never really worked. Of course, now I know that I’m a six on the Kinsey scale, so, I guess it makes sense that it was actually my dorm mates that I was lusting after instead of the girls we’d talk about. Anyway, I was beyond confused about my feelings, so one day when my parents were both away I decided to go and talk with Noah about what I was feeling, because we’d always been very close and I figured maybe he could give me some advice or something.”

“So what happened?”

“I knew that Charlie was visiting and I knew they were friends and dorm mates at Hogwarts,” Cedric answered. “But I didn’t know anything about them being together before that point. Anyway, while they’d put up a Silencing Charm and closed Noah’s bedroom door, they’d forgotten to lock it. As I said, Noah and I had always been very close, so we usually just let ourselves into each other’s rooms without knocking first, so I did and I got an eyeful.”

Harry blushed slightly, as he asked, “You walked in on them having sex?”

“Oh yeah,” Cedric said, as his blush deepened despite his best efforts. “Obviously they were both completely naked, although Charlie was blindfolded and handcuffed to the headboard. Noah, meanwhile, was fucking him, while leaning over him and licking whipped cream and chocolate sauce from Charlie’s chest. And, of course, from the positioning of the bed compared to the door, and because Noah was leaning down with his arse in the air I could see between his legs, which gave me a great view of his cock going in and out of Charlie’s arse, while his balls slapped against it.”

Harry was blushing just as deeply as Cedric by the time the older boy stopped talking and he soon found himself cursing his mind for conjuring up the image that Cedric had just shared, which caused him to get uncomfortably hard. Raising one leg and crossing it over his other so that Cedric hopefully wouldn’t be able to see what he was doing, Harry surreptitiously adjusted himself in an attempt to lessen the pain caused from his cock suddenly swelling to what he was sure was a record size against the denim of his jeans.

“You’re looking a bit uncomfortable and very red, Harry.”

“You shared all those details on purpose didn’t you?”

Cedric grinned. “Maybe, but I figured if I’m going to be blushing and uncomfortable then it’s only fair that you are too.”

“Bloody Hufflepuff,” Harry said, although there was a big grin on his face as he said it.

Nodding his head, Cedric said, “And damn proud of it, you bloody Gryffindor.” Both boys laughed at this, which helped take their minds off of their hormones and allowed them to get a bit more comfortable as their blushing cheeks started lightening. Once he’d gotten a hold of himself, Cedric added, “At any rate, I had a similar reaction to the one you had when I actually saw it. Not so much for Noah, but the situation, which was also the first time I’d ever actually seen gay sex.”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen it myself, but after that description you gave, I had little trouble imagining what you saw. So, how did Charlie and Noah react when they found out you were watching?”

“They didn’t know until later,” Cedric said. “Never let it be said that I’m not a good brother. I left the room without saying a word, so being blindfolded, Charlie never knew I was there and Noah was too busy to notice. Of course, I confronted them an hour later, and yeah, they were mortified when they found out I’d seen them.”

“I’m sure they were,” Harry agreed, as he shook his head. “So, did you get the advice you wanted?”

“No, we never got that far,” Cedric answered. “However, just knowing that Noah was bisexual and dating Charlie made me feel better about the whole thing—like I was normal. Of course that was shot to hell once Noah came out to our parents and he was disowned. Then came Lucy and our parents refusing to allow Noah to see her and from their comments, I knew they had every intention of raising her to hate Noah. So, that started me down the path of extreme terror that someone would find out about me and obviously denial that I even had a secret. The more time I spent with Lucy, the more I denied my feelings, because I didn’t want to lose my relationship with her.”

“I’ve never had a little sister, so I’m kind of out my depth there, but I can understand not wanting to lose a relationship that you really care about.” Pausing for a moment, Harry then added, “And I can’t imagine that it felt good knowing that your parents would probably turn on you too if they found out about you. Not to mention having to listen to your bigot of a father going off on Noah and his lifestyle and ridiculing his relationship with Charlie all the time.”

Cedric nodded. “Yeah the more he said, the deeper I hid. Finally, it got to the point that I was almost like a monk. Just threw myself into my schoolwork and other activities that kept my mind as far away from sex as it could possibly get. Continued pretending to like girls, even went on an occasional date, but I was miserable the entire time. If I’d had my way I would have slipped into the background and not be noticed by anyone, but that didn’t happen.”

“Yeah, I imagine it’s hard for the ‘Hufflepuff Hottie’ to slip unnoticed into the background.”

Cedric rolled his eyes, “Yeah that nickname has been the bane of my existence since it first started. I mean, yeah, on one hand it’s flattering to think that people think I’m good-looking enough to single me out that way, but on the other hand, it also had people expecting me to be interested in sex, which I was trying not to be because I knew I wouldn’t be able to do anything with a girl and I couldn’t be with a guy and risk it getting back to my father.”

Pausing briefly, Cedric said, “Of course, Noah was disowned and I was no longer the courtesy Viscount Laynford—the relatively unimportant spare heir—so that made things worse, especially since all of Dad’s hopes and dreams for Noah then transferred to me. He was pleased with the good grades, obviously, but then he started insisting that I had to be better-rounded and that’s why I joined the Quidditch team. I do enjoy the game and I like playing, but being the seeker, and then the captain—not to mention the whole Earl of Charwell thing—pretty much made hiding impossible.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah I can understand what it’s like to feel like everyone expects something from you, because the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing is hard to live up to. And of course I’m also a lord now, so I’ve got all the people living on the Potter lands expecting me to do a good job as their lord. There’s also the whole Lord High Chancellor, Privy Counsellor, and Governor of Hogwarts thing—lately I admit I’ve felt a bit torn apart, as if I’m being pulled in every possible direction.” Harry sighed. “I also know what it’s like to have family that says bigoted things.”

At Cedric’s questioning look, Harry said, “My Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley have all said some pretty bad and bigoted things over the years. Aunt Petunia wasn’t as bad, although she appeared to agree with everything that her husband and son said and she always took their side over mine.” Looking a bit confused, Harry added, “Of course, before Remus showed up at Privet Drive I was having some very strange dreams that I guess were memories from my double that appeared to show my aunt treating me a lot better than she ever had in the past and even siding with me against her husband and son, which honestly I can’t think would ever happen. I’m sure that had to just be my imagination, but I won’t know for sure I guess until my double is banished and I get all the memories he accumulated.”

“She seemed pretty bad to me when I met her,” Cedric commented, “although she did seem to be a bit more subdued by the time we left. Maybe McGonagall and Sprout fooling her into thinking they’d put her under the Unbreakable Vow scared her or some of what they said about your uncle and cousin finally got through to her.”

“Maybe, but I’m not going to get my hopes up,” Harry said. “It’d take a whole hell of a lot more than just a week of better treatment to make up for all the years of them treating me like I was lower than dirt and responsible for all the problems in the world.”

After a few minutes of silence, during which Harry and Cedric just stared into the flames of Harry’s fireplace—which had only just recently started getting lit again with the incidents of accidental magic dropping off—Cedric finally broke the silence and said, “I suppose we should probably talk about the dragon in the room.”

Harry looked confused as he asked, “Dragon?”

“I think muggles would say ‘elephant in the room’?” Cedric asked in an attempt to clarify what he meant.

“Ah, okay,” Harry said. “I assume you mean the whole soulmate thing?”

Cedric nodded. “Yeah. We’ve both had some time to digest it now, although now we’ve both gotten the shock about what that could actually mean.”

“That we could be the first Archmagi since Merlin’s day,” Harry said. “Yeah, that’s kind of scary in a way, because you know that’s just going to bring a whole new host of expectations for both of us.”

“True. Of course, we wouldn’t necessarily have to tell people that we were Archmagi, I mean, look at Dumbledore. He successfully passed himself off as a Grand Sorcerer for decades, despite being an Archmagister. I’m sure that between your power as Duke of Granston and Lord High Chancellor, not to mention having the King’s ear, you could make sure that any records that mentioned it got sealed.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true and I own the Prophet so I can leave standing orders with Terence’s mum not to print anything that would reveal that fact.” After a long drawn-out breath, Harry added, “Still, it’s daunting to think about having that much power and that’s not even thinking about what we’d actually need to do in order to get it.”

Cedric’s cheeks turned slightly pink as he said, “Yeah, I’d have to be the Charlie to your Noah.”

Harry’s cheeks pinkened at this, as he added, “Only without the accessories and condiments.” Cedric groaned at this, while Harry giggled a bit, before he sobered and added, “Although someone would also have to be the Cedric to that situation, since when the bond is actually cast, someone has to be in the room with us to act as the bonder.”

Pink cheeks turned red at this as Cedric said, “Yeah, I never thought I’d ever have sex in front of an audience. That’s definitely going to be embarrassing and I have no idea who we would get to fill that role—definitely none of our trainers.”

“Oh good Gods, no,” Harry said. “Definitely not our trainers. That’d just be wrong on so many levels.”

Cedric nodded emphatically. “Still the thought of us, well, you know having sex. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not repulsed by the thought—quite the opposite actually—but, still I don’t think I’m there yet.”

“I understand and I agree. I mean, I can accept the gay thing and honestly knowing that I’m wired to like men more than women is a relief, really, because at least I know there’s nothing wrong with me. I mean I know there’s nothing wrong with it, but much like you I grew up hearing that it was wrong so while I’ve done my best to be a lot more accepting than my relatives would be, I can still hear them in my head occasionally.”

-o-0-o-

Downstairs in the kitchen, Rolanda had finished setting the table and began helping Minerva and Rose with dinner. Opening the oven, Rolanda placed the large pan of roast beef on the rack, as Rose stood at a nearby counter chopping vegetables and Minerva busied herself with making a chocolate cake for dessert. They were working in relative silence, until Rolanda straightened up and closed the oven. Leaning against the counter next to the oven, she said, “You know I was thinking that maybe we should contact some of our past students and see if they can help with the Camelot operation.”

“It would be extremely short notice,” Rose said, “although I agree it could certainly be beneficial to have some more mages helping with the operation.”

“Yes, although we’d have to clear it with Edward,” Minerva said. “And then there’s the Egyptian allies. Edward might be okay with it, but we have no way to know how the covert operations team that Egypt is lending us would react to it.”

“Well, my father was special forces in the Great War,” Rolanda said. “So, I know that they tend to be very dismissive of people who don’t come from a special forces background. My father and his team always thought they were the best and that nobody else could possibly compare to them in either skill or training.”

Rose nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard that, although we’ve no clue what the power levels are of the team that Egypt is sending. If they’re all just regular witches and wizards, I’m sorry, but they’re not going to have a choice but to suck it up and accept help, because even if we sent in a team of two or three hundred witches or wizards, they’d be hard-pressed to face off against two Archmagisters of Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s caliber.”

“Not to mention the Camelot royal guards,” Minerva said. “You better believe that they’re some of the best trained guards in the world now, after being so incredibly embarrassed when almost the entire royal family—save Edward—was murdered on their watch. I’m sure the people in charge of the royal guards have ramped up their training in the years since to make sure it never happens again and that’s another unknown, because we don’t know what their power levels are.”

“Well, we can bring it up with Edward at dinner tonight,” Rolanda said. “And if he agrees we can contact some of our past students and hope that at least a few of them can help. Obviously we can’t tell them what they’d be helping with until they’re actually here and can be sworn to secrecy, but I think I can safely say that all of them trust us enough to know that if we’re asking them for help that the situation is serious.”

Minerva nodded. “Yes and with very few exceptions, I would trust all of our past students with my life. Obviously a couple of them have disappointed me in what they’ve done with their powers since they left our training, but then again some of them weren’t given much choice.”

-o-0-o-

Above the barn, Terence and Oliver re-entered their bedroom with towels wrapped around their waists, as they’d just gotten out of the shower. It had taken all the willpower they could muster, but they managed to keep their hands off of each other in the shower, or at least in a sexual manner, as they had washed each other’s backs. The reason for this was because they shared a bathroom with Gavin who had let them shower first, so they were as quick as they could be as a courtesy to him.

Now that they were finished, however, Oliver locked the bathroom door, as he picked up his wand where he’d left it on top of the dresser, and pointing it at the door out to the hallway, incanted silently, “ _Colloportus,_ ” followed quickly by, “ _Silencio,_ ” and “ _Muffliato._ ” Terence had his back to him as he looked through clothes in the wardrobe across the room, so with a grin, Oliver pointed his wand at his boyfriend and said, “ _Accio towel._ ”

“Will!” Terence exclaimed as he felt his towel being pulled off his waist and tried in vain to catch it. Turning his head and upper body slightly so that he could look over his shoulder at Oliver, Terence put his hands on his hips and said, “We’re supposed to be getting ready for dinner, you know.”

“I know, but we’ve got plenty of time,” Oliver said. “Dinner hadn’t even been started yet when we came up. It might be in the oven by now, but it won’t be ready for probably an hour at least.”

“You know the oven and stove are charmed to shorten cooking times.”

Oliver nodded, as he came over to Terence, dropping his towel as he walked across the room, and said, “Yes, which is all the more reason for you to stop wasting time talking.” As he said this, Oliver slid his arms around Terence’s waist and pushed his hardening member against his boyfriend’s arse.

“You are insatiable, you know that?”

“Don’t you mean irresistible?”

Terence rolled his eyes. “Yes, that too,” as he kissed Oliver on the lips.

The two kissed for a few minutes, before Terence backed away and said, “We need a Silencing Charm.”

“I’m way ahead of you, Liam.” At Terence’s raised eyebrow, he added, “I cast them silently before I summoned your towel.”

“Ah, getting better with the more basic spells since the ritual?” Terence asked.

Oliver nodded. “Indeed, although the new focusing technique that Merlin and Arthur taught us has helped quite a bit, plus it lasts five times longer than the one Rolanda taught us so I didn’t even have to pause to focus, because I was still focused from earlier when they taught us.”

“True, it has helped quite a bit,” Terence said, as he turned around in Oliver’s arms and kissed him before pushing him towards their bed.

It wasn’t long before the backs of Oliver’s knees hit the edge of the bed and he tumbled backwards with a small thud, although with his arms wrapped around Terence’s waist the other man went with him, their cocks grinding against each other as they resumed kissing for a few moments. Finally, Terence moved Oliver’s legs upwards and whispered in his ear, “I don’t have my wand handy, so you want to do the honors?”

“Who say’s you get to top?”

“I do, because it’s my turn.” When Oliver looked ready to argue, Terence added, “Don’t tell me you forgot about three-thirty this morning? You got up to go to the bathroom and when you came back, instead of going back to sleep like a civilized person, you decided to make a deposit in my arse.”

“And here I thought you slept through that.”

Terence rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like I could actually sleep through you fucking me. I was still tired though, so I let you think I was still asleep because I knew that if you knew I was awake, you’d have wanted more when you were done and I wanted to sleep. So I feigned sleep so that you’d go back to sleep afterwards and it worked.”

Oliver shook his head. “Sneaky Slytherin.”

“You know you love it,” Terence asked. “So the spell?”

“Fine,” Oliver said as he pointed his wand at Terence’s cock and said, “ _Lubrico,_ ” causing it to be covered in a slick oil-like substance.

Terence grinned and wasted no time, as he positioned his cock and pushed forward into Oliver’s waiting arse. “Ah, nice and tight. And warm.”

“Ah, oh, eh,” Oliver moaned. “Glad you like it.”

Shaking his head, Terence said, “No, I don’t like it,” as he leaned down so that his face was inches away from his boyfriend, “I,” he paused for a kiss, “love,” another kiss, “it.”

Nothing was said for a few minutes, as Oliver and Terence kissed, and Terence got into a good rhythm, thrusting in and out. After a moment, Terence moved slightly so that he could kiss Oliver’s neck and it was at this point that the former Gryffindor said, “Oh sweet Gods! Ah, Roger doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

Terence stopped kissing Oliver’s neck and moved so that he could look his boyfriend in the eye, as he asked, “Really, Will? You want to talk about Roger now?”

“Well, we haven’t really discussed it,” Oliver answered. “There’s been some ribbing and I said that I’d be okay with you topping him, as long as I got to watch, but we’ve never really discussed you and Roger being soulmates or what that really means for us.”

Terence was silent for a moment, as he closed his eyes and muttered something that might have been a prayer under his breath, before he opened them and said, “True, we haven’t discussed it and I’m not sure now is the right time.”

Oliver grinned. “Oh come on, you know you’ve thought about it. Say what you will about him, but Roger does have a very nice arse.” He paused here, before he moaned, “Ah, oh, and unless I’m very much mistaken—and I’m sure I’m not—it seems like _somebody_ agrees with me because the mention of Roger’s arse made him swell more than he already was.”

“Fine, yes, Roger has a very nice arse and I’d love to fuck it,” Terence said. “Is that what you wanted to hear, Will?”

“A part of me is jealous,” Oliver answered, “but also turned on, honestly. So, as long as I get to watch, you can do whatever you want to Rog.”

“Well, Regulus did say that a bonder was necessary when the ritual is first performed,” Terence said, as he wrapped his hand around Oliver’s cock and began pumping it in time with his thrusts. “So, as long as you think you can control your hormones enough to cast the necessary spells, then I’d say it shouldn’t be a problem for you to watch.”

Oliver grinned. “Oh, I’m sure I can manage that.” Both boys were silent for a moment, before Oliver said, “And don’t think I didn’t notice that the way you just said that makes it seem like you think it’s a given that you will be fucking Roger in the future.”

Terence rolled his eyes. “I think everyone in the house, Roger included—whether he’d admit it or not—has come to the conclusion that we will be doing the bonding ritual at some point. Roger is too much of a Ravenclaw to say no to anything that would facilitate him learning new things.”

“You’re probably right,” Oliver agreed, as he moaned again. “Oh, Liam that feels so good.”

“Feels good from my end too.”

-o-0-o-

Around noon the next day, after Caroline reported that Dumbledore had not obtained any legal portkeys from her department recently, Harry, Edward, Ramesses, Nick, Dominick, and Minerva Apparated to Harry’s estate in Brynmoor, from which they then headed for the Tribunal Chambers. Meeting them at the Brynmoor estate, were Sirius and Neville, the former of whom had once again met Regulus and Neville in Hogsmeade, after Regulus had activated Neville’s double and smuggled him out of Hogwarts via the secret passage into the Shrieking Shack. Also meeting the group was Rolf Phillips, who as Captain of the Seacliff Castle Guard, was the de facto leader of all the Potter family forces, regardless of which estate they originated from.

Arriving in the Tribunal Chambers, Rolf, Ramesses, and Minerva—who had never been there before—were more than a little awed when they saw it for the first time. Everyone else had been there before, either for Barnabas Cuffe’s trial or the emergency meeting that Harry had called with the other Lords of the Thirteen. Nick and Dominick had not been present for the latter, however, so they joined Rolf, Ramesses, and Minerva in a state of awe when Merlin and Arthur appeared, in the flesh.

After a quick explanation to Rolf, Ramesses, and Minerva that Merlin and Arthur were able to appear in the flesh only at the four focus sites, of which the Tribunal Chambers was one, Neville walked over to the stone pedestal in front of the table that the Lords of the Thirteen would sit at during trials and pulled out his wand. After a moment of thought, he tapped the pedestal once with his wand and said, “Kenton Jacoby and Augusta Longbottom, I summon thee!”

Moments later, Kenton Jacoby, the Captain of the Lakeview Hall Guard, and Neville’s grandmother Augusta appeared in the room, as they both looked around, confused for a moment.

“Hello, Gran,” Neville said, before either of them had seen the other occupants of the room. “Kenton.”

“Neville?” Augusta asked. “Where are we? And why aren’t you in school?”

“We’re in the Chambers of the Tribunal of the Thirteen,” Neville answered. “And I am in school, well, at least a magically created double of me is at Hogwarts.”

“A double?” Augusta asked. “You mean like the ones used during mage training?”

Neville nodded. “Yes, Gran. I figured you’d know about the doubles since Granduncle Garrick is a mage and your brother. Before you ask, however, no I’m not in mage training, but Professor Black created a double for me and smuggled me out of Hogwarts so that I could come here, as we have some extremely important business of both the family and state nature to handle.”

“I don’t understand,” Augusta said.

“Perhaps I can shed some light on that, Madam,” Edward said as he came over to the group.

Both Augusta’s and Kenton’s eyes widened upon seeing the King, as Augusta quickly curtsied and Kenton bowed. “Your Majesty,” Augusta said, as she straightened up, “what an unexpected pleasure.”

Edward nodded. “It’s good to meet you too, Augusta. I realize that having attended the World Cup you are no doubt under the impression that we’ve already met. In truth, however, we never have until now and I’ll explain that situation in a moment, but first, I must tell you that due to his state of mental incapacity, which I’m told is unfortunately permanent, I’ve stripped your son, Frank, of all the power that goes along with being the Duke of Aldersey. Henceforth, he shall be known as the Duke Emeritus of Aldersey, and his wife as the Duchess Emeritus of Aldersey, while your grandson is the new Duke of Aldersey, with all the rights and responsibilities that go with that title.”

“Your Majesty, I don’t mean to question you, but I’m not sure that Neville is ready for that level of responsibility.”

Edward smiled. “I understand your concern, Augusta, but believe me, Neville has already proven himself more than capable in my mind.”

“My Lord,” Kenton said, as he kneeled in front of Neville, who held out the hand on which he was now wearing the family ring, prompting Kenton to take Neville’s hand, kiss the Longbottom ring, and say, “I, Kenton Hiram Jacoby, pledge my unwavering loyalty to you and swear to serve you and your family faithfully all the days of my life. On my magic, so mote it be.”

“I, Neville Preston Longbottom, Duke of Aldersey, Marquis of Claverton, Earl of Rosset, Lord of Lakeview Hall, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, accept your oath of loyalty, Kenton Hiram Jacoby, so mote it be.”

As Kenton stood up, Augusta asked, “If I may ask, Your Majesty, how has my grandson proven his capability?”

“In his capacity as Lord High Chamberlain and Lord High Constable, he accompanied me, Lord Potter, and your brother Lord Ollivander to Thebes, Egypt recently for a meeting with Pharaoh Seti. Your grandson was instrumental in helping to finalize the terms of the marriage alliance which now exists between the House of Pendragon and the House of Ptolemy, as well as our respective empires.” Motioning Ramesses over, Edward smiled and said, “Augusta, allow me to introduce Prince Ramesses Ptolemy of Egypt, my future husband. Ramesses, this is Lady Augusta Longbottom, the Dowager Duchess of Aldersey, and Neville’s grandmother.”

Augusta curtsied again, as she stated, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.” Ramesses smiled and nodded, before Augusta said, “I’m thrilled, of course, that my Neville could assist you, Your Majesty. I knew he’d make a fine lord one day and it seems that day has come sooner than I thought it would.”

Over the course of the next several minutes, Edward and Neville explained what was going on to a shocked Augusta and Kenton, knowing that the magic of the Tribunal wouldn’t allow them to speak of anything they learned while in the chamber—which was one of the primary reasons that they’d opted to have the planning meeting there in the first place. Meanwhile, several of the other lords began showing up, accompanied by the captains of their main estates’ guards.

The last to arrive was the contingent from Egypt, who had been given a special one-time use, time and date activated international portkey that would bring them directly to the Tribunal Chamber. The party consisted of Vizier Khalid Khalfani, General Tarik Zuberi, a third Egyptian man that nobody in the room recognized, Lord-Commander Asim Bakari, and somewhat to Edward’s surprise, Pharaoh Seti Ptolemy himself. 

“This is an unexpected pleasure, Seti,” Edward said as he approached the Pharaoh. “I wasn’t aware that you were planning on attending this meeting personally.”

“Not only will I be attending the meeting,” Seti revealed, “but I will also be taking part in the operation itself. As has been tradition in Egypt dating back over 2,500 years, the Pharaoh’s place is at the head of his army, personally leading it into battle. I normally would not do so for a covert op—although I do have the training and experience necessary to do so—but I felt that in this instance my personal attention was warranted.”

“Well, then I thank you for your personal attention, Seti,” Edward said. “Now, I believe some introductions are in order. First and foremost, meet Arthur and Merlin Pendragon.”

Seti looked surprised as the two young men stepped forward. It was Arthur who said, “Yes, I am indeed King Arthur Pendragon, the first King of Albion and Iwernia, and this truly is my husband, Merlin Emrys-Pendragon.”

“I’m sure you’re confused how two people who died several centuries ago could be standing here seemingly in the flesh,” Merlin stated and Seti and several other members of the Egyptian contingent nodded. “In life Arthur and I were Archmagi and using the power of the Earth/Water focus site,” Merlin motioned towards the tree and spring visible in the cave beyond the windows, “we were able to setup many powerful spells. Including the ability for us to manifest here in the flesh so that we would be here to assist whenever Albion needed us.”

“We cannot hold physical form outside of this chamber, however,” Arthur said. “Except at one of the other three focus sites, one of which—the Fire/Air site—you might be familiar with, seeing as it’s located in Ahkataten, Egypt.”

Seti thought for a moment, before he said, “I believe I’m familiar with what you might be referring to. There is a large amphitheatre-like structure hidden on top of the cliffs near the royal tomb of Pharaoh Akhenaten at the center of which is a large firepit that seems to burn eternally and is surrounded by seven boundary stela with bronze spikes embedded in the tops of them. A thick cloud hangs above the firepit that issues lightning bolts at regular intervals that in turn hit the aforementioned spikes.”

Merlin nodded. “Indeed, that is the Fire/Air focus site, which is one of the four focal points of magical energies around the globe. A small part of the magic from every spell that’s cast anywhere on the globe is absorbed through the invisible ley lines and sent through them to the focus sites, where those magical energies gather and build up over time.”

“Interesting,” Seti said. “I’ve only been there once, not long after I was crowned, as it’s become a tradition for the newly crowned Pharaoh to make a pilgrimage there to be elevated to the status of living god by the priests of Horus, the Egyptian God of Kingship and Patron of the Pharaohs. What actually is the purpose of these focus sites?”

“As Merlin stated, magical energy gathers there and builds up over time,” Arthur said. “That power can be harnessed, although only by someone who is at least level sixteen or higher on the power scale as any lower than that and the power would be too much for their body to handle. Using the focus sites, one can cast spells of immense power that can affect the entirety of the planet, although it should go without saying that such power in the wrong hands would be extremely dangerous.”

Merlin nodded. “Indeed, it’s one of the reasons why when Arthur and I founded the judicial body known as the Tribunal of the Thirteen we chose the focus site itself as its meeting chamber and laid very powerful protections into both the chamber and the site to ensure that it was never misused. We also placed similar protections on the other three focus sites, which would punish anyone who attempts to use their power for nefarious purposes—such as to rule the world themselves or to help anyone else do so or to injure, torture, or kill innocent people—by stripping them of their magic, honor, and lives.”

“Of course, we also suppressed much of the knowledge about the sites themselves,” Arthur added. “For if people don’t know they exist, or what exactly they are should they find them, they can’t misuse them. Our protections have no doubt prevented centuries of Dark Lords from committing unspeakable atrocities. While it’s true many of them will find a way to do as they desire if they’re determined enough, that doesn’t mean we have to make it easy for them.”

“Yes considering the reason we’re all meeting in the first place,” Edward said, “I think we can all agree that those protections are a very good thing because the thought of Dumbledore or Grindelwald harnessing that kind of power is too unbearable to even imagine.” Several people throughout the room nodded at this, as Edward paused for a moment to say, “Anyway, you’re met Lords Potter, Ollivander, and Longbottom, but allow me to introduce my other nobles.”

Once Edward had introduced everyone on his side, Seti introduced those who hadn’t already met them to his Vizier, General, and the Lord-Commander, before adding, “And this gentleman is Nikaten Zayat, the leader of Egypt’s most elite covert operations team.”

“Well, now that the introductions are completed, let us get down to business,” Merlin said, as he waved his hand and the two tables that had served as the prosecutor and defense tables during the trial of Barnabas Cuffe moved together to form a larger table, as a large map of Castle Camelot appeared on top of it. “These are the original blueprints of Castle Camelot, which I guarantee are still accurate as I personally laid magic into every brick of the castle that would make any and all structural changes beyond updates to the plumbing system impossible.”

It was at this point that Neville, as Lord High Constable, took center stage as he laid out the plans for the operation at the castle, placing markers on a few locations on the map as he did so, before asking, “Now are there any questions?”

“How many men will each of us have to provide?” Caractacus asked, as he motioned to himself and the other Lords of the Thirteen.

Before Neville could answer, Nikaten said, “None, as sending in any teams other than mine is unnecessary and only jeopardizes the successful outcome of the entire operation.”

Seti gave Nikaten a severe look at this and said, “Nikaten, these are our allies and this operation is taking place on their soil and in their royal palace no less. We have no right to tell them that they can’t be involved in the operation.”

“I meant no disrespect, my liege,” Nikaten said, “but my team and I did not earn our reputation as one of the best covert operations teams in the world for no reason. It’s already a danger to the mission success having you accompany us, but you at least have the training necessary for this type of mission and you’ve accompanied my team in the past, so I know we can work together if necessary. The same cannot be said for any of the other forces provided by the Lords of the Thirteen or the additional mage support that Lord Longbottom was talking about. Again, another completely unnecessary risk to mission success.”

“I’m afraid, Nikaten,” Edward said, “that you are over-estimating your teams’ abilities, because I can safely guarantee that without local resources provided by my forces, you and your team would never get anywhere near Castle Camelot itself, let alone anywhere near the mission objectives.”

Neville nodded, as he said, “Indeed, His Majesty is correct. Following the murders of his entire family in 1972, every single inch of Castle Camelot and surrounding lands underwent a massive security overhaul, which is why Edward lived at the Winter Palace in the Duchy of Penderleath as a child, only returning to Castle Camelot about a month before he was kidnapped. All of the wards were strengthened and several new wards were added, in addition to several other security features which require very specific magical knowledge to surpass.”

“And yet he was still kidnapped from within Castle Camelot itself,” Nikaten pointed out.

“True,” Garrick conceded. “However, I would point out that the person doing the kidnapping, Albus Dumbledore, was a trusted official not only in our local government, but also internationally as the Supreme Mugwump, who as an honored guest in the palace was granted the ability to move freely around it. He’s also an Archmagister and is in possession of the Elder Wand, which anyone who knows anything about wandlore could tell you is the most powerful and legendary wand ever created. And if the writings of Wilhelm Gregorovitch are to be believed the wand’s core is in fact hair from Thanatos, the Greek God of Death.”

“It’s also important to note,” Neville said, “that many of the new security features at the various entrance points can only be deactivated from other locations on the opposite end of the palace.” Pointing at the map, Neville said, “For example, at the Western Gate the only way past the wards and security features there is in fact located in a highly secured room only accessible from the guard room in the hallway off the Servant’s Entrance, on the southeastern side of the complex. All of the other possible entrances are similarly protected with the sole exception of the Main Gate, through which we’ll be sending a couple of the Lords of the Thirteen, as them entering the palace won’t be questioned by the guards.”

“Accompanying the Lords will be Shadow Mage and Viscount Langleeford Asterion Black,” Harry added. “He will be using his shadow abilities to hide both himself and Edward from sight. While the visible lords distract the guards at the main entrance, Asterion and Edward will make their way to the main guard room, where hopefully Edward will be able to convince the Captain of the Camelot Royal Guard to assist us in getting our other insertion teams into the castle at the various points, and redirecting the guards away from those points, allowing our forces to secure the castle and find but not engage Dumbledore and Grindelwald.”

“Why are we not engaging them?” Amos asked. “Wasn’t the whole point of this operation to capture them and take back Edward’s throne?”

Neville nodded. “Indeed, Taleford, that is the ultimate goal, however, we must remember who we’re dealing with here. Grindelwald was and still is the most feared Dark Lord in Europe, which is a reputation that is very well earned. Like Dumbledore he too is an Archmagister and because of a Friendship Soul Bond between him and Dumbledore, they can share the Elder Wand as if they were the same person. We are also aware from Edward himself that Grindelwald is a Shape Mage who can take the form of any magical creature that he’s physically seen, which includes Dumbledore’s former familiar, the phoenix known as Fawkes, who Grindelwald has been impersonating since the day Dumbledore kidnapped Edward.”

“I find it hard to believe that a Shape Mage is as dangerous as you seem to be implying,” Arcturus said.

“Really, Viscount Cumberworth?” Minerva asked, as she spoke for the first time. “I happen to be one, so perhaps a demonstration is in order? Your Majesty with your leave?”

“By all means, Professor McGonagall,” Edward answered.

Walking several paces away from everyone else, Minerva said, “Many of you are familiar with the fact that I’m a registered Animagus and are thus aware of my tabby cat form.” Minerva transformed briefly into it, before turning back to her human form and saying, “But it’s far from the only form I can take. Observe.”

Moments later, Minerva’s whole body appeared to alight with flames, as her body shifted into that of a phoenix who circled the room, singing the phoenix song, before landing on the lord’s table as she nodded her head at Merlin—as this had been prearranged between them—who raised his hand and pointing directly at Minerva, incanted to the great shock of everyone in the room, “ _Avada Kedavra!_ ”

As the curse hit Minerva square in the chest, she burst into flames and a shower of ashes fell to the table below her. Moments later, the head of a newborn baby phoenix chick popped up through the ashes, aging rapidly back to a full-grown phoenix before turning back into the human Minerva, at which point she said, “While in the form of a magical creature, a Shape Mage gains full access to all of the magical abilities of that creature, including as you’ve just seen the ability to regenerate from death while in the form of a phoenix. But, if you need further demonstration…”

At this Minerva threw her arms up, as she began to grow taller and wider as horns grew from her head and she grew wings and a tail, before suddenly everyone in the room was shocked to see a full-size Hungarian Horntail standing where Minerva had been moments earlier. As the dragon reared its head, Merlin stepped forward and summoning his staff, incanted, “ _Praesidium Tholus Maxima!_ ” The shimmering field of a maximized Arcane Shield, also known as the Dome of Protection, surrounded Merlin and the other occupants of the room as Minerva let loose a burst of flames from her mouth, proving that not only could she take the form of a dragon, but also make use of its ability to breathe fire.

While everyone could feel the heat from the dragon’s breath, it didn’t burn anyone as Merlin’s shield held it back, as it hit the shield and spread out over it, leaving those standing under it unharmed. After a moment longer, Minerva stopped breathing fire and turned back into her normal self, as she asked, “I trust that’s enough demonstration to show you all that a Shape Mage is not to be underestimated?” There were several nods around the room, as Minerva added, “The forms I’ve just taken are only a handful of the forms I can take and there’s several that I can’t, but I have no way of knowing what forms other than a phoenix that Grindelwald is capable of taking.”

“Indeed,” Arthur said. “For all we know, he’s capable of taking the form of a basilisk, which would mean that you’d all be unable to look him directly in the eye as you’d be instantly dead and would also need to avoid his reflection in order to avoid being petrified.”

“Another terrifying possibility,” Harry added, “but one that we can’t rule out, is that he might even be able to turn himself into a chimaera and any of you who has studied magical creatures will know that chimaeras are universally recognized as the most dangerous magical creature in existence, taking no less than a hundred fully trained witches and wizards working together to take down. A sufficient number of mages might be able to take it down with fewer numbers, but there are no recorded instances of a smaller group of mages doing it, so there’s no way of knowing how many mages it would take.”

“In life, Arthur, Morgana, Dakota and I did take one down between the four of us,” Merlin revealed. “Although we were all Archmagi, and Morgana and I were both masters of all eight mage specializations. Even with those advantages we were all injured badly enough in the fight that all of our wounds and injuries didn’t fully heal until nearly three months later, the first two weeks of such we all spent laid up in bed under nearly constant sedation and a strong course of various pain reducing potions. Since Morgana and Dakota are not here, and Arthur and I are not capable of leaving the focus sites, we can’t help against a chimaera and since nobody since we died has ever managed to reach the level of Archmagi, it would take way more than four mages to take down a chimaera, even if it is a Shape Mage using that form.”

“Isn’t there a spell to force a Shape Mage out of the form they’ve assumed?” Bartemius asked. “I know there is a spell that does that for Animagi.”

Minerva nodded. “Yes, Lord Crouch, there is a mage-level spell for that. But the problem with that spell is that depending on the form the Shape Mage takes, hitting them with it can be very complicated. Dragon scales, basilisk hide, and chimaera skin are all highly resistant to magic and thus your spell would have to hit them in very specific places, such as the inside of their mouth, which would take quite a bit of aiming skill but also a whole lot of luck.”

“Speaking of basilisk hide,” Harry said with a grin, “I will be providing every member of the teams that are entering the castle with a full set of basilisk hide armor. It will be on loan from the Potter estate and will need to be returned after the operation, but it should help in keeping all of you alive and unharmed, since basilisk hide is actually completely resistant to magic, unlike dragon scales and chimaera skin which are only highly resistant.”

“Where did you get that much basilisk hide, Granston?” Garrick asked with a note of awe in his voice.

Harry grinned. “From Salazar Slytherin’s thousand-year-old basilisk that I killed in his Chamber of Secrets in my second year.” Pausing for a moment his grin falling from his face, he added, “You know now that I think about it, it’s entirely possible that I owe Grindelwald a Life Debt.”

“How?” Edward asked.

“Fawkes, or who I thought was Fawkes,” Harry answered. “He appeared in the Chamber and attacked the basilisk’s eyes, blinding it and taking away its death glare. However, it could still have killed me, if I hadn’t managed to stab it in the roof of its mouth with Godric Gryffindor’s sword – taking a fang to my forearm in the process. Fawkes cried on the wound and healed it however and now we know that was actually Grindelwald, which means he saved my life.”

Before anyone else could say a word, there was a flash of fire as Fawkes appeared in the room and landed on Harry’s shoulder, nuzzling his head against Harry’s. Watching the interaction, Edward had a thought and asked, “Fawkes, are you trying to say that it wasn’t Grindelwald in the Chamber of Secrets?”

The phoenix stopped nuzzling Harry at this, turned to look directly at Edward, and then bobbed its head up and down.

“You’re sure that wasn’t Grindelwald?” Erik asked, prompting Fawkes to move his head up and down again.

“So that means that Harry doesn’t owe Grindelwald a life debt?” Sirius asked the bird, who now moved his head again, only this time from side to side.

“Oh thank Merlin!” Harry exclaimed, before looking over at Merlin and saying, “Sorry, Merlin, I know you have issues with that exclamation, but…”

Merlin grinned and shook his head. “That’s okay, Harry, in this case I can totally understand.”

After a few moments of silence, Neville turned to Nikaten and asked, “So, has your mind changed now about the necessity of more than just your team being involved in the operation?”

Nikaten was silent for a moment, before he nodded his head and said, “Yes, after that demonstration I have little choice. I trust in my team’s stealth abilities, but none of us are mages—the highest among us is an Apprentice Sorcerer—so I realize now that it would be suicide if we tried to face off against Grindelwald and Dumbledore by ourselves.”

Neville nodded. “Very well then. Now, Grangemore, I believe you asked how many of your own troops you’ll need to bring.”

“Indeed, I did,” Caractacus confirmed.

“I discussed this at length with General Tarik,” Neville said, “and we agreed that a team of five from each of your forces, led by your captains, would be best. Nikaten’s team is six people, after all, so that way all the teams are equal. Additionally adding a mage to each group brings the total up to seven, although, some of you might have eight, I guess, for those of you that decide to accompany your men. I do believe though that the group of lords entering the main gate as previously discussed should consist of Whitehaven, Waringsford, and Coleford.”

“Why those three specifically?” Amos asked.

Neville had been expecting this question. “Whitehaven because he’s Lord High Secretary of the Privy Council and one of the highest nobles in the land. It’s almost a guarantee that the guards won’t question him. Waringsford because as Madam Bones’ nephew, not to mention being the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Auror Training and Certification, it’s pretty much assumed that he’s above reproach. As for Coleford, well, I think we can all agree that his silver tongue is legendary and he has several well-placed connections, including with the Minister, so between the three of them, they should be able to keep the guards distracted enough for Asterion and Edward to slip past.”

Amos nodded and said, “All right that makes sense. What about mages, however? We were discussing the idea of having a mage on every team, but where are we going to get all these mages from exactly?”

“I’ve just revealed to you that I’m a Shape Mage,” Minerva answered. “However, I’ve also been a Mage Arts Trainer for the last 35 years, who along with three colleagues have successfully trained over 70 mages, including Regulus Black, who in turn trained his son Asterion. With King Edward’s permission, I contacted a number of my former students and asked them if they’d be able to help me with an important task on very short notice, although I didn’t share any details beyond that. I only told the ones who said they could assist me to stand by for further instructions.”

“And did enough of them say that they could assist you?” Caractacus asked. He didn’t voice the fact that he now felt better than he previously had about Minerva McGonagall becoming Interim Headmistress. While he hadn’t taken it upon himself to nominate anyone else when given the chance, he had thought her to be a rather weak candidate for the position if only because Dumbledore had chosen her as his Deputy and the board at the time had allowed it without complaint, because they had trusted Dumbledore implicitly.

Minerva nodded. “Yes, between myself, my three associates, and our past students, we have enough mages for every team to have a mage, plus a few additional mages who can set up a field hospital in a safe location to treat any injuries.”

“Speaking of the field hospital,” Neville said, “every member of every team will be equipped with an amulet, charmed my Merlin and Arthur themselves using the focus site that will act as an emergency portkey if they need to make a quick exit due to sustaining life-threatening injuries. The amulets are strong enough that not even Castle Camelot’s Anti-Portkey wards can prevent them from operating as intended.”

“We will need a location for the field hospital,” Merlin said, “so that Arthur and I know where we’re sending people when we charm the amulets, which as an added precaution will be password activated, but will also be tied to the magical signature of the person wearing it, thus making it impossible for an enemy to overhear the password and steal an amulet from somebody on our side and use it to try and attack our field hospital.”

“Is there any reason why we can’t setup the field hospital right here?” Seti asked. “I assume this location has some of the most powerful wards in existence thanks to the focus site. And there’s the added benefit that if we set it up here, you and Arthur can manifest here and help if necessary.”

Arthur stroked his chin for a moment, before nodding. “Yes, that might be best. Although perhaps we could use one of the side chambers, instead of the main courtroom where we are now. Merlin and I can go anywhere in this complex, so we could certainly assist and while most mages can only learn a maximum of three mage specializations, assuming they’re at least a Magus, Merlin is a master of all eight specializations, which makes him very versatile in all types of magic, from healing and defense to offense.”

“So you’re a Shape Mage as well then?” Bartemius asked.

“Yes, I am,” Merlin answered. “And no, Seti, there is no reason why we can’t setup the field hospital here. I agree with Arthur’s reasoning on the matter and think that one of the side chambers would work out well.”

“Well, now that that’s settled,” Harry began, “Lords, please take a moment to discuss with your captains which members of your forces are best suited for this type of mission and then use the pedestal to summon them here so that Merlin and Arthur can get their magical signatures and charm their amulets. I’ve already discussed the matter with Rolf, so Merlin and Arthur already have my forces’ signatures. Minerva, I’ll need to know the names of your past students so that I can summon them here.”

With a nod, Minerva reached into a pocket of her robe and pulled out a list of names, which she handed to Harry, who scanning it, recognized some of the names and there was several who surprised him quite a bit. Of course there was one name that he immediately noticed was not on the list and that was Rose Ramsley, although shortly after noticing this Harry noticed the name of another Hogwarts professor, which made him grin.

Pointing to the name on the list, Harry asked, “Is this Rose?”

Minerva nodded. “Yes, Harry, it is. It’s regrettable that this situation will require revealing her identity, but I asked Merlin’s portrait last night if Rose could be summoned to the chamber via her pseudonym and wearing her Glamours. The answer was no, as she would need to be summoned by her actual name, at which point Merlin added that the Tribunal’s summoning magic acts much like Gringotts’ Thief’s Downfall, in that it would strip away Glamours present on anyone summoned. So, this will reveal to four of her students and everyone here who she is, but she’s undecided at this time if she’ll reveal it to the other students.”

“Well, that’s up to her, I guess,” Harry said. “Although, I’m not sure if Edward, Ramesses, Nick, and I, not to mention Dominick, will be able to keep it a secret from the others for long, as they’re all bright enough that they may catch on to the fact that we know who she is. Don’t know if the Tribunal’s Sealing Oath would extend to preventing us from telling them or not.”

“It wouldn’t,” Arthur said, as he overheard the comment. “The Sealing Oath only seals information about the trials heard by the Tribunal and any state secrets revealed to people in the chamber and the true identity of Rose Ramsley is not a state secret and I honestly see no reason to make it such, although I suppose if he truly wanted to, Edward could proclaim it to be.”

“I doubt that Rose would want him to,” Minerva said.

Harry, meanwhile, walked over to the pedestal, pulled out his wand and tapped it once. He wouldn’t be summoning Regulus and Asterion, as they’d already provided their magical signatures to Merlin and Arthur, and were already aware of what their roles in the operation would be. Besides that Asterion had an appointment to meet with Ernie Macmillan today to assist in his mind healing that Harry did not want to interrupt. “Rolanda Hooch, Pomona Sprout, Septima Vector, Cailan Urquhart, Aedan Callahan, Kalyan Patil, Aidan Lynch, Andromeda Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks, Emmeline Vance, Thomas Nott, Tristan Nott, Lavinia McLaggen, and Rosmerta Macmillan, I summon thee!”

As the summoned individuals regained their balance following their transit to the chamber, Harry addressed them, “Welcome to the Chambers of the Tribunal of the Thirteen. You’ve been summoned here to assist Minerva and her mage training associates, Rolanda, Pomona, and Septima in carrying out a top secret task of great national importance for His Majesty King Edward. I’ll let them fill you in on the details.”

“If you’ll please follow me?” Minerva asked, as her fellow trainers and their former students moved away from the pedestal to discuss the situation, as Harry walked over to Edward and Ramesses to chat with them, as one by one the other Lords of the Thirteen began summoning their own forces.

-o-0-o-

At 9 a.m. on Monday morning, everyone involved in the operation met at the Tribunal Chambers and were outfitted with complete sets of basilisk hide armor on loan to them from the House of Potter. After a quick run through of the plan to make sure everyone knew what they were supposed to do, Arthur showed Cailan and Septima to the side chamber that they thought would work best for the field hospital. Merlin, meanwhile, stayed behind to use the focus site to get each team to the locations they needed to be in, since for some of them it involved Apparating to a location they’d never been before.

Since Lucius’s Earldom of Coleford was the closest to the Province of Camelot, Garrick, Erik, Lucius, Asterion, and Edward went there, appearing at a predetermined location right on the border between the two domains and as near as possible to King’s Landing and Castle Camelot. Overnight, Lucius had his coachman move his family carriage to the location, since it would be needed for the three lords to get to Castle Camelot from their current location, as the edge of Camelot’s wards was too far away from the castle for them to walk up the castle and maintain their noble dignity.

Thus it wasn’t long before the Malfoy coach was crossing the border into the Province of Camelot and as its four black stallions galloped at top speed to the edge of King’s Landing. The carriage slowed slightly upon entering the city, but continued traveling quite fast, the horses’ hooves echoing on the cobblestone streets, as everyone on said streets, pedestrian or otherwise, quickly moved out of the way as they were required to do whenever they saw any of the carriages bearing a royal or noble crest. It was only when the carriage reached the main gates of Castle Camelot that it came to a stop as the coachman called down to the guard from his seat, “Open the gates for His Lordship the Earl of Coleford and his guests and fellow lords, His Excellence the Marquis of Waringsford and His Grace the Duke of Whitehaven!”

The guards had been surprised when they saw the Malfoy coach approaching the gates and were even more surprised when they learned that not only was it carrying Lord Malfoy, but was also carrying Lord Bones and Lord Ollivander, especially since none of them were previously scheduled to come to the castle that day and the King wasn’t holding court. However, standing procedure was to allow Lords of the Thirteen into the castle regardless, as long as the monarch was in residence, as it was entirely possible for them to have pressing matters to discuss with him that didn’t allow for an appointment to be made in advance.

After a quick magical check to make sure that the three occupants of the carriage were indeed who the coachman said they were—Merlin gave Asterion a spell to use on himself and Edward that when combined with Asterion’s Shadow Mage abilities would mask their presence in the carriage from even the most invasive of magical scans—one of the guards cast the Sonorus Charm on himself and turned towards the castle, as he called out, “Lower the bridge and open the gates!”

“You may proceed,” the guard said once the drawbridge had been fully lowered over the moat. As the carriage began to cross the bridge, the clanking of the iron portcullis being raised could be heard, with it being fully raised by the time the carriage reached it. While the city of King’s Landing had grown up outside of the walls of Castle Camelot in the centuries since Arthur and Merlin’s days, there was also a smaller city inside the walls of Castle Camelot, referred to as the Upper and Lower Cities. Passing through the portcullis and into the lower city, the Malfoy coachman drove the elaborate coach through the streets towards the sloped road that led up into the upper city where each of the thirteen noble families had a flat along with what was at one time called the Citadel, which was now just referred to as Camelot.

Stopping outside of the main castle, the coachman jumped down from his seat on top of the coach and opened the door of the carriage that faced the castle, at which point Lucius climbed out of the carriage first, followed by Garrick. While they were disembarking from the carriage, unseen by the guards, Asterion and Edward, magically hidden from view, exited the carriage from the opposite side. Erik disembarked from that side as well, so that if anyone had seen the carriage door not facing the castle open, they wouldn’t wonder why it had opened if nobody was getting out through it.

As Erik walked around to the other side of the carriage, Asterion and Edward followed behind him, both of them careful to keep their arms wrapped tightly around each other’s waists since it was only through physical contact with Edward that Asterion could extend his Shadow Mage abilities to affect both himself and Edward. The King wasn’t about to complain, however, about the chance to hold onto a very handsome young man and to have that same young man holding onto him. The fact that Asterion was straight and thus nothing would ever happen between them did very little to dampen Edward’s enjoyment of the situation.

While Lucius, Garrick, and Erik distracted the guards, Asterion and Edward made their way up the stairs to the large front doors of the castle, happy that the doors had already been opened due to the lord’s arrival, as it allowed them to enter immediately without being seen or waiting for the three lords to join them in entering the castle. Moving swiftly through the entrance hall over to the side door that led to the hallway that the main guardroom was located in, Asterion and Edward entered the hall and then ducked into a darkened alcove before Asterion dropped his shadowy cloak that had allowed the two of them to hide in plain sight.

“With respect, Your Majesty, you can let go of me now,” Asterion whispered, despite the fact that he’d left up the Silencing Ward that was erected around them to prevent anyone from hearing their footsteps.

Edward sighed. “If I must. You’re very handsome, Rion.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Asterion said. “You do know I’m straight, however.”

Edward nodded. “Technically, yes, you are straight, although at a three you’re actually borderline bisexual, which is why you were able to find pleasure from those guys you experimented with.”

“True, but I hardly think now is the time to discuss that.”

“Indeed,” Edward said, as he let go of Asterion and stepped far enough away from him that they were no longer physically touching each other. “Re-cloak yourself in shadow and then we can proceed into the guard room.”

Asterion nodded as he faded from sight. Edward shook his head, amazed at the ability, and thought that he might have to consider the path of a Shadow Mage himself when it came time to choose his own specializations because as the King he knew that there would be frequent demands on his time, so the ability to hide in plain sight when he wanted some time alone would be useful.

Walking across the hall, with Asterion following close behind, Edward placed his hand on the handle of the guardroom door and pulled it open, not bothering to knock first because it was the guardroom and he was the King, so he didn’t have to knock. Seeing who was entering the room, the shocked guards stood at attention, their backs even more ramrod straight than they’d previously been. The Captain of the Camelot Guard, seeing the King standing in the guardroom through the open door into his office immediately stood up and hurried over, bowing to him, as he said, “Your Majesty, what an unexpected pleasure. What can I do for you?”

Taking out his wand from the holster concealed up his right sleeve, Edward held it over his heart and said, “I swear that I am Edward Pendragon, rightful King of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor of the Empire of Camelot. On my honor and my magic, so mote it be.” He quickly followed this up with casting, “ _Lumos!_ ” as the tip of his wand lit and proved that he was indeed who he said he was.

Unseen by anyone in the room, just before Edward had given his oath, Asterion used his staff to erect a few mage-level security charms, including a version of the Silencing Ward that Merlin created for his personal use and never shared publicly. The hope was that it would prevent anyone outside the room—such as Dumbledore and Grindelwald—from overhearing what was happening in the guardroom. When the oath was given, the Captain of the Guard obviously looked very confused, not understanding why the King would feel the need to make such an oath. He remained silent, however, waiting for Edward to explain. He didn’t need to wait long.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I did that,” Edward said and the Captain nodded. “The reason is because as hard as this is going to be for you to believe, I haven’t set foot in this castle since the 11th of November, 1981. The person you’ve seen since that time is an imposter.”

“An imposter, Your Majesty?” the Captain asked. “I don’t understand, how?”

“It’s a long story,” Edward answered, as he looked around the room and said, “And everything I’m about to say is a state secret, so if any of you reveal it to anyone without my express consent know that you could very likely find yourselves facing charges of high treason. Clear?”

The Captain and the other guards in the room all nodded their heads to indicate that they understood, before Edward launched into a brief explanation of the events that led up to an imposter being present in the castle. Needless to say the Captain and the guards were shocked by what they were hearing, but knew that it must be the truth because the person saying it had proven he was the King and they saw no reason to doubt him.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, the team headed by Philippe Beauchamp, the Captain of the Guard at Malfoy Manor, arrived at the spot they were designated to appear at. Accompanying Philippe and the five guards under his command was Thomas Nott, who volunteered to accompany the Malfoy guards because despite living in Albion, many of them still spoke French as their first language. All of them were capable of speaking English, but it wasn’t as good as their French and even then they all retained French accents which sometimes made their English harder to understand. Thomas, was, however, fluent in French and thus could speak to them more easily and know that they understood what he was saying.

“ _Eh bien, nous sommes ici. Maintenant quoi?_ ” (“Well, here we are. Now what?”) Philippe asked. 

“ _Maintenant, nous attendons le signal,_ ” (“Now we wait for the signal,”) Thomas responded, as he leaned slightly on his oaken staff, which resembled two king cobras, their bodies entwined to form the shaft of the staff. At the bottom end of the shaft, the ends of the two cobra’s tails were wrapped around the hilt of a silver dagger, while at the top end, their heads were turned to face each other, with an impressive deep green emerald held in their open mouths. 

Philippe nodded as he and his guards kept their eyes on the castle. Thanks to the power of the focus sites, Merlin was able to send them through Camelot’s wards undetected and thus Thomas and the Malfoy contingent had appeared in a small grove of trees about thirty yards from the castle, where they’d be entering through the Northwestern Gate. The signal they were waiting for was a change of the guards posted on the gate, with their replacements delayed by five minutes, allowing them the time they needed to slip into the castle unchallenged. Of course getting that signal depended entirely on whether or not Edward was successful in gaining the cooperation of the Captain of the Camelot Guard, as he was the only one with the authority to change the guards and delay their replacements.

It took a few minutes, but soon Thomas spied a runner exiting the castle and handing a piece of parchment to one of the guards. As he’d used a mage-level spell that greatly increased his visual acuity, he had no trouble in reading the text.

_Guard rotation, effective immediately. Report to the Southwestern Gate. Your replacements are coming from the Southeastern Gate and won’t be there immediately. You are ordered to report to your new post immediately after each of the guards present has read this, at which point you should burn these orders. --- Granville Barker, Captain of the Guard_

On the next line, under the Captain’s missive, an additional sentence appeared, written in a different hand, which Thomas assumed was there to reassure the guards that they didn’t need to raise the alarm, as they surely found it odd that they’d be ordered away from their posts before their replacements arrived.

_There’s no cause for concern. All is well, as long as you do as you’re told. --- EIXRI_

The guard who first read the missive handed it the next closest guard, who read it, before handing it off to the next. Once all six guards on duty at the gate had read it, there was a visible flash of fire as the missive was lit on fire with a spell that Thomas recognized as being one that wouldn’t even leave any ashes behind. Holding up his hand to signal the Malfoy guards to wait, Thomas watched as the guards left their posts and headed into the castle. Waiting one minute, to allow the retreating guards to get far enough away from the gate that Thomas and his group would hopefully not be seen entering the castle, he then nodded and said, “ _Le temps d'aller. Nous avons quatre minutes,_ ” (“Time to go. We have four minutes,”) even as he set off towards the castle, with the Malfoy contingent following closely behind him.

Moving quickly the group got from the grove of trees they’d been in to the gate in just under a minute. They were slowed slightly by Thomas casting a mage-level charm to ensure that the wards were down and wouldn’t sound the alarm if they went through the gate. Seeing that they were, they quickly made their way through the gate and down the corridor beyond, moving into a darkened alcove behind a suit of armor as they heard armored footsteps approaching from a nearby corridor. Not long after the last of them was safely hidden in shadow, the replacement guards from the Southeastern Gate arrived in the corridor and made their way towards the gate, thankfully not noticing the group hiding in the alcove.

Soundlessly casting a Silencing Ward, Thomas then whispered, “ _Il est temps pour la disillusion,_ ” (“It's time for disillusionment,”) which prompted each of the Malfoy guards and Thomas himself to pull out their wands and cast the Disillusionment Charm on themselves. Once they were all hidden they stepped out of the alcove and began moving towards the stairs that would take them up to the private apartments of the King, as it was figured that since Gellert wasn’t holding court today, that would be the most likely place for him to be found. The Malfoy teams’ orders were to approach the apartments from the north—while three of the other teams approached from the other directions—and establish a perimeter.

Arriving on the correct floor, Thomas, Philippe, and the Malfoy guards moved towards the guardroom that guarded the northern end of the floor. If everything was going according to plan, then Captain Barker and Edward were going to send a message up to the Camelot guards stationed in the room to let them know to expect Thomas, Philippe, and the Malfoy guards. So far, everything was going perfectly to plan, but Thomas had this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that their luck was about to run out and it would seem that he was right because no sooner did they enter the guardroom and drop their Disillusionment Charms, where they confronted by “Brian” Dumbledore.

“Welcome, I’ve been expecting you,” Dumbledore said with a smile.

“ _Oh merde,_ ” (“Oh shit,”) Philippe mumbled under his breath, as he, like everyone else, had been briefed on the fact that the royal seneschal, Brian Dumbledore, wasn’t actually a real person and was in fact none other than Albus Dumbledore.

“Now, now, there’s no need for expletives,” Dumbledore said with a smile, his eyes twinkling in that way that many people had come to associate with the much older version of Dumbledore that they were used to. “I’m sorry to say that I was here when the missive arrived from Captain Barker and Edward, so I’m sure you can imagine my temporary confusion over why Edward would send such a message here when he’d asked me to come here and talk to the guards. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that my ruse has been found out.”

“What are you going to do?” Thomas asked.

“Do?” Dumbledore asked. “I assume you mean to you and your companions?” Thomas nodded. “At the moment, nothing.”

Before anyone could say anything, Dumbledore pulled out his wand—which Thomas and several of the Malfoy guards quickly realized was not the wand they were used to seeing Dumbledore use and was thus presumably not the Elder Wand—and placed it on his throat. “ _Sonorus,_ ” Dumbledore said, before adding in a voice that was easily loud enough to be heard throughout the castle, “Attention anyone attempting to covertly infiltrate the castle, one of your teams has been caught. Please report to the Throne Room in a timely manner. Thank you. Oh and don’t bother trying to Apparate through the wards again—I don’t know how you did in the first place, but that’s not important now—or using a portkey, because you’ll find both methods of escape to be quite useless now.”

Cancelling the Sonorus Charm on himself, Dumbledore then motioned with his wand, at Thomas, Philippe, and the Malfoy guards and said, “I suggest you move and head for the throne room. And Thomas, I realize that you’re a mage, but you’re only an Archmage, which I shouldn’t need to tell you is not much of a match for me, since I’m an Archmagister. So, I would strongly suggest that you don’t put up a fight because then I’ll be forced to hurt you, which I would rather not do just now if I can avoid it.”

-o-0-o-

Twenty minutes later in the Throne Room, Albus stood on the raised platform next to the King’s throne, as all of the infiltration groups stared up at him, unsure what was about to happen. They had all tried to use their portkeys but found that they didn’t work and they had no way of contacting Merlin and asking him to use the focus sites to pull them out.

“Well, well, how nice to see you again, Edward,” Albus said to the King. “I see you’ve escaped Nurmengard. I don’t know how, but I’ll assume that the meddling Lord Potter had something to do with it.”

“You’re not going to get away with this, Albus,” Edward said.

“Ah, but he already has,” a new voice said, as the faux-Edward walked out of a nearby room and took his seat on the throne, before his Glamours melted away to reveal a young Gellert Grindelwald. “It’s a shame that I must now give up this lovely throne, as I’ve greatly enjoyed the power that goes with it, but I guess all good things must come to an end eventually.”

“Does that mean you’re turning yourselves in to face the justice you both so richly deserve?” Harry asked.

Gellert laughed. “Turn ourselves in? Oh please, Lord Potter, you can’t possibly be that dumb.”

“You’re outnumbered, Grindelwald,” Seti said. “Just turn yourselves in and make it easier for yourselves.”

“Ah, Pharaoh Seti Ptolemy,” Albus said. “The so-called living god of Egypt. Too bad you don’t actually possess any divine blood contrary to what your sycophantic subjects like to believe. If you actually did, Gellert and I might possibly be scared now, but we’re not.”

“You dare question the Pharaoh’s divinity?” Nikaten asked, clearly angry, as a he sent a spell flying towards Albus.

Raising the Elder Wand, Gellert erected a shield in front of him and Albus, and several people in the room—those who were well-versed in other languages—noted that he spoke the incantation in Ancient Greek. As Nikaten’s spell hit the shield and fizzled out harmlessly, Gellert said, “Go ahead all of you, even the mages, throw everything you’ve got at my shield, because you won’t break it. The power of the Elder Wand ensures that.”

Taking that as a challenge, Minerva, Pomona, and all the other mages summoned their staffs and threw some of the most powerful spells they had in their arsenals at the shield, which didn’t even buckle under the strain. Spying their dumbfounded looks, Albus laughed and said, “Old Gregorovitch was right in his belief that the core of the Elder Wand is Thanatos hair, instead of thestral hair. You can’t break the shield because speaking the incantation in Ancient Greek—the language of the Greek gods—allows us to harness the power of Thanatos himself and thus all of your arcane spells are useless against a shield of divine creation.”

“Which by the way, in case you were wondering, that’s also how we blocked those lovely portkey amulets you’re all wearing, a good precaution, but in this case quite useless.” Allowing that to sink in for a moment, Gellert stood and added, “At any rate, I grow tired of this. You can have your throne back, for now, Edward Pendragon, but know that Albus and I will be back at some point in the future and that you don’t stand a chance of defeating us.”

Throwing up his arms, Gellert’s body was consumed in fire, as he transformed into a phoenix, the talons of which Albus grabbed onto, before they both disappeared from the room in a flash of flames. The shield in front of the throne disappeared moments later, but nobody commented on it, as they tried to contemplate just what they were going to do now.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, Chapter Fifteen of The Journey Begins. I know some of you may be upset that Albus and Gellert escaped, but that was always the plan, because if they were captured, the story would pretty much be over now. Yes, there’s Voldemort to contend with and he will be entering the story at some point, but that’s a tale for another day and another chapter.
> 
> Also, I’m aware of the fact that Gregorovitch’s given name was been revealed to be ‘Mykew’, however, since I had previously referred to him in this story as ‘Wilhelm’ before that revelation, I opted to continue to call him ‘Wilhelm’ for continuity sake.
> 
> I would also like to take this moment to reveal for those of you who did not already see the results of the poll for King Edward’s love interests, that the winners ‘3 singles and 1 paired couple’, composed of Blaise Zabini, Cailan Urquhart, Cassius Warrington, and Thomas and Tristan Nott. That won’t be the only multi-character pairing, however, as I will say that future plans for this story do involve the Harry/Cedric pairing being joined by two original characters—who’ve already appeared in the story—that will play a vital role to the plot of the story in both this book and the two planned to follow it. Beyond that, my lips are sealed.
> 
> I’d be interested to know if any of you can figure out who the two OC’s that’ll make up a foursome with Harry/Cedric are. As I said above, they’ve already appeared in the story, but in what capacity and when, I shall refrain from saying. Also, did anyone guess that the fourth trainer was in fact Arithmancy professor Septima Vector? I know many of you continued to think that she was Poppy Pomfrey, even after she was eliminated as a possibility in Chapter Eight, just after coming to Kolin’s rescue following his suicide attempt. Which is partially the reason for Poppy’s appearance in this chapter, as I rather hoped that seeing her in the same room with “Rose” would quash that particular belief once and for all. Of course, I suppose her true identity later being revealed would have done that as well. Thoughts on whether that particular secret should be shared with the mage students who weren’t present in the Tribunal Chamber?
> 
> Questions, comments, suggestions? Please feel my free to contact me via review, email, my Yahoo Group, or on Twitter @JVascardi. I love hearing from my readers.


	22. Chapter 16, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC: Noah, OMC: Edward/OMC: Ramesses, OMC: Nick/OMC: Dominick
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric/OMC/OMC, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Twincest, Threesome, Foursome, Moresome, Harem

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Sixteen  
Part One

-o-0-o-

After the departure of Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, everyone remained silent for a few minutes as they contemplated everything they’d just learned. The idea of those two being able to harness the power of a god—and one of the oldest gods at that seeing as how Thanatos pre-existed the Titans—was more terrifying than any of them could put into words. They had thought the power that Edward’s throne gave them was terrifying, but it paled quite drastically in comparison to them having the divine power of a god at their disposal.

As the silence stretched into a few minutes, Edward finally said, “I know everyone is worried about what we just learned, as am I, but standing here worrying about what might happen in the future isn’t going to do any good. Now more than ever we must rally together and find a way to do what Albus and Gellert think we can’t do. Remember, Gellert has been beaten before, so he can be again.”

“That’s true, Your Majesty,” Garrick said. “Although I would point out that it was Albus who defeated Gellert the first time. For more than forty years nobody was able to defeat him and you know as well as I do that many people died trying. I fear how many the coming war will cost us, especially if it should drag on as long as the last one with Gellert did. Even if it were to go on as long as the war with You-Know-Who—which was shorter by comparison—it would still be very costly in both lives and other resources.”

“I realize that, Garrick, and I will mourn for every life lost,” Edward said. “But, no matter how daunting or scary the thought of going up against Albus and Gellert together while they harness the power of a god is, we must do it, because the alternative is something I’d really rather not contemplate.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” Arcturus said, “what exactly is the alternative that you’re so intent on preventing? If I recall correctly, Gellert Grindelwald believed in wizarding superiority and wanted to put muggles in their rightful place as the inferior _beasts_ that they are. If that is the goal that Albus and Gellert now have in mind, I see nothing wrong with it.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that,” Edward said, as he fixed Arcturus with the most severe look he could muster. “For your sake I strongly suggest that you never utter such things in my presence again, because if you do, I will not hesitate to lock you in the deepest, darkest dungeon of Camelot and forget all about you after I strip your family of all of their money. I realize that the ancient agreements in the letters patent of the Thirteen Houses state that I cannot strip your family of their title and lands, but it doesn’t say that I can’t permanently redirect all profits from those lands to the royal coffers. So don’t test me, Arcturus, because you will not enjoy the result, of that I can assure you.”

“Well said, Edward,” Seti said. “Now, unless I’m very much mistaken, Castle Camelot is yours again and I think Albion is long overdue to have its rightful monarch on the throne. So, I suggest we get your coronation underway immediately.”

“Indeed,” Edward said, as he motioned Captain Barker forward, but ignored him for a moment as he asked Seti, “Are you staying for the coronation?”

“We’re allies and you’re marrying my son,” Seti answered. With a grin, he added, “So I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Very well,” Edward said. “Captain, please have someone escort the Pharaoh to the best guest quarters in the castle and send word to the High Priest of Zeus that his presence is required at Castle Camelot immediately.”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

“The rest of you,” Edward said, as he looked at his assembled nobles, “I suggest you all retire to your apartments in the Upper City to freshen up and change clothes. We will reconvene here in one hour for the coronation.”

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, Abigail Cuffe, having just finished doing some shopping in the nearby Carkitt Market and having sent her purchases home with the family house-elf, walked down Diagon Alley with a purposeful stride, enjoying the nice weather, as she headed for the flat of her elder brothers, Jonas and Lukas. She paused for a moment outside the offices of _“the Daily Prophet”_ and couldn’t help but shudder as she looked up at one of the places that had been the source of so much pain and suffering for not just Jonas and Lukas, but also Aaron, Kaleb, Ernie, and countless others. She doubted that she’d ever be able to set foot inside the building again, let alone Barnabas’s former office, now that she knew all about the despicable acts that had been perpetrated there.

Of course, it had been for that very reason that within a matter of hours of Barnabas being sentenced, her mother, Agatha Cuffe, had contacted a real estate agent and bought a new house because she couldn’t bear to live in the house that she’d shared with her ex-husband for so many years. Truth be told, Agatha had been sorely tempted to burn the house to the ground and probably would have, if it wasn’t for the fact it was in a densely populated section of Denerim—the capital city of the Marquisate of Grangemore—and she was too afraid that the fire would spread to other homes and leave innocent families homeless.

With a sigh, Abigail continued on her way until she reached the building owned by seamstress Madam Malkin, which housed her shop on the ground level, but also had several flats on the upper floors, with the flat occupied by Madam Malkin herself taking up the entire topmost floor of the seven-story building. Walking past the entrance to Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, Abigail entered the door which led to the upper floors, where Jonas and Lukas rented a two-bedroom flat on the third floor. Climbing the stairs, Abigail headed over to the door of flat Number 302 and knocked.

It took a few minutes, but after a minute the door was opened by Lukas, who smiled when he saw his younger sister, “Hey, Abs. What brings you here?”

Abigail raised an eyebrow and asked, “How about you invite me in and I’ll tell you?”

“Oh, yeah, of course, come on in,” Lukas said as he stood aside to allow his sister into the flat.

Entering the flat, Abigail took a moment to look around. It wasn’t the first time that she’d been at her brothers’ flat, but there had been some changes since the last time she’d been there which was before Barnabas had been tried and convicted by the Tribunal. When she’d last been there, the décor had been very dark, perhaps reflecting the mood that Jonas and Lukas had been in when they originally bought and decorated the flat. Abigail had thought their design choices had been depressing, but at the time she didn’t know about the abuse they’d been suffering. Now that she knew, the darker design choices made more sense, but she was glad to see that they’d started brightening up their décor now that their nightmare had finally ended.

“I love what you’ve done with the place,” Abigail said. “It looks a lot cheerier than it did when I was last here.”

“Thanks,” Lukas said, as he closed the door. “Jon and I have been feeling a lot better lately.”

“I’m glad,” Abigail said. “When I think about what that monster did to you and Jon, I swear if he wasn’t already rotting in the dungeons of Sutton Grange awaiting execution, I’d kill him myself.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Abs,” Lukas said as he came over and hugged his sister. “But I’m glad the Tribunal sentenced him, because it makes everything nice and legal. If you’d killed him yourself then you’d be in a dungeon somewhere and I know Jon would agree with me when I say that neither of us would want that.”

“Speaking of Jon, where is your other half?”

Lukas smiled. “At Hogwarts, actually.” At Abigail’s questioning look, Lukas grinned, as he added, “Lord Black convinced Madam Pomfrey to let Jon retake the final exams for her Medical Magic class. I’m not sure how he did it, because the Tribunal’s Sealing Oath wouldn’t have allowed him to divulge the details of the trial so he couldn’t tell her the real reason why I took Jon’s place for the exam, but I guess the important thing is he did it and if all goes well, Jon will finally be joining me at St. Mungo’s.”

Abigail smiled brightly at this. “I’m so happy to hear that he’ll be getting away from the Daily Prophet.”

Lukas nodded. “Yeah, the new acting editor asked him to stay on as her executive assistant and he agreed, but only until she could find and train a replacement. The work environment has improved exponentially since Lord Potter brought in Sarah Blanchett, but there’s just too many bad memories there for both of us for Jon to consider staying on long term.”

Abigail nodded. “Yes and I know you both always wanted to be healers.”

“Yeah, we did,” Lukas agreed, as he motioned towards the couch and said, “Anyway, have a seat, Abs. Can I get you something to drink?”

As she sat down, Abigail said, “Iced tea, if you have it.”

“Lemon or raspberry?”

“You have to ask? Raspberry, of course.”

Lukas grinned. “Yeah, I should have known that, anyway coming right up,” as he ducked into the kitchen and came back a moment later with two glasses of iced tea, one in a blue glass and the other in a red glass. Handing the red glass to his sister, Lukas took a seat across from her and took a sip from the blue glass, which held lemon iced tea. “So, why are you here, Abs? I’m always happy to see you, of course, but I wasn’t expecting you to come by today since you usually Floo-call before coming over.”

“I was doing some shopping and it was such a nice day that I figured I’d walk over here and say hello to you and Jon while I was here.”

“Okay,” Lukas said with a grin as he asked, “And?”

“What do you mean and?”

“I know you too well, Abs. There’s another reason.”

Abigail shook her head. “Fine. I thought you’d like to know that Ernie’s mind healing is going well. Asterion says that he’s pleased with the progress he’s making and that with the help of Horace Slughorn, he’s been able to counteract the most serious of the side effects to the point that Ernie isn’t having any more difficulty learning or retaining information.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Lukas said. “When I think about everything that Jon and I were forced to do with him and to him…”

“My suggestion is that you don’t think about it,” Abigail said. “I know that’s probably easier said than done, but dwelling on those horrific memories isn’t going to help anyone.”

“I know,” Lukas said. “Jon and I don’t think about them often now. The abuse has stopped and the monster is in prison, so we’re perfectly content to leave those memories in the past. They do come up occasionally though no matter how hard we try to forget.”

“I can ask Asterion to help you, if you want,” Abigail offered. “He’s done such a good job with Ernie that I’m sure he could probably help you and Jon.”

Lukas smiled. “Thanks for the offer, Abs, and I promise we’ll think about it.” Taking a sip of his tea, Lukas shook his head and said, “Anyway, let’s talk about more pleasant things.”

“Well, Asterion and I have gotten rather close,” Abigail said with a smile. “In fact, he asked me out and we’ve gone on a few dates.”

“Really? Well, I’m happy for you, Abs. Asterion is certainly not hard on the eyes, is he?”

Abigail grinned. “No, he definitely isn’t. You know maybe we should double date one of these days.”

Lukas’s grin fell slightly as he said, “Abs, I think you know that wouldn’t work too well.”

“Why not?”

“Because Jon and I are twins?” Lukas asked. “We can’t really go on dates in public like you and Asterion can, because there’s plenty of people who’d have a problem with the less than brotherly nature of Jon’s and my relationship.”

“I never said we had to go out in public, Luke,” Abigail said. “Rion has introduced me to the world of Muggle entertainment and they have these things called movies which are quite fun.”

“I know what a movie is, Abs,” Lukas said. “A couple of my friends from work are muggleborns.”

“Well, there you go then,” Abigail said. “We could stay in and have a movie night. I’ll cook dinner for the four of us. It’ll be fun.”

“And you don’t think that Asterion will have an issue with the fact that your elder brothers, who happen to be identical twins, are romantically involved with each other?” Lukas asked, in an obviously skeptical tone.

Shaking her head, Abigail said, “No, I really don’t think that he will. I haven’t told him that you two are together, but obviously he knows that you’ve had sex. True, he thinks it was all forced, but I think I can safely guarantee that he won’t have any issues with the two of you finding happiness with each other.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe that.”

“Trust me, Luke. Rion won’t have any issues with it.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Well, first off, because he’s a Black and thus incest isn’t really a thing in his mind,” Abigail said. “After all, he’s actually his own cousin thanks to some of his ancestors’ incestuous relationships. Not to mention the fact that he has experimented with men himself, including his father.”

Lukas’s eyes widened as he asked, “Wait, his father? How the heck did that happen?”

“Well, we got to talking about some of our more embarrassing moments,” Abigail said. “And that was one of Rion’s. He was mixing a potion in the lab at the island compound where he grew up and he made a mistake. The resulting potions accident left both him and his father so horny that they couldn’t safely Apparate off the island to say go to Magical Amsterdam’s Red Light District. They were also beyond handjobs being effective, so being the only people on the island they had little choice but to turn to each other. They agreed not to talk about it afterwards, but Rion admitted that despite being a 2 on the Kinsey Scale, and thus straight, he still has the occasional wet dream about that incident.”

Lukas was silent for several moments, before he said, “Wow, well, I guess he wouldn’t have an issue with Jon and me.”

“As I said, no, he wouldn’t,” Abigail said. “I think he’d think, like I do, that you and Jon have had so much pain and suffering in your lives, that you both deserve to be happy and if being together makes the two of you happy, then you should be together.”

Lukas smiled. “Jon does make me very happy. I know our relationship isn’t exactly conventional, but I do love him. I suppose some people would probably call us narcissists, since being identical, it’s like we’re dating ourselves, but we don’t think of it that way.” After a moment of silence, Lukas added, “I do sometimes wonder though if Jon and I ever would have crossed that line if it wasn’t for us being forced to have sex with each other by Barnabas.”

“I’ve seen you two together, Luke,” Abigail said. “I think it’d be obvious even to a blind person that you two are meant for each other. So I think even if the abuse had never happened—and I really wish it hadn’t—you and Jon would still have fallen in love and gotten together. It might have taken a little bit longer, but I still think it would have happened eventually. You two are just too good together, not to mention being so cute that it should be illegal.”

“Some would say that it is.”

“You know what I meant, Luke.”

Lukas laughed. “Yeah, Abs, I know what you meant.”

-o-0-o-

Nearly one hour later, His Most Serene Holiness Cardinal Blackmore, the Lord High Priest of Zeus for the Holy See of Albion and Iwernia, stood to the left of the throne in the throne room of Castle Camelot, while Lord Garrick Ollivander stood to the right. Sitting in a place of honor in the front most row—wearing his complete imperial regalia as the Pharaoh and Living God of the Magical Dominions of Upper and Lower Egypt—was Seti Ptolemy, all seven of his wives, and Princes Khufu, Khafre, Ramesses, Djoser, and Neferkamin. Behind the Egyptian royals, seated in order of their ennoblements and dressed in their finest were the Lords of the Thirteen Houses and their families, although there were a few notable people who were currently absent from the room.

As the clock began to toll the hour, the great doors opened, as the Royal Guards marched into the room in two rows and took up their places on either side of the main aisle of the room. Drawing their swords, they held them high forming an archway. Seconds later, a drumroll followed by the royal fanfare played as King Edward solemnly walked into the room. He was wearing the traditional state uniform of the Pendragon monarchs—nearly identical to what Grindelwald had worn at the World Cup, only without Excalibur sheathed at his side. Additionally, a red velvet ermine trimmed cloak with a long train was added to Edward’s ensemble, with Lords Potter and Longbottom, James and Duncan McLaggen, Theodore Nott, Susan Bones and Draco Malfoy carrying the train as the pages of honor.

It wasn’t exactly normal for Lords of the Thirteen Houses to act as pages during the ceremony, but it was a tradition dating back to the time of King Arthur that the monarch’s train would be carried by seven pages of honor, between the ages of nine and fourteen who were also children of the nobility. Draco, James, Duncan, Theodore, and Susan all fit those criteria, but it left them short two pages. There was some talk of maybe bending the rules and allowing Cormac, who was fifteen, to act as a page, but then Harry and Neville volunteered to assist the other five, since despite being lords, they were still children of the nobility and in the traditional age range.

As Edward stepped up onto the dais at the front of the room that held the throne—three steps higher than he was currently standing—he turned as the pages arranged his train so that it laid flat. Cardinal Blackmore stepped forward and asked, “Edward Pendragon, in the eyes of the gods and these witnesses, I ask you if it is your wish to take the oath of the crown?”

“Yes, it is my wish.”

“Very well then,” as he raised his wand and cast a spell which made a large object float over from the other side of the room, which was currently covered by a royal purple silk cover. Moments after it touched down in front of Edward, however, the cover was removed to reveal a large stone of white marble, with a black iron anvil on top of it, in which Excalibur was buried to the hilt. “As it has been since the first, whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone and anvil is rightwise king, born of all Albion and Iwernia.”

Taking a deep breath and trying not to allow any nervousness show on his face, Edward gripped the hilt of the ancient sword that had been passed down the male line of his family for over a thousand years. In the back of his mind he knew that he had no reason to be nervous, because there had never been an instance in which a Pendragon had been unable to pull the sword during their coronation ceremony and seeing as how he was the last living Pendragon he knew there shouldn’t be any issues now.

He couldn’t help but be a little nervous, however, knowing that Albus and Gellert had created a fake Excalibur that was used in the faux-coronation that had been broadcast over the Wizarding Wireless all those years ago. This was the real sword, which had until only days ago been locked up tight in the Pendragon vault and had been under the constant guard of a goblin honor-guard since it was removed, but Edward still couldn’t help his nerves as he worried that he might be the first in his family to be unable to pull the sword out of the stone, which would be supremely embarrassing with the Egyptian royals and his nobles and their families all watching.

His nervousness was all for naught, however, as he gripped the hilt and pulled upwards, the sword easily slid out of the stone and anvil. Once the tip of the gleaming silver and gold sword—which had been forged by a dwarven master blacksmith in the breath of one of the last of the now extinct High English Gold dragons—cleared the anvil, Edward held the sword high over his head where the tip was caught in a ray of sunlight and sparkled brightly. After a moment, Edward lowered his arm and sheathed the sword, as he got down on one knee.

Cardinal Blackmore asked, “Edward Pendragon, will you solemnly promise and swear upon your magic, your honor, and your very life to govern the populace—be they muggle, magical, being, beast, or spirit—of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, the Realms of French Camelot, Canada, New Albion, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Ceylon and all of the other Territories of the Empire of Camelot according to their respective laws and customs, barring any changes that you as their noble and gracious absolute monarch choose in your discretion to make?”

“I, Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, do solemnly promise and swear so to do. On my magic, my honor, and my very life, so mote it be.”

“Edward Pendragon, will you solemnly promise and swear upon your magic, your honor, and your very life to use your power to cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all of your judgements?”

“I, Edward, Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, do solemnly promise and swear so to do. On my magic, my honor, and my very life, so mote it be.”

“Edward Pendragon, will you solemnly promise and swear upon your magic, your honor, and your very life to uphold to the utmost of your power the Laws of the Gods and protect the rights of the populace—be they muggle, magical, being, beast, or spirit—to worship as they please, whichever pantheon or faith they choose to adhere to, assuming that the practice of said faith does not cause any mortal harm to any of your subjects?”

“I, Edward, Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, do solemnly promise and swear so to do. On my magic, my honor, and my very life, so mote it be.”

Moving over to a nearby pedestal on which the truly spectacular Crown of the Golden Dragon rested on a pillow of royal purple velvet, Cardinal Blackmore, his hands now covered in white silk gloves, picked up the crown and held it over Edward’s head as he said, “Then by the power vested in me by the Almighty Zeus, King of the Olympian Gods, I crown thee Edward the Ninth, Rex Imperator of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and Imperator of the dominions of the Empire of Camelot.” As the crown was lowered onto Edward’s head, everyone in the room shouted, “Long live the King!”

-o-0-o-

Following the coronation, Edward, now seated on the throne, asked Thomas and Tristan Nott to remain as the other nobles and their families began leaving. They both looked more than a little curious about why they’d been singled out, but they remained silent and waited until Edward addressed them.

“I’ve got some important questions to ask the two of you,” Edward said once it was just the three of them in the throne room. “First off, is it true that you’re marked Death Eaters?”

Thomas and Tristan shared a nervous look, before they nodded and Thomas said, “Yes, Your Majesty. Tristan and I are indeed marked.”

Edward nodded. “And was that the result of a willing choice? I’ve heard a rumor that it might not have been.”

“We didn’t choose it, no,” Tristan said. “I was 15 and Thom was 16 when our respective families forced us to take the Mark and everything that goes with it.”

“Which is what?” Edward asked.

“The Mark allowed the Dark Lord to see the power levels of the people he gave it to,” Thomas said. “He could also sometimes use it to draw power from our cores to cast more powerful magic, although he physically had to touch a Death Eater’s mark to do that.”

“Obviously he was quite happy when he found out that Thom and I are both mages,” Tristan said. “He used our marks more than some of the other Death Eaters in order to be able to draw more power.” Tristan sighed. “I’m afraid to say that he used power from our cores to commit some pretty horrible acts.”

“Well, if he was the one doing the casting,” Edward said, “then I would be of the belief that he’s to blame for the results and not you, since you weren’t willingly marked in the first place. May I ask how your families forced you to take the Mark?”

“My father threatened to torture and kill Tristan while I watched,” Thomas revealed. “He knew that we’d fallen in love with each other by that point, so he knew that he could get me to do pretty much anything with that threat and my father wasn’t one to make idle threats so I had little doubt that he’d actually do it.”

Edward cocked his head. He knew that Lord Malcolm Flint had become the Lord Flint in 1979 after his own father had died. “You actually thought that your non-noble father was willing to torture and kill the brother of his local lord?”

Thomas nodded. “At the time, yes, although I later learned that he’d slipped me a potion to make me more willing to believe anything he said. In retrospect, however, I know that’s one threat my father probably wouldn’t have carried out since he’d be killing a noble and the spare heir of the Flint family.”

“My nephew Marcus has a learning disability,” Tristan revealed. “Which is why he’s still at Hogwarts this year, even though he should have graduated two years ago, because the NEWT-level subjects have been proving to be very difficult for him. As a result of that, there have been rather loud whispers from the populace of the Flint lands that they’d prefer me to be the Flint heir instead of Marcus, out of fear that he’s too intellectually challenged to do the job well.”

“So, what you’re saying is it’s doubtful that your brother would react well to someone killing you.”

Tristan nodded. “Basically, yes. Malcolm and I are not extremely close, owing to the fact that he’s old enough to be my father. I think he’s also always held a bit of a grudge against me because my birth coupled with my late twin sister Isolde’s birth led to complications which killed our mother. Still, we are family and since Malcolm and his wife can’t have more children, I do believe that he’d be very upset if I were to die, if only because he wants me to be around in case Marcus can’t cope with the responsibilities of being Lord Flint. And my nephew and stepson Theodore isn’t a viable candidate to be the Flint heir because he is not a direct male line descendant, since his blood connection to the Flint family comes from his late mother.”

“Yes and the letters patent are clear on that point,” Edward said, as he remembered that they said that only the direct male line descendants of the original Lords of the Thirteen could inherit the titles. Males born to the female line were ineligible as they were considered to be their father’s child and thus not noble, unless their father was also a noble, but then they’d be in line for their father’s family’s title. They were still allowed to use the courtesy style of ‘The Honorable’ if their mother was a noble and their father wasn’t, but they could never inherit any of the actual titles belonging to their mother’s family.

“Indeed,” Tristan said. “Anyway, my brother didn’t threaten anyone to get me to take the Mark, he just ordered me to take it and obviously I had to at that point because the head of my family had given me a direct order.”

“Ah, I see” Edward stated, knowing that the only person who could overrule a direct order given by one of the Lords of the Thirteen Houses to a member of their house was Edward himself and obviously when Tristan was being ordered to take the Dark Mark, Edward was in no position to intervene. Being thirteen years ago, it was before Edward had been imprisoned and replaced, but he couldn’t intervene on matters he knew nothing about, since it was very rare for the Lords of the Thirteen Houses to discuss every order they gave to their family members with the King.

After a moment of silence, Edward shook his head and said, “Well, the fact that neither of you willingly took the Mark is a comfort to me, considering what I’m about to ask. If you’d willingly taken the Mark of the man who murdered my entire family then obviously I wouldn’t be asking this, but after discussing the matter with my privy counsellors, I’d like to appoint both of you to positions in the royal household—solicitor for you, Thomas, and royal seneschal for you, Tristan.”

Immediately following the King’s offer, Thomas and Tristan were both quiet as their eyes widened in surprise. They’d never considered the possibility of either of them getting such offers. In the back of his mind, Tristan knew that as a younger son of the nobility and the courtesy Baron Trelawynd—at least until his nephew Marcus had a son—that he was eligible for the position and that there weren’t many other options available, but he still had never considered the offer coming his way, not when he had the Dark Mark emblazoned on his arm.

Thomas, meanwhile, was thinking that even after having a child with the late Isolde Flint and later marrying Tristan after Lord Ollivander had legalized same-sex marriages he had never expected to be offered to become the King’s solicitor. Partly because of the Dark Mark, but also because he wasn’t nobility by birth, even though as Tristan’s husband, he was the Baron-Consort Trelawynd.

“I understand you probably weren’t expecting the offers,” Edward said. “However, both positions do need to be filled and I would very much appreciate it if you would agree to accept the positions.”

It was Tristan who spoke first. “I’ll file for a leave of absence from my job in the Department of Mysteries. I do enjoy my work as an Unspeakable, but if you need me to serve as your seneschal, Your Majesty, then of course I accept and promise to serve you to the best of my ability.”  
“Excellent,” Edward said with a smile. “And Thomas?”

“I don’t currently have any noble or overseas clients so there’s no potential for a conflict of interest,” Thomas answered. “As for my other clients, I think I should be able to hand over most of them to my law partner if you feel you’ll need my services full time, Your Majesty.”

Edward nodded. “I believe you will find yourself quite busy as I imagine there will be plenty of legal issues for you to deal with in the coming months what with my kidnapping, Gellert’s escape, and everything else. I haven’t decided yet who to ask to be the royal barrister, but if you have any suggestions on that, I’d be happy to hear them. And out of curiosity, who is your law partner?”

“I have two of them actually,” Thomas answered. “Andromeda Tonks and Sir Raymond Gamp. Andromeda is both a solicitor and a barrister so as law partners, we’ve worked together often and I think we work well together, so I believe that she would be a good candidate for your barrister, sir. Raymond is only a solicitor, but he’s also a fairly new partner and has been chomping at the bit for more responsibility in the firm, so I’m sure he’ll have no problems with taking on the majority of my current case load. And Andromeda’s as well, if you choose her.”

“I don’t wish for my appointments to overtax anyone too much,” Edward said, as he assumed that Raymond Gamp must be a member of the Gamp family that had been awarded the Royal Star of Camelot for him to possess the knightly title. “I’ve never met Raymond Gamp, so I’ll leave it up to your judgement on whether he could handle that much work.”

“He’s a very capable man, which is why Andromeda and I made him a full partner,” Thomas answered. “We also have a few others on staff who aren’t full partners, so I don’t believe that he’ll be overtaxed too much.” After a moment’s pause, he added, “So, I accept your offer, Your Majesty, and promise to advise you to the best of my ability. If you wish, I can also speak to Andromeda and see if she’d be willing to become your barrister.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Edward said, before he cocked his head and asked, “Wait, Andromeda Tonks? Isn’t she one of the mages that participated in the operation today?”

Thomas nodded. “Indeed she is. I’ve known for a number of years that she was a mage. We didn’t train together, but my former trainers also trained her. It was through our trainers that we met and decided to become law partners, which likely shocked a number of people due to the Nott family generally being considered to be a dark family, similar to the Blacks, of which Andromeda is one by birth, although she was disowned for marrying a muggleborn.”

“I thought the name sounded familiar,” Edward said. “I also have a feeling that the new Lord Black will reverse Andromeda’s disownment, as Sirius definitely doesn’t strike me as being the pureblood supremacist type. I admit that your family’s reputation did give me pause. Wasn’t it actually one of your ancestors who wrote the Pureblood Directory? And consequently left out several pureblooded families from the book? Including both the Potters and the Pendragons?”

Thomas cringed slightly. “Yes, Your Majesty, it was my grandfather Cantankerus Nott who wrote the book. He published it anonymously but it didn’t take long for his name to be leaked as the author. He died when I was ten, so I do remember him, but we never discussed his book. My father died a few years later and after that my mother told me why the Potters were left out of the book, but she never mentioned your family. Unfortunately, my mother died four years ago and thus I can’t ask her why the Pendragons were left out and while we were comfortably well off, we weren’t wealthy enough to have portraits done, so I can’t ask their portraits either, sadly.”

Edward nodded. “So, why were the Potters left out?”

Thomas looked a bit uncomfortable, as he answered, “It goes back to my great-grandparents, Joseph and Alexandria Nott. They we both lovers of Lord Potter’s great-granduncle, Sebastian Potter and it was in fact through Sebastian that they met and fell in love. They stayed on at Seacliff and continued to be Sebastian’s lovers even after they married each other and their son Cantankerus was not thrilled about that situation. Then, in 1924, Cantankerus who was twenty by then was in the process of writing his book when he found out that his mother was pregnant by Sebastian Potter. That was the final straw in Cantankerus’ mind and he severed all ties with his parents and didn’t include the Potters in his book because he felt they were blood-traitors due to their belief that muggleborns and muggles shouldn’t be treated with contempt.”

Edward blushed slightly, but said, “Well, I imagine then he had a similar reason for leaving out my family from the book. My great-grandfather Michael was on the throne at the time the book was published and I know that he refused the royal assent on several pieces of anti-muggle or anti-muggleborn Wizengamot legislation. So, Cantankerus probably viewed my family as blood traitors as well.”

-o-0-o-

Roughly two hours after the coronation, Edward sat in the throne-like chair at the large round table in the Hall of the Round Table at Castle Camelot, which was the very same round table used by King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Also at the table were Harry, Neville, and Garrick who as the Great Officers of State were all members of the Privy Council Joining them was Tristan Nott since he was now the royal seneschal and one of the members of the Privy Council who made up a quorum and thus attended every meeting of the body, unlike some of the other members who only attended meetings if what was being discussed affected them or the King felt that their specific expertise would be useful.

Due to the fact that they might be discussing several legal issues, Edward had also summoned Thomas to attend the meeting, as the Royal Solicitor was also a Privy Counsellor, but one who generally didn’t attend meetings unless summoned.

Since she was at the castle for the operation, it had also been a simple matter for Thomas to talk with Andromeda, after which she accepted the position of Royal Barrister and the seat on the Privy Council that went with it. She was not, however, present at this meeting because she’d opted to go to the office and start the process of transferring the majority of her and Thomas’s clients to Raymond and their junior partners.

The other people who traditionally had seats included the King’s spouse, who wasn’t present since Edward hadn’t actually married Ramesses yet, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, who was also obviously not present due to it being Albus until the Wizengamot selected a new one, and the Minister for Magic. Edward had considered summoning Fudge, but chose not to for this initial meeting, as for the time being he wanted to discuss everything that needed to be discussed without taking the time to bring the Minister, who didn’t know about the kidnapping or the switch, up to speed.

The Crown Prince and the Queen Mother were also traditionally members of the Counsel, but since Edward didn’t have a son and his mother was dead, obviously those seats were not occupied. The Royal Gringotts’ Account Manager was the final person to have a seat, but Ragnok was not present because he was a member of the Ruling Council of the Goblin Nation, who were having their monthly meeting that day and thus Ragnok could not attend, as him putting human business above goblin business would likely have had the rest of the Ruling Council discussing a declaration of war. And while Edward might have liked to have Ragnok’s opinion on the matters before the Council he didn’t want it badly enough to risk another goblin war.

Also present for the proceedings were Arthur and Merlin, whose portrait was the only one that had ever been allowed to hang in the Hall of the Round Table. This particular frame was also warded to the hilt with security charms to keep anyone other than Arthur and Merlin from being able to enter the frame, thus ensuring the continued secrecy of any and all state secrets that were discussed in the room. Of course, it was the explanation of those very security charms that had Harry speaking up after the meeting was called to order.

“Something has been bothering me for a few days now,” Harry began. “As we all know, Albus and Gellert successfully pulled off their ruse for a little over a decade, until suddenly they seemed to have slipped up and allowed Arthur and Merlin to overhear their conversation. Knowing now that there’s security charms for portraits and that the Elder Wand gives them the power to cast divine spells that no arcane magic can do anything against, I can’t help but think that Arthur and Merlin overhearing their conversation now is very convenient. Too convenient for me to think that it was a simple mistake.”

Stroking his chin, Garrick said, “Hmm, yes, I must admit it does seem very convenient that they’d make a mistake like that after so many years. On the one hand, I’d like to say that they simply got complacent and careless, but on the other, I don’t think we can afford to underestimate them and thus must consider every possibility no matter how cynical or overly cautious it may at first appear to be.”

“Indeed,” Thomas agreed. “Beyond the brief encounter today, I have no personal experience dealing with Grindelwald, as he was defeated twenty years before I was born, but I do have personal experience with another Dark Lord. Tristan will agree with me on this point, that we both learned in one of the most painful possible ways that it was a very bad idea to underestimate a Dark Lord.”

Tristan nodded. “Yes, You-Know-Who would frequently use the Cruciatus on his followers, especially the younger ones like Thomas and me who were the children or grandchildren of his original inner circle, as he held us all up to impossible standards and would punish even the slightest hint of weakness or failure. Of course, even if we’d done nothing wrong, he sometimes would still hit us with the Cruciatus because he enjoyed watching people squirm. I realize that You-Know-Who and Grindelwald are two different people, but they’re both Dark Lords and thus I would caution everyone against underestimating him, especially if he has divine power on his side.”

“Yes, being able to harness the power of Thanatos is troubling indeed,” Merlin stated. “Even the power of all four focus sites combined wouldn’t be able to do anything against divine magic, because at their cores the magic produced by the focus sites is still arcane magic and the divide between the arcane and the divine is not something that is easily crossed. One can do it if they possess the right magical artifacts, like the Elder Wand, but there’s very few other ways with which it can be done.”

“Do you know of any other ways it can be done?” Edward asked. “And I know the power scale goes up to thirty, so am I correct in assuming that beyond thirty is the barrier between the arcane and the divine?”

Arthur nodded. “Yes, beyond the thirtieth level of the scale is indeed the realm of the divine, which operates on a scale that goes all the way up to 100, although unlike the arcane scale, several numbers are skipped entirely. Immediately after the Magus range you have another range consisting of 5 levels as levels 31-35 comprises the Demigod range on the scale. A demigod, if you are not aware, is a mortal person—not necessarily a witch or wizard—who has one mortal parent and one divine parent. The inherent power of one’s divine parent determines what level one is in the Demigod range. Level 31 are the Lesser Demigods, who are the half-divine children of the Lesser Gods or Goddesses: Janus, Charon, Khione, Hermaphroditus, and Adrestia to name a few.”

“The Lesser Gods occupy level 70 on the power scale, with levels 36-69 being skipped completely,” Merlin added. “Level 32 are the children of the Minor Gods or Goddesses, who are at level 75 on the scale—again levels 71 to 74 are skipped—examples being Ariadne, Pan, Iris, Ganymede, and Anteros. Those on level 33 are the children of Gods and Goddesses, who rank level 80 on the scale and include Tyche, Hecate, Eros, Triton,” Merlin hesitated for a moment, before adding, “and Thanatos.”

“So Thanatos ranks level 80 on the power scale?” Neville asked, as both Merlin and Arthur nodded. “Well, damn, as if I wasn’t already scared enough at the idea of Albus and Gellert wielding divine power stemming from him. I’m only level 11 on the scale, so you’ll forgive me for saying this, but I’m honestly quaking in my boots.”

Edward nodded. “Trust me, Lord Longbottom, you’re not the only one. I’m level 27 on the scale, but that gives me very little comfort since arcane magic is useless against divine magic.” Turning back to Arthur and Merlin, he asked, “While we do now know where Thanatos ranks on the scale, I must admit that I’m curious what the other levels are, as I don’t recall this being covered in my studies.”

“I can’t say that I do either,” Tristan put in. “I remember we studied the power scale at Hogwarts, but there was never any mention of what lay beyond level 30.”

“Honestly I can’t say that I’m surprised on that,” Arthur said. “What would be the point of teaching it when it’s impossible to reach those levels? Well, perhaps not impossible, but very near it. I cannot recall ever hearing of a way in which to pierce the divide between arcane and divine, although Merlin and I focused mostly on the soulmate bond in our studies.” Looking thoughtful for a moment, he then added, “I think Morgana and Dakota were studying the divine scale, however, as now that I think about it, I do recall them mentioning writing a book on the subject. Unfortunately I don’t believe they finished it before they died, so I never saw a finished product and don’t know if what writing they did do even still exists.”

“To answer your question, Edward,” Merlin said, “level 34 is the Greater Demigod level, consisting of children of the level 85 Greater Gods and Goddesses: Dionysus, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, and Artemis being some examples. Thus, as I’m sure you can probably guess, level 35—the Supreme Demigod level—are children of the level 90 Supreme Gods and Goddesses such as Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, and Demeter. Beyond level 35 there are no more demigod levels as it's believed that the deities on the two levels above level 90 don’t engage in affairs with mortals to produce demigod offspring as they consider such base pleasures to be beneath their dignity. After level 90 the scale goes up to level 95, which is where the first-generation Titans fall on the scale, and then it skips up to level 100 which consists of the primordial or creator gods and goddesses.”

Arthur smiled, albeit weakly, “So, as you can see it is possible for beings on the lower level of the scale to beat beings on a higher level. As it already happened in antiquity when the Olympians overthrew the Titans. Of course, they had help from a few of the primordials whose help was probably the required catalyst that allowed the Titans to be beaten in the first place.”

In the moments of silence that followed, Harry remembered his concern about the possibility of Albus and Gellert placing spying charms at Seacliff, which is what prompted him to go to his estate in Brynmoor in order to travel to the Tribunal the last few times. “I just realized – is it even safe for us to be discussing this here in Castle Camelot? I know Edward is crowned now and thus has gained control of his share of the wards, but would that matter if Albus and Gellert used the Elder Wand to cast spying charms on the castle while they were here? They certainly would have had enough time to do so.”

“Spying charms wouldn’t work here,” Merlin said. “Even divine spying charms, because Castle Camelot has a secret weapon.”

“And what’s that?” Thomas asked.

Arthur smiled, brightly this time, as he said, “Edward, if you get down and crawl under the table in front of your chair, you’ll find a secret compartment in the central pedestal that holds up the table. Only the touch of a Pendragon can open the compartment.”

Edward hesitated for a moment, before he pushed his chair back a bit and then slid out of it onto his knees, before moving so that he could crawl under the table. Touching the central pedestal, he soon found the secret compartment and opened it. Taking the item he found within, he moved so that he was sitting in his chair again, at which point he set the object on the table for everyone else to see.  
“A gold and jeweled cup?” Tristan asked, as he looked at the item. “How is that a secret weapon?”

“That’s not just any cup, Tristan,” Merlin said, as he grinned from ear to ear. “It’s the Holy Grail.”

“The Holy Grail?” Harry asked, as Merlin and Arthur nodded. “That’s a real thing? I mean I know the Muggle versions of the Arthurian legends mentioned a quest to find the Holy Grail, but I never imagined that it was a real thing.” After a moment’s pause he added, “Of course when I first heard all the Arthurian legends in the Muggle world I didn’t even know that magic was real, so I don’t know why I’m surprised.”

“You didn’t know that magic was real?” Thomas asked, as both he and Thomas looked confused.

“It’s a long story,” Harry answered. “Suffice it to say that contrary to popular belief, I did not grow up in the lap of luxury at Seacliff. I lived in the Muggle world with my mother’s muggle sister and her family. I didn’t know even know I was a wizard until I got my Hogwarts letter when I was 11. And it wasn’t until August of this year that I knew I was nobility.”

“Well that does indeed go against everything I’d always heard,” Tristan said. “So, back to the grail? What is it exactly?”

“It’s a magical artifact,” Merlin said. “Blessed by Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth and Home, who along with her siblings is one of the Supreme Goddesses at level 90. The grail is tied into the wards of Castle Camelot, lending its power to the wards. So, the Elder Wand, while powerful, could not be used to overcome the grail or to cast spying charms in a location protected by the grail. The power of Thanatos himself is not enough to beat Hestia’s power. You’d probably need every god or goddess on Thanatos’ level to team up together to take down Hestia just by herself. Not that such a fight would ever occur, because Zeus and his siblings are very fond of Hestia, as she’s basically the glue that holds that family together through all of the numerous disagreements they’ve had over the millennia.”

“So does that mean that Albus and Gellert really were that good at keeping a secret?” Edward asked. “That they truly were able to keep their plans a secret for over a decade? As Lord Potter previously brought up, I’d assumed they must have cast some type of security charm on the portraits to prevent them from overhearing their conversations for a decade.”

“Well, perhaps I should clarify,” Merlin said. “The Holy Grail would prevent them from being able to cast any spying charms that would allow them to see or hear anything going on here in the castle from outside of the castle. It would not, however, see the standard array of security charms—even divinely cast ones—as a threat and thus it wouldn’t have blocked security spells cast on the portraits. So, it is possible that they were using those spells for a decade.

“In fact, I’d be inclined to believe that they were using divine security charms because some of the magic that I wove into Arthur’s and my portrait—which follows us into any frame we inhabit—was magic that would not allow us to be constrained in any way. That magic would allow us to go anywhere in the castle and bypass any security charm that was cast, thus we’d be privy to any conversations that we overheard, no matter what security charms were cast. However, my spells would not work against divinely cast security spells, so the fact that they were able to hide their plans from Arthur and me for a decade means that they either never talked about their plans in these walls—or the walls of any of the other royal residences—or that they used the Elder Wand to cast security charms.”

Garrick looked grave as he said, “Thus we have to face the very real possibility that them allowing themselves to be overheard when they did was part of their plan all along. If that’s true, then they probably knew that you’d tell someone and that Edward would be rescued. So, in the span between Edward’s rescue and the operation today, it’s entirely possible that they took steps to ensure that nobody will believe us if we were to tell them that Gellert had escaped from Nurmengard. In fact, with the double of Edward, made to look like Gellert, placed in his cell in an attempt to hide his escape from Albus and the real Gellert…”

Paling, Harry interrupted, “…we may have played right into their hands.”

Garrick nodded. “Indeed.”

“I’m afraid that’s entirely possible,” Arthur said. “The spell used to create doubles was created after Merlin and I died, but we’ve studied Minerva’s notes on the spell and I can say that while the caster of the spell would usually be able to banish the double without being in the same room, using the Elder Wand it would be possible to bypass the connection that would allow the caster to do that. Thus, they very well could have commandeered Edward’s double and made it impossible to banish, thus giving them a body at Nurmengard which will make it so that nobody will believe it if we say that Gellert is loose, because it’ll be easily disproven when his cell is opened and he’s still there.”

Neville paled slightly, as he said, “And nobody is going to risk giving him a wand so he can’t use a magical oath to prove who he is. Not to mention that the restraining collar dampens ones’ magical core so much that they also wouldn’t be able to do a magical signature test to see if his signature matches Grindelwald’s or Edward’s.”

Thomas shook his head. “And even if the oath or the signature test was possible, any test the authorities performed would be arcane-based. So if the Elder Wand was used to cast spells to obscure the results, it would never be detected.”

“Indeed,” Harry agreed. “Of course I imagine that a great number of things go undetected among the prisoners at Nurmengard. Did any of you know that the person they have running the prison infirmary is a muggle doctor?”

“A muggle doctor?” Tristan asked and Harry nodded. “In a wizarding prison?” Harry nodded again. “That’s ridiculous and a clear violation of the Statute of Secrecy.”

“Actually apparently it isn’t,” Harry revealed. “Amelia Bones did some checking before she filed a complaint with the ICW and it turns out that they signed off on the employment of one Dr. Svetlana Necheyev to run the prison infirmary. The prison warden’s name by the way is Vladimir Necheyev and the woman running the infirmary is his muggle wife, who was given an exemption to the Statute of Secrecy because she’s known about magic since she was four years old, as she has three siblings—two older and one younger—who were all muggleborns.”

Harry paused as he picked up a glass of water from the table in front of him and took a sip before adding, “So apparently some idiot bureaucrat at the ICW figured that just because a muggle doctor graduated with top marks and highest honors from one of the best muggle medical schools in the world and been has known about magic for the majority of her life, was qualified to run Nurmengard’s infirmary.”

Garrick shook his head, “That’s a complete and total fallacy of the notion if I’ve ever heard one, considering that actually having and being able to use magic is required to detect and treat any number of magical illnesses that wouldn’t even be mentioned in a muggle medical school.”

“Indeed,” Harry agreed. “Of course, Amelia also found evidence that Warden Necheyev or his family pulled some strings and called in some favors, since apparently the Necheyev family is as close to being nobility in Romania as you can get, without actually being nobility, which they aren’t. They are, however, rich and know how to grease the right palms to get pretty much anything they want.”

Edward groaned and rubbed his temples as he said, “Ah, blatant corruption at its finest.”

-o-0-o-

After the meeting of the Privy Council, Edward headed back to the throne room for another meeting that he really wasn’t looking forward to and that was a meeting with Viktor Krum, Bill Weasley, Marcus Flint, Draco Malfoy, and Callum McKinnon to release them from their bond. Merlin and Arthur agreed that Edward could do that because Grindelwald had not used the Elder Wand when he cast the spell and had identified himself as Edward Pendragon, not Gellert Grindelwald, which meant that the magic would have tied the suitor candidates to Edward, not Gellert.

Callum already knew what was going on, of course, but that did not make things any easier when Edward called them all before him to make the announcement. Needless to say they were all quite sick to their stomachs when they found out that the man they’d all slept with was actually Gellert Grindelwald. Marcus, being straight, was more than a little upset to find out that he’d bottomed for Gellert. In his mind, he could rationalize it as being okay when he thought it was King Edward, because it came with the possibility of being crowned as Edward’s consort. Gellert couldn’t offer that, however, and thus Marcus did not enjoy the concept.

Callum could totally understand where Marcus was coming from, since he was also straight, although it hadn’t been the chance of a crown that made it okay for him. He’d been raised to put duty to his king and country above everything and thus when the man he’d thought was Edward picked him as a suitor, Callum had felt it was his duty to his King to be a willing and compliant lover and potential husband, even if it did go against his natural preferences. So finding out that it wasn’t the King but a former Dark Lord in disguise, had definitely made him sick.

Bill was gay, so he hadn’t minded the prospect of sleeping with a man, although he generally preferred topping to bottoming, he understand that the King might have other ideas. He’d also been single for a number of years and it had been quite a while since he’d last got laid, so he wasn’t all that broken up about getting regular sex. Of course, finding out his lover was actually Gellert Grindelwald put a whole different spin on things, because coming from a light family, he found the idea of sleeping with an internationally feared Dark Lord to be one of the most repulsive situations he’d ever found himself in and as a Curse-Breaker he’d seen some pretty repulsive sights in the various tombs all over the world that he and his team had ventured into.

As for Draco, he too was rather sick to his stomach to think that it was Gellert that he’d been having sex with, although a part of him thought that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Before he’d been selected as a royal suitor, he’d thought he was straight and while he had occasionally noticed guys and thought they were fit, he hadn’t ever considered what that might mean. Having sex with who he’d thought was Edward had opened a few doors in his head and made it possible for him to accept the fact that he was bisexual and he had to admit that he’d quite enjoyed the sex. He was, however, upset about being duped because Malfoys don’t like being deceived.

The most extreme reaction by far, however, was that of Viktor Krum who almost immediately doubled over as his stomach lurched and he lost his lunch, retching all over the floor of the throne room. Some monarchs might be angry about someone throwing up all over the floor of their throne room, but Edward wasn’t the slightest bit angry. Honestly, he could understand why Viktor had gotten sick and once it was explained to the others, so could they, as none of them could imagine finding out that they’d had sex with the person who’d murdered their grandfather.

Calling one of Camelot’s house-elves, Edward asked it to fetch Viktor an anti-nausea potion and to clean up the mess once the potion kicked in, as it made little sense to clean it up beforehand, as more might get added to it otherwise. Once the potion had done its work, Edward cast the spell to release all of them from the courtship bond and said that while he realized it wouldn’t make up for the trauma they’d all suffered, he felt that he needed to compensate all of them somehow and thus had ordered Harry to grant all of them 10,000 Galleons each from the royal treasury. Of course, when this was all over, Edward hoped to be able to get that money back from Grindelwald’s own vaults, as he felt that spending just over a decade in Grindelwald’s cell at Nurmengard meant that Grindelwald owed him big time.

-o-0-o-

Later the next day, Minerva dealt with putting Harry’s double to sleep so that the real Harry could take his place. When it came time for dinner in the Great Hall, however, Harry told his friends to go on without him, as he’d be a little late. Hermione and Ron weren’t sure what was going on but agreed. Neville knew, but opted not to say anything for now, as he knew all would be revealed soon. Taking a shower, Harry then changed not into his school robes, but into a set of his finest dress robes. He also put his wand into the head of the cane that Robert had given him before the Opening Ball. Making his way down to the ground floor thus attired, several minutes after dinner had started, Harry exuded nobility.

Taking a deep breath, Harry stepped into the open doorway of the Great Hall and stood there for a moment. It wasn’t long before almost every face in the hall was on him as he walked into the room. Bypassing the Gryffindor table and the seat that Hermione and Ron had left empty for him, Harry made his way up to the head table and nodded to Minerva, who was seated in her usual place to the left of the Headmaster’s throne, which was currently empty. Picking up a spoon, Minerva tapped the side of her goblet to get everyone’s attention, although Harry’s attire and late appearance had already pretty much done that.

Moving to stand behind the podium, Harry removed his wand from his cane and pointed it at his throat, as he said, “ _Sonorus._ ” Pausing to put his wand back in his cane, he said, “Good evening, Hogwarts staff and students. I’m sure many of you are wondering about my attire and my late appearance, so allow me to clear it up for you. This evening I am not here as a Hogwarts student, but instead in both my capacity as a Governor of Hogwarts and as Lord High Chancellor of the Court of Pendragon. I have a few announcements to make to you this evening which pertain both to Hogwarts business and other issues which His Majesty King Edward personally bid me to share with you this evening.”

Murmurs went up through the hall at this, but Harry still had everyone’s attention, as he said, “First and foremost, I must announce a change in station of one of our fellow classmates. King Edward has recently decided to name the permanently incapacitated Lord Franklin Longbottom the Duke Emeritus of Aldersey, thus clearing the way for his son, Neville Longbottom, to assume the lordship. So, please everyone, join me in welcoming His Grace the Duke of Aldersey, the Marquis of Claverton, the Earl of Rosset, Lord of Lakeview Hall, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, Lord High Chamberlain to the Court of Pendragon, and Lord High Constable to the Court of Pendragon, Lord Neville Longbottom!”

Neville stood up at this as applause filled the room, much more so from the Gryffindor table, but there were people clapping at every table, including Slytherin, although the snakes were a bit more subdued and dignified about it. As Neville resumed his seat, Harry was thankful that he’d taken the time to rehearse his speech for this evening—not to mention taking both a Memory Potion and a Calming Draught—or else he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get through this as it was the first time he’d ever made a speech in front of such a large group of people.

Waiting for everyone to quiet down again, he continued. “Now, as I’m sure many of you have already noticed, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore is not with us tonight.” Several heads nodded to indicate that they had in fact noticed that. “The reason for that is because by a unanimous decision of the Board of Governors, Albus Dumbledore has been dismissed and is no longer the Headmaster of Hogwarts, effective immediately.”

Gasps could be heard throughout the room at this revelation, not only from the students, but also several staff members. “I’m sure that revelation comes as a great shock to many of you, but the Board felt that he was no longer a good candidate for the Headship of this institution, in light of another matter, which will also come as a shock to many of you. By order of His Imperial and Royal Majesty King Edward Pendragon, a warrant for the arrest of Albus Dumbledore has been issued on numerous charges including but not limited to High Treason.”

As expected this announcement caused a great uproar throughout the Great Hall, as several people at the Gryffindor table stood up and started shouting about how that couldn’t be true. These reactions weren’t just limited to the house of lions, however, as there were several Hufflepuffs and even a few Ravenclaws who were reacting the same way. At the Slytherin table, however, many of the students were celebrating the idea of Dumbledore finally getting what they thought he had coming for years. Harry’s attention, meanwhile, was drawn behind him to the head table by two loud thumps. Gulping slightly, Harry pulled his wand from his cane and sent a Calming Charm at Hagrid, who looked angry enough to break the table in two and as a half-giant he could probably do it as easily as one might snap a toothpick.

Once it looked like Hagrid was calm enough not to break anything, Harry turned to the rest of the Hall and thanks to the Sonorus Charm his voice thundered as he shouted, “SILENCE!” Everyone in the hall quickly stopped talking, as Harry continued in a quieter, yet still _Sonorused_ voice, “As I said, it would come as a great shock, however, I assure you that in my capacity as Lord High Chancellor and thus head of the Judiciary I have seen the evidence against Albus Dumbledore. I’m afraid that as is his Royal Prerogative, King Edward has sealed the evidence that relates to the High Treason charge and thus I am not able to share it with you beyond saying that there is no possibility of an error and that Albus Dumbledore, by his own admission, is as guilty as sin.”

Allowing everyone a few moments to digest that, Harry then said, “However, I did say that charges against Dumbledore were not limited to High Treason, and His Majesty has given me permission to tell you about some of the other charges against him. He’s also facing several counts of Fraud, stemming from the fact that he has consistently lied both in speeches he’s given to the public and in over a hundred notarized legal documents about his power level. He’s always claimed to be a Grand Sorcerer, but evidence has come to light that he signed many of those documents and allowed them to be notarized with information that he knew was false because he is in fact an Archmagister, which for those of you who’ve studied the power scale will now is several levels higher than a Grand Sorcerer.”

There were murmurs throughout the hall at this, some surprised and others questioning. The questions coming mostly from the younger years who hadn’t yet studied the power scale, asking the older students about it. After a moment, Harry continued. “We’ve also discovered evidence which also constitutes Fraud in that in addition to attending Hogwarts as a student between 1892 and 1899, that Dumbledore re-enrolled at Hogwarts as a student a further two times for a total of fourteen additional years. First from 1938 to 1945 and then again from 1981 to 1988. Of course, he didn’t use his real name the two times after his original enrollment and instead attended first as his non-existent daughter, Katerina Dumbledore, and then again as his equally non-existent grandson, Brian Dumbledore.”

Pomona gasped slightly, as she said, “I was Head Girl in 1946 the year after Slytherin Katerina Dumbledore held the position, along with a boy named Tom Riddle. They were romantically involved for nearly four years before they broke up midway through their seventh year. Nobody knew what happened but one day the two had been very happy together and then the next Tom wanted nothing to do with her and went out of his way to avoid her.”

Harry nodded. “It would be my guess that he found out that his girlfriend was actually a boy wearing Glamours.” There were several snickers throughout the hall at this and Harry even heard some people saying that this Tom must have been the thickest and must stupid person on the face of the Earth to have dated somebody for nearly four years and not figure out that she was a he. Harry looked grim as he said, “For those of you thinking that Tom Riddle was stupid, I assure you he was anything but, because if he was as stupid as you might be thinking he was, then it’s rather doubtful that he would have gone on to become one of the most feared wizards in modern history.” Several students looked curious at this, as Harry nodded and said, “Tom Riddle was the school-aged persona of the man who later became Lord Voldemort.”

After the gasps and sharp intakes of breath from all over the hall that Harry knew was because he’d said the name, he said, “Anyway, enough about Dumbledore, for now. Effective immediately and pending a final decision over the Winter Break, the Board of Governors has named Minerva McGonagall as Interim Headmistress of Hogwarts and Septima Vector as the Interim Deputy Headmistress.” Turning so he was facing the staff table, he added, “Every member of the teaching staff is allowed, if they so desire, to submit an application to the board for our consideration to be the next Head of Hogwarts. With your application please include a vision statement of where you would like to see Hogwarts go under your leadership and how you believe you might improve it. The Board will meet over the Winter Break to make our final decision, which will be announced at the feast on the first day back after the break.”

“Thank you for the trust you’ve placed in me, Lord Potter,” Minerva said, as she stood up. “As potentially temporary as it is.”

Septima voiced similar sentiments, as Harry nodded and looked at Minerva as he said, “The Board has decided to leave it up to your judgement who shall step in to temporarily fill your positions as Transfiguration professor and Head of Gryffindor House.”

Minerva nodded. “It’s short notice, but I have a candidate in mind who I believe would be perfect for my temporary replacement as Transfiguration professor, but until I speak with him, I’ll refrain from mentioning his name.”

Harry nodded, thinking he had a pretty good idea who Minerva meant. “And the post of Head of Gryffindor House?”

Minerva was silent for a moment, before she turned and asked, “Aurora, will you accept the position?”

Astronomy Professor Aurora Sinistra smiled. “I will.”

“Very well then,” Harry said, as he turned back to the students and said, “Now, the Triwizard Tournament delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving tomorrow at noon and His Majesty King Edward will be arriving tomorrow morning to personally greet the delegations from the other schools. He mentioned to me that he will likely wish to meet some of you as well.”

Minerva looked out over the student body and said, “In that event, I suggest all of you finish your dinner and then head for your houses to get some sleep. I’m sure I can speak for the rest of the staff and the Governors when I say that I hope all of you will be on your very best behavior tomorrow, not only to make good impressions on our foreign guests, but also upon our reigning monarch.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have Part One of Chapter Sixteen. I’m thinking that this is going to be a 3-part Chapter before it’s all over. In canon, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations didn’t arrive at Hogwarts until October 30th, one day before the Champions were selected. I decided to change that date for the story and have them arrive a few days earlier so that they could settle in for a few days before the Goblet of Fire is brought out for people to put their names in.
> 
> Also, I am fully aware of the fact that in the real world one cannot be both a solicitor and a barrister at the same time. However in the magical realm depicted in this story, you can be. For those of you who aren’t clear on the difference between the two, at least in this story, solicitors draw up legal documents and give legal advice, but they do not argue things in court. Barristers, in turn, are the ones who can represent a client in a courtroom, whether it’s the Wizengamot, Council of Magical Law, Tribunal of the Thirteen, or the Royal Court, but they do not draw up legal documents or give legal advice outside of a courtroom.
> 
> So, in the next part of this chapter, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students will be arriving and those of you who’ve read some of my other Harry Potter works, particularly my on hiatus story ‘Knights of the Founders’ may recognize a few of the original characters who I decided to cross over into this story as some of the classmates of Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour. Their appearances in this story will have no bearing on their appearances in ‘Knights’, however, as the two stories are set in completely different universes. There will also be a wedding in the next chapter and a certain prince will finally be getting rid of a very uncomfortable piece of hardware. For those of you that were hoping they’d appear again, you will also very likely see Princes Djoser and Neferkamin again.
> 
> Now with the announcement of the Interim Headmistress made, which of the current professors on staff at Hogwarts do you think should be the next Head of the School? Note that Severus Snape is not eligible, since in this story he’s no longer a professor. Also, if you could make any change at Hogwarts, what would it be? I’m open to suggestions that can be incorporated into the vision statements and plans for Head applicants, so if you have any ideas please feel free to share them.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers. Drop me a line either in a review, my email, on my Yahoo Group, or via Twitter @JVascardi.


	23. Chapter 16, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC: Noah, OMC: Edward/OMC: Ramesses, OMC: Nick/OMC: Dominick
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric/OMC/OMC, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Twincest, Threesome, Foursome, Moresome, Harem

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Sixteen  
Part Two

-o-0-o-

Early the next morning, Harry found himself having breakfast at the Gryffindor table for the first time since school had started. Since Edward wanted to personally greet the Triwizard delegates from the other schools, the trainers cancelled classes for the day and allowed all their mage students who were still students at Hogwarts to slip back into their places at school, with their doubles all sleeping peacefully in the secret room off of what was now Interim Transfiguration Professor Cailan Urquhart’s office, since Minerva had moved into the Headmaster’s office last night.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the day off, Oliver opted to go to the Puddlemere Stadium and attend team practice, while Gavin, who had always enjoyed reading, stayed at Forest Cottage to read a few muggle novels that Roger had suggested. Of course, Gavin wasn’t alone at Forest Cottage, as Nick and Dominick were also there with plans to spend some quality time together, which hopefully for Gavin’s sake, included the use of Silencing Charms.

In the Great Hall, however, it was eerily quiet as the owls delivering the Daily Prophet to those with subscriptions had arrived not long ago and thus people all over the hall were busy reading the front page article.

**_Daily Prophet, Morning Edition – 26 October 1994_**  
**_ROYAL WARRANT ISSUED FOR THE ARREST OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!_**  
**_Removed from his positions as Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot._**  
**_By Sarah Blanchett, Acting Editor-in-Chief_**

_Shocking many, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement today announced that they had received an order from Castle Camelot, signed by His Imperial and Royal Majesty King Edward himself, authorizing the issuing of a royal warrant for the arrest of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, 113. There are myriad charges including Fraud and Sedition, however, by far the most serious charge is that of High Treason._

_At press time, no further details were given on the exact nature of the reasons behind the charge of High Treason, although details were shared in regards to some of the others. The Fraud charges stem from the fact that Albus Dumbledore has apparently been lying about his true power level for years now—in both speech and numerous legal documents—because it is alleged that instead of being the Grand Sorcerer he’s always claimed to be, he is in fact an Archmagister, and as such, officials warned, should be considered to be armed and extremely dangerous. If you see him, you are asked to contact authorities, but under no circumstances approach him._

_Also, word has come from Hogwarts, that last night during dinner in the Great Hall, The Duke of Granston, Lord Harrison James Potter, 14, acting in his capacity as a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors made the announcement to a shocked student body that Professor Dumbledore was effective immediately fired from his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts and that the board would be accepting applications and vision statements from all current professors on staff at Hogwarts who wish to become the school’s next Headmaster or Headmistress, with a decision to be made during a Board of Governors meeting over Winter Break. In the meantime, Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall has been named Interim Headmistress of Hogwarts, with Arithmancy Professor Septima Vector being named Interim Deputy Headmistress._

_In a statement to the Daily Prophet, Lord Potter also announced that in his capacity as Lord High Chancellor to the Court of Pendragon, he was also ordering the immediate removal of Albus Dumbledore as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and said that he would strongly urge the International Confederation of Wizards to strip him of his authority as Supreme Mugwump, citing that nobody charged with High Treason against a member realm should be allowed to hold the office._

_In a further shocking and unexpected twist, a representative of Castle Camelot has announced that effective immediately Albus Dumbledore’s grandson, Brian Dumbledore, has been stripped of his Royal Star of Camelot and the position of Royal Seneschal. When asked for a reason, the representative stated that Brian Dumbledore doesn’t exist and alleged that he was in fact Albus Dumbledore in disguise, who had apparently attended Hogwarts a total of three times: once as Albus, once as his non-existent daughter Katerina, and then again as Brian. When asked for comment for this article, Albus Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, 110, stated, “I always knew Albus was lying about the existence of Katerina and Brian and I’ve stated as such numerous times, but nobody ever listened.”_

_Seemingly proving the possibility that Katerina and Brian don’t exist an extensive search of the birth records at the Ministry for Magic turned up no results for a Katerina or Brian Dumbledore. In addition, the representative from the castle released pictures of Albus’s and Aberforth’s late sister, Ariana Dumbledore, who died as a teenager in 1899, as well as a picture of Albus Dumbledore himself from his Hogwarts days. Surprisingly, Katerina and Brian are dead ringers for the late Ariana and Albus as a much younger man. The pictures are included here so that in the event you see Albus, “Katerina”, or “Brian” that you know to contact the authorities immediately._

“Rubbish,” Ron—who’d read the article over Hermione’s shoulder—said, as he swallowed a piece of toast. “Complete rubbish. Everyone knows that Dumbledore is a bloody hero.”

 _‘I’m not sure I’d go that far, Ron,’_ Hermione thought, although she had to admit that even with everything that Harry had told her in regards to Dumbledore leaving him at the Dursleys and forcing him to go back every summer despite knowing that they didn’t treat him properly, she still had a hard time believing that such a widely respected man as Albus Dumbledore could be guilty of something as serious as high treason.

“I agree Ron,” Dean said from his place a little further down the table. Taking a sip of pumpkin juice, he added, “And I still don’t get who this King Edward is or how he has any authority to be charging anyone with high treason. Queen Elizabeth is the monarch.”

“She’s only the queen in the muggle world, Dean,” Seamus said.

Harry nodded. “Yes and the truth is, King Edward actually outranks her, because he’s King of the magical parts of Britain, but is also the Emperor over both the muggle and magical sections. The Pendragon monarchs have, however pretty much left the muggles to their own devices since the Statute of Secrecy went into effect.”

“I highly doubt that Parliament would allow someone to name themselves emperor,” Dean said.

Neville shook his head. “Considering that the Pendragon claim to the title of emperor dates back to before Parliament even existed, they have zero say in the matter. And everything in the Prophet is completely true and not rubbish, Ron.”

“And how would you know that, Neville?” Ron asked.

“Because like Harry, I’m a Great Officer of State,” Neville answered. “So I’ve seen the evidence against Dumbledore and I assure you that it’s more damning than you could possibly imagine.” Seeing the look on Ron’s face, he added, “And no I will not tell you what the evidence is because the King himself ordered me not to.”

“How could you or Harry possibly be Great Officers of State, Neville?” Dean asked. “You’re only fourteen years old and you were certainly not elected.”

“Great Officer of State is an inherited position, Dean,” Harry answered. “At least in the wizarding world. In the muggle world they’re appointed, not elected. As for Neville and I being only 14, according to wizarding law, you’re legally an adult at 17, but anyone over the age of 13 is deemed old enough to inherit titles of nobility if their family has a claim to them, which both the Longbottoms and the Potters do, having been ennobled 1,200 years ago in the year 794.”

“Harry’s right,” Neville said. “The Potter family was given the position of Lord High Chancellor at the same time, while my family was given the position of Lord High Chamberlain, and the Ollivander family was given the position of Lord High Secretary of the Privy Council. All three families were also given the title of Lord High Constable, which rotates between us with the reign of each new monarch. Harry’s family held the title while King Edward’s grandfather was on the throne, but it moved to my family as soon as he died and King Edward became King.”

“If Longbottom is in charge of the armed forces we’re all doomed,” Ginny mumbled.

Hearing the comment, Harry turned to Ginny and pinned her with the most severe look he could muster as he said, “Ginny I suggest that you never utter such a comment in my hearing ever again or you might find yourself locked in a dungeon to think about proper manners.” Ginny’s eyes widened at this, but she said nothing, as Harry shook his head and said, “Ginny, you won’t be aware of this but Neville has already planned a complex military operation involving special forces from more than one country, and both King Edward and the other Lords of the Thirteen, including myself, were very impressed.”

This caused surprised looks, as Harry added, “Neville and I did not ask for the positions we hold. They were granted to our families 1,200 years ago in perpetuity until the end of time in magically binding contracts that were charmed by Merlin himself.”

“Merlin is a myth,” Dean said.

Neville smiled. “I’ll be sure to tell him that the next time I see him, Dean.”

Hermione’s eyes widened. “You’ve met Merlin?”

Neville nodded to Hermione, “His portrait, yes.” Turning to Dean, he said, “So having talked to him, I can assure you that he’s no more a myth than you or I are, Dean. And before you ask, neither is King Arthur, since he and Merlin share a portrait.” With a grin, he added, “I’m sure many of the girls at the table would agree with me that they’re quite hot, but unfortunately they only have eyes for each other.”

“I thought Arthur was in love with Guinevere,” Ginny said.

Harry nodded. “Yes, that’s what I’d thought as well, but I was wrong. Arthur said that while he considered Guinevere one of his best friends, they were never together, as Arthur only had eyes for Merlin and Guinevere was head over heels in love with Lancelot du Lac. Guinevere and Lancelot got married in 770, but they unfortunately weren’t together long as Guinevere died in childbirth giving Lancelot a son, who was named after him. Not long after that Merlin and Arthur had a pair of twin children, a boy and a girl. Arthur and Merlin named the girl Guinevere in honor of their late friend.”

“So why do all the stories say that Arthur and Guinevere were a couple?” Ginny asked.

“Arthur and Merlin named their daughter Guinevere’s twin brother Arthur,” Harry explained, “and that caused the two names to be mentioned together quite often in the histories. Plus, about two hundred years after Merlin and Arthur died, a book was written that became the basis of Arthurian legend, but the author of that book thought that a love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot was more dramatic, so he scrapped the fact that Arthur and Merlin were a couple. In fact, he’s actually the reason that Merlin is often depicted as a very old man when Arthur is young, because he wrote Merlin as such.”

Neville nodded. “Yes, I didn’t even know about that part myself until talking with Arthur’s and Merlin’s portrait.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment, before Harry shook his head and said, “Anyway, next time I see them I’ll ask if they’d like a copy of their portrait moved here. Other than the royal residences, their only other frame is at my family’s castle, so I don’t know, they might enjoy getting out and meeting people. They did mention being a bit bored after over a thousand years.”

Before anyone could say anything else, a drum roll sounded throughout the hall, as a pair of the royal guards—both equipped with ceremonial halberds—entered the room. Minerva quickly stood up and said, “Students and staff, please stand,” moments before the royal fanfare began playing and everyone throughout the hall stood up. Seconds later, Edward and Ramesses appeared in the doorway and as they crossed the threshold, one of the guards hit the end of his halberd on the floor and said, in an obviously _Sonorused_ voice, “Presenting His Imperial and Royal Majesty, the King-Emperor of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor of the Empire of Camelot, Edward Pendragon. Accompanied by his fiancé, His Imperial Highness Prince Ramesses Ptolemy of Egypt.”

There were a few murmurs throughout the hall as Edward and Ramesses made their way down the center aisle towards the Head Table. For those who had not attended the World Cup, which included many of the muggle-born, this was the first time many of them were ever even seeing Edward Pendragon. For those who had attended the World Cup and thus knew about Edward picking suitors, they were understandably confused about where Ramesses came from, as he was not mentioned as one of the King’s suitors before now.

Shortly after telling everyone to stand, Minerva turned into her tabby cat form and ran under the Head Table, before turning back into her human form so that she’d be in front of the table to greet the royal guests, instead of behind it. As the royal couple arrived at the steps leading up to the Head Table, Minerva curtseyed and said, “Welcome to Hogwarts, Your Majesty and Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Edward said with a smile to his trainer. “It’s a pleasure to finally get to see Hogwarts. I so wanted to come here as a child for school, but sadly the Captain of the Royal Guard used his ability to overrule me on all matters relating to my personal security to nix that idea.” With a grin, he added, “I’m told by my tutors that I wasn’t fun to deal with for a few months afterward.”

Minerva smiled. “Well, you are the King, so I imagine you were used to getting your way, Sire.”  
Edward nodded. “Indeed, I was. I like to think that I’ve matured since I was an eleven-year-old boy, however.”

“I’m sure you have, Sire,” Minerva said. “You are, after all, getting married to a very handsome prince.”

Ramesses blushed slightly, as Edward nodded and leaned over to kiss Ramesses on the cheek, before saying, “He is very handsome, isn’t he?” He didn’t say it aloud, but in his head, Edward was thinking, _‘I so can’t wait for the wedding night – though I imagine Ram is looking forward to it even more.’_

Pulling out her wand, Minerva waved it as she mumbled a spell under her breath which caused the entire dais that the Head Table occupied to get bigger, as a round table with two throne-like chairs, one slightly smaller than the other, appeared. “Have you and Ramesses eaten, sire? I’m sure the house-elves would be more than happy to fix breakfast for you. Afterwards I can take you on a tour of the castle before the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrive.”  
Speaking for the first time, Ramesses said with a grin, “No actually we haven’t. Edward wanted the full Hogwarts experience, including eating a meal in the Great Hall.”

Minerva smiled. “Well, if it’s the full Hogwarts experience you want, sire, perhaps I should summon the Sorting Hat and let it make you—and Ramesses if he wishes—honorary members of one of our four houses?”

Edward got an almost child-like gleam in his eyes at this offer, as he said, “I’d like that very much, Professor, thank you.”

Minerva nodded. “Prince Ramesses?”

Ramesses was quiet for a moment, before he nodded. “Sure, why not?”

“All right, then both of you stand just there and we’ll do a little impromptu Sorting Ceremony,” Minerva said. Once the two royals were standing where the unsorted first years usually stood while waiting to be sorted, Minerva waved her wand and said, “ _Accio Sorting Hat!_ ”

It took a few moments, since the Sorting Hat was upstairs on its usual shelf in the Headmistress’s office, but after a moment the hat flew into the room and into Minerva’s outstretched hand.

“You know I don’t like being summoned, Minerva,” the hat complained. “If hats were meant to fly through the air they’d have wings.”

“I’m sorry, but your services are needed,” McGonagall said. “His Majesty and his fiancé, Prince Ramesses of Egypt, want the full Hogwarts experience and would like to be honorarily sorted.”

“Very well then,” the hat said. “Honestly, I was a little miffed that I didn’t get to sort young Edward years ago, as I did countless generations of his family before him. And it’ll be interesting to sort a Ptolemy again, as it’s been over 700 years since I last did it. So, put me on my stool and I’ll see what I can do to give him and his fiancé the full experience.”

While Minerva was waiting for the Hat to arrive, Septima ducked into the antechamber and retrieved the stool used during the Sorting Ceremonies, which she now handed to Minerva who placed it in its usual place before setting the Sorting Hat upon it. After a few moments, it began to sing.

_Welcome dear students and royal guests,_  
You might not think I’m good-looking,  
But don’t let appearances fool you,  
I’m smarter than you may be thinking. 

_There’s nothing hidden in your head,_  
That the Sorting Hat can’t see,  
So go on and try me on so I can tell you  
In which of our houses you should be. 

At this the Sorting Hat finished singing and said, “Much shorter than I usually do, but then I usually have a whole year to contemplate each song and don’t have to come up with something on the fly.”

Minerva nodded. “Very well, then,” as she conjured a scroll and handed it to Septima, as she said, “Since you’re the Deputy now, I believe this is your job, Septima.”

Taking the scroll from Minerva, Septima nodded and said, “Indeed. I suppose it is,” before unrolling the very short scroll with only two names on it and picked up the Sorting Hat in her other hand. “When I call your name, please come up and sit on the stool.” Edward and Ramesses nodded, before Septima said, “Pendragon, Edward.”

Coming up and sitting down on the stool, Edward looked uncertainly at Septima and asked, “The crown won’t interfere will it?” Edward was wearing a jeweled gold circlet, although since it was only around his head and not covering it, Septima said, “No, it shouldn’t,” before she lowered the Sorting Hat onto the king’s head.

“Hmm, perhaps it would be best to remove the crown, Your Majesty,” the hat said aloud. “Its magic is causing interference that’s making it difficult for me to read you.”

Edward nodded, as Septima lifted the Sorting Hat off of Edward’s head far enough that he could reach up and remove the golden circlet from his head, which he held in his hands as Septima placed the hat back on his head. After a moment, the hat said, in Edward’s mind, _‘Ah, much better. As I said I was a bit miffed when I found out I wasn’t going to be sorting you, so I’m glad to finally be getting the chance. I’ve always enjoyed looking into the minds of Pendragons, because I do enjoy feeling that small kernel of Merlin’s magic—which I must say is stronger in you than it was in your father or grandfather, but then I assume that’s because of the Last of the Line protections.’_

 _‘You know about those?’_ Edward thought.

 _‘Yes, sire, I do know about them,’_ the hat confirmed. _‘I’ve read the minds of over a thousand years’ worth of Pendragons, Potters, Ollivanders, and Longbottoms and you’re certainly not the first one of the four to be affected by the Last of the Line clause. Besides I was there when Merlin created the spell, even though I was a hat by then. Most people these days believe that I was Godric Gryffindor’s hat, and I was for a time, but prior to that I was Merlin’s, who gave me to Godric Gryffindor as a gift when he finished his apprenticeship with Merlin.’_

 _‘What sort of magic actually allows a hat to talk and sing and think?’_ Edward asked, curious. _‘I’ve certainly never encountered any spells that could do that to normally inanimate objects.’_  
_‘I’m not surprised,’_ the hat replied. _‘The spells were of Merlin’s creation and were decidedly dark, so he never published them because he thought they were too dangerous to have in the hands of the general public, since before I was a hat, I was actually a human.’_

_‘Wait, a human? How is that possible?’_

_‘In life my name was William. It was so many years ago now that I don’t even remember my own surname, but I was a childhood friend of Merlin’s. We grew up together in the village of Ealdor in the Viscounty of Sarn. Of course that was years before your ancestor King Arthur unified Albion and Iwernia under his rule, so back then Ealdor was part of the Kingdom of Essetir, ruled by King Cenred when I was still alive. Anyway, a few months after Merlin moved to Camelot, Ealdor began to be regularly raided by bandits and King Cenred refused to help, so Merlin’s mother went to Camelot to petition King Uther for help.’_

_‘Well I can’t imagine that Uther was very receptive.’_

_‘I’m told he was compassionate towards Hunith—Merlin’s mother—and wished that he could do something about the village’s plight, but he obviously refused because sending Camelot troops across the border into Essetir would have been seen as an act of war. However, after Hunith headed back to Ealdor, Merlin, Arthur, and Morgana snuck away and helped the village. As the battle was winding down, with the majority of the bandits defeated, I took a crossbow bolt to the chest that was meant for Arthur. Merlin couldn’t bear the thought of losing me, so he bound my memories and consciousness to his hat, essentially making me immortal since a hat can’t die.’_

Edward remained silent as he wasn’t really sure what to say and he could see the students in the Hall starting to look a little restless.

After a moment, the hat—William—said, _‘Anyway, I should get busy and sort you before everyone starts thinking you’re a Hatstall, which you’re not because looking into your mind, while I can say that you have traits admired by all four houses, your intelligence and studiousness are by far your strongest traits— honestly speaking over two dozen languages fluently? In addition to being able to read and write in all of them? Where does your family find such tutors, anyway? They’re the very definition of cruel and sadistic taskmasters.’_ Not waiting for an answer, William said, _‘So, the decision is clear,’_ as it paused to stop talking in Edward’s head and shout, “RAVENCLAW!”

Needless to say the entire Ravenclaw table was on their feet and cheering, because it was a huge honor for them to have the reigning monarch be placed, even on an honorary basis, in their house. The members of the other houses, meanwhile, while they did applaud, all looked rather sad that they hadn’t gotten Edward, and their applause wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as the Ravenclaws. As Septima lifted the Sorting Hat from Edward’s head and he put his crown back on his head, Minerva smiled as she looked at her watch and said, “Four minutes and forty-seven seconds. You were almost a Hatstall, Your Majesty.”

Deciding not to reveal the details of his conversation with the Sorting Hat to the entire school, Edward grinned and shrugged, as he stood up from the stool and went down to the Ravenclaw table. He would be sitting and eating at the small round table that Minerva had conjured, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t go down to the Ravenclaw table and greet some of his new housemates.

Septima now said, “Ptolemy, Ramesses,” as Ramesses took a deep breath, stepped up and sat down on the stool. Taking the golden and jeweled circlet from his head—which was actually an engagement gift from his father and had several Egyptian hieroglyphics engraved in it—he then nodded as Septima lowered the Sorting Hat onto his head.

 _‘Well, well, a Ptolemy,’_ William said in Ramesses’ mind. _‘As I said it’s been over 700 years now since I last had the chance to sort one of your family, so this is a rare treat indeed.’_

 _‘I’m surprised that one of my ancestors attended Hogwarts,’_ Ramesses said. _‘Egypt has its own school of magic, so we usually don’t attend foreign schools.’_

 _‘Indeed,’_ William agreed. _‘In this case, however, the person in question was a younger son of the Pharaoh who was married off to one of King Edward’s ancestors—the Crown Prince of that era in fact— when they were both only ten years old. So, the following year they both attended Hogwarts.’_

_‘Now that you mention it, I think I recall reading about that in my studies.’_

_‘They were definitely a good match for each other,’_ William said. _‘In fact, much like you and Edward, they were actually soulmates. Although I honestly couldn’t say if you and Edward are them reincarnated. I suppose it’s a possibility, but determining such things is beyond my ken. Anyway, let’s see here, where to put you?’_

 _‘I admit I don’t really know anything about the Houses here,’_ Ramesses said. _‘I gather there’s four of them, but beyond that I never bothered to learn about them since it didn’t really seem necessary if I was never actually going to attend this school.’_

If a hat could nod, that’s what it felt like William was doing at this point on top of Ramesses’s head, as he said, _‘Indeed, there are four of them, named after our four founders, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Both Godric and Rowena were apprentices of Merlin, while Helga was an apprentice of Dakota Le Fey, the husband of Morgana Le Fey, of whom Salazar Slytherin was an apprentice.’_

Ramesses nodded in understanding, but remained silent as William said, _‘Hmm, let’s see here I see intelligence and wisdom, which would suggest Ravenclaw. However, I’m also seeing cunning and ambition in equal measure, which would suggest Slytherin. And bravery and chivalry would suggest Gryffindor and loyalty and a good work ethic which would suggest Hufflepuff. My, my, Ramesses, you are indeed a true rarity, as I don’t often come across students who stump me as greatly as you. True Hatstalls, in which I take more than five minutes to sort someone because I can’t choose between two or more houses, only happen about once every fifty years or so. Professor McGonagall was a Hatstall when she was eleven, as I couldn’t decide between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for her.’_

_‘So what happens when you can’t decide?’_

_‘I usually will take the students’ preferences into account and place them in the house that they want. Which, honestly, I think I’m going to have to do for you, Ramesses, because you are indeed a rare case. In fact, it’s been a few centuries now since I encountered someone who stumped me so greatly that I couldn’t figure out which of four houses to place them in. Usually it’s a tie between only two of them, although a little over a hundred years ago, I did have trouble sorting one of our former Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, Galatea Merrythought, who fit in Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin in equal measure. In the end, I chose Gryffindor, since that was her personal preference.’_

Ramesses took a moment at this to give it some thought and determine which personality traits he personally valued more than others. In the end he decided that while he did appreciate the merits of bravery, intelligence, and cunning, he put a greater importance on loyalty. _‘I think Hufflepuff suits me best, as I do greatly appreciate loyalty.’_

 _‘Very well then, if you’re sure?’_ William asked, prompting Ramesses to nod, at which point William shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF!”

Much like the Ravenclaws had for Edward, it was now the Hufflepuff table’s turn to have all of their students stand and cheer because it certainly wasn’t every day that they got a prince who was engaged to be married to the reigning monarch placed in their house. As Septima lifted the Sorting Hat from his head, Minerva smiled and said, “Congratulations, Ramesses, you’ve just joined a very small group of people, myself included, who were true Hatstalls. The hat took five and a half minutes to decide whether to put me in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, ultimately deciding on Gryffindor obviously.”

“You timed it I assume?” William asked, since he obviously knew that she’d timed Edward’s sorting.

Minerva nodded. “Yes, I did—five minutes and fifty seconds. So, Prince Ramesses, if you don’t mind my asking, which other house was the Hat contemplating for you?”

Ramesses smiled as he noticed the ears of just about every student in the hall perk up, clearly interested in the answer to that question. “It was considering Gryffindor,” several Gryffindors smiled at this, “and Ravenclaw,” murmurs started up all over the hall at this, “and Slytherin, too.”

“All four houses?” Septima asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a student who stumped the Sorting Hat that badly.”

“Oh, it’s happened,” William the Sorting Hat said. “Although the last time was a few centuries ago. In the end, I knew I couldn’t possibly make a decision where Prince Ramesses was concerned, because he possesses traits that all four houses value in equal measure. So I let him choose.”

Several audible exclamations of “He chose Hufflepuff?!” could be heard from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin tables, while the cheers and applause coming from the Hufflepuff table got even louder.

Ramesses, meanwhile, looked a bit confused by the reactions from the other tables, as Minerva shook her head and said, “Pay the naysayers no mind, Your Highness. There’s house-rivalries and many of other houses tend to look down on Hufflepuff, although if you ask me there is no valid reason for it because Hufflepuff is just as good as the other houses,” and casting a severe look at the students, she added, “and yes that includes Slytherin. Now please, quiet down everyone, and go back to your breakfasts. After we’ve all eaten however, I ask that you remain in the Hall, as I have an important announcement to make that many of you will enjoy.”

Ramesses briefly went down to the Hufflepuff table to greet a few of the people sitting closest to the head table and shake a few hands, just as Edward had, before both of them retreated to the small round table that Minerva had conjured. Not long after they sat down, the table filled with a myriad of food choices which included—much to Ramesses’ surprise—some foods he recognized as being staples of the magical diets of both Egypt and Byzantium, which were not standard fare in Albion.

About half-an-hour later, after the vast majority of the people in the Hall had finished eating, Minerva stood up and said, “Now that we’re all eaten, I’ll make the announcement I mentioned. My predecessor felt that with the Triwizard Tournament this year it would be prudent to cancel the Inter-House Quidditch Cup. I personally disagreed and argued that it should go on as planned, with the Triwizard tasks scheduled around the various Quidditch games, but in the end I was overruled. Now, that I’m the Headmistress however, albeit at least temporarily, I’ve decided to reinstate the Quidditch Cup.”

As expected, several people throughout the Hall cheered at this. Tapping a glass with her spoon to quiet everyone down, Minerva said, “I’m happy that announcement pleases you. Now, since it was decided to cancel the Cup, team captains were never chosen for this year, which I will remedy now. Gryffindor will be Angelina Johnson. Ravenclaw will be Roger Davies. Hufflepuff will be Cedric Diggory.” Minerva paused here and said, “And finally Slytherin’s team captain will be Head Boy Terence Higgs, who will be assuming the chaser position recently vacated by Marcus Flint.”

Marcus looked angry, but before he could speak, Minerva said, “Don’t bother arguing, Mr. Flint, as I’ve already spoken to your father and he agrees with the decision.” Marcus visibly deflated at this, as any argument he might have been about to launch into died on his lips.

Addressing the entire Hall, Minerva said, “As a special addition to the normal round of Quidditch Cup games and the Triwizard Tournament, once our foreign guests from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrive I will speak to Headmaster Karkaroff and Headmistress Maxime about possibly arranging for a few special exhibition games, allowing the Hogwarts teams to play against teams fielded from the students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. These extra games, however, assuming they happen and I can’t guarantee that they will until I speak with the Heads of their respective schools to see if they’re interested, will have no bearing on the Inter-House Quidditch Cup, since it obviously wouldn’t work very well for Durmstrang or Beauxbatons to win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup.”

Minerva remained silent for a few moments, allowing the students time to digest what she’d just said, before she added, “Now, since our foreign guests are arriving today at noon, classes are cancelled for the day and will resume tomorrow. Thus any assignments that any of you had due today, will now instead be due tomorrow. That’s all for now, thank you. You’re dismissed.”

-o-0-o-

Later that day at noon, Edward, Ramesses, and most of the Hogwarts staff and student body had gathered outside of Hogwarts to watch for the arrival of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations. Two exceptions were Harry and Neville, who were both inside the castle discussing important matters of family business with their seneschals, not the least of which was going over the potential candidates to replace Dumbledore as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Given the relative newness of the news and the shock of it, nobody had yet stepped forward as an official candidate, but Robert and Augusta felt that there were several who might potentially make an attempt at the top seat.

Neville knew that he’d have to make his first public appearance at the Wizengamot as Lord Longbottom, since he’d now need to be officially installed before Augusta could resume voting on behalf of him and the Longbottom family. Already installed, Harry didn’t technically have to attend and could just send Robert to vote on his behalf, but Harry couldn’t help but think that maybe he should attend in person. Robert and Augusta were both of the mind that it wasn’t strictly necessary, but that there were probably some members of the Wizengamot who would appreciate it if he showed that he was taking the matter seriously enough to attend in person.

“By Ra, its cold out here,” Ramesses said, as he moved his gloved hands up and down on his arms, hoping the movement would generate some heat.

“I quite agree,” Edward said as he moved to stand behind Ramesses and wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace, hoping not only to provide his fiancé with some warmth but also himself. “I grew up at the Winter Palace in the Duchy of Penderleath and while we did have some cold weather, I don’t recall anything quite this biting.”

“Welcome to the Scottish Highlands, Your Majesty,” Minerva said with a smile. “Although I suppose I can probably do something about the cold.”

“If you can, please do,” Edward said, as Ramesses nodded in agreement. “I’m sure everyone would appreciate it.”

“Well, it’ll require me to show everyone here that I’m a mage,” Minerva said, “but then I suppose if I keep the headmistress position past Winter Break, it’ll have to go on the letterhead, since it’s a tradition going back to the founders for the school head’s power level to be listed and unlike my predecessor I would never lie about it.”

Septima smiled. “I think ‘Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, Archmagister’ will look quite impressive and I’m sure you’ll be staying on, Minerva.”

“That’s up to the governors to decide,” Minerva said as she summoned her staff to her hand, which caused several of the other staff members and students who weren’t close enough to overhear Edward, Ramesses, Minerva, and Septima talking to gasp, as they’d never suspected that Minerva was, in fact, a mage. Of course, until this moment, the only people at Hogwarts that she’d told were Rolanda, Septima, Pomona, and of course Regulus, as the five of them were as far as they knew, the only mages on staff.

Turning to the students, Minerva gave them her sternest look, as she said, “Students, for those of you who aren’t aware, this staff means that I’m a mage. Mages are very rare in Albion as for some reason that I couldn’t begin to speculate on,” this was a lie because she could, but she didn’t feel like arguing with some of the students at this point, “the birth rates of them have drastically decreased over the years. There was a time, a few hundred years ago, that witches and wizards were as rare as mages are now, because the vast majority of the magical populace were sorcerers or sorceresses, which for those of you who haven’t studied the power scale are above witches and wizards in terms of their raw magical talent.

“More powerful than a sorcerer or sorceress is a mage and they were also once a lot more common than they are now. Above mages are magisters, who were rarer, but still more common than they are now. Even rarer than witches and wizards, however, were people who could truthfully claim to be in the magus range on the power scale. And nobody since Merlin has ever reached the level of Archmagus, which is the ultimate pinnacle and represents a mage with so much raw power and magical talent that it’s hard to measure it by any conventional means.”

Pausing for a moment to allow the students to digest what they’d just heard, Minerva said, “Now, I’m going to cast a few mage-level spells to make us all a bit more comfortable while we wait, but I must warn you all not to even consider attempting these spells yourselves, because witches and wizards lack the necessary power to cast mage-level spells and doing so would be very hazardous to your health. Not only will you short out your wand and render it useless, you would very likely drain your magical core to such a degree that assuming you managed to survive, which quite frankly would be a miracle, you’d end up as little more than a squib for the rest of your lives.”

Edward grinned at this and said, “In other words, don’t try this at home, kids.”

“Quite,” Minerva said as she grasped her staff in both hands and drove the blade into the grass as she incanted, “ _Praesidium Tholus Maxima!_ ” Within seconds the dome of magic erupted outwards from Minerva’s staff to cover everyone standing outside of Hogwarts and while it was still cold, the shield did block the biting wind, so it was still a help. She wasn’t finished, however, as she conjured a stone and transfigured it into a large brazier with visible runes carved into the sides of it which she held the gem of her staff over as she incanted, “ _Incendium Tempestus Minutus!_ ”

All the students looked on in wonder as a small firestorm began raging inside the brazier, the runes glowing and presumably keeping the flames from spreading beyond it. The heat from the fire, however, quickly spread throughout the shield dome and made everyone a lot more comfortable. Some even removed their gloves and scarves and stopped holding their cloaks shut quite as tightly, as while it wasn’t a summer day, it also didn’t feel nearly as cold as it had seconds ago.

Ramesses said, “Thank you, Professor. I’m clearly going to have to practice my Warming Charms, because growing up in Egypt I’m not used to this kind of weather.”

Before Minerva could respond, Seamus Finnigan pointed at the sky and exclaimed, “Look!”

Everyone turned to look where Seamus was pointing and saw something in the distance, getting progressively closer, but still too far away to make out clearly what it was. Whatever it was, it was clearly larger than a hundred broomsticks and as it got closer, one of the new first years—Hufflepuff Eleanor Branstone—panicked as she shrieked, “It’s a dragon!”

Standing nearby, Cedric knelt down, put an arm around his panicking eleven-year-old housemate and said in a soothing voice, “Calm down, it’s not a dragon,” before he looked up at the sky and asked, “It looks more like… a flying house?”

“Houses don’t fly,” first-year Slytherin Graham Pritchard pointed out, as Gryffindor Natalie McDonald said, “Why don’t you try telling that to the one in sky?” even as Dennis Creevey asked, “Have you never seen the Wizard of Oz?”

“The wizard of what?” several of the nearby wizarding raised students who’d heard the question asked.

Before Dennis could say anything, however, Edward squinted a bit and said, “Actually, that’s not a house, it’s a giant carriage pulled by… are those Abraxans?”

“Abraxawhat?” Dennis asked, clearly confused.

“Abraxan,” Cormac McLaggen said. “They’re a magical breed of winged horse, although they’re generally quite a bit larger than most horses you’ve probably seen, as they’re more in line with the size of an elephant.”

Using the same spell that Thomas had used during the Camelot operation to increase his visual acuity, Minerva said, “Those are indeed Abraxans, a dozen of them by the looks of it, pulling a powder blue carriage the size of a house.” After a moment, as the carriage turned enough for her to see the side of it, she added, “And from the crest on the door, I’d say the Beauxbatons delegation is arriving.”

A few minutes later, as the carriage flew over the Forbidden Forest and came in for a landing, many of the students looked awed as they saw the huge palomino horses, all the size of elephants with white hair and large, powerful wings, got close enough that everybody could see what they were. Dennis jumped back a bit, accidentally stepping on his brother’s foot, as the horses’ hooves which were easily the size of dinner plates hit the ground. Moments later, everyone could see the carriage bounce up and down a bit as it’s huge wheels also hit the cobblestones of Hogwarts’ main driveway.

As the carriage finally came to a stop seconds after crossing through the protected area of Minerva’s shield dome, the horses neighed and tossed their heads, showing off their fiery red eyes, as they folded their wings. A moment later, the door of the carriage opened and a blond-haired teenage boy hopped out of the carriage as he fumbled slightly on something beneath the door which everyone soon realized was the steps that folded under the carriage, before he moved backwards, his back ramrod straight as a black heeled boot that was easily the size of a child’s sled emerged from inside the carriage, and several people gasped as they realized that the boot was attached to one of the largest women that any of the students had ever seen.

“Well that explains the size of the carriage and the horses,” Natalie whispered to Dennis, who nodded his head in agreement.

“She’s as big as Hagrid,” Cormac whispered to his dorm mates, Jonathan, Sage, and Tanner, who all nodded in agreement.

“Ah Madame Maxime,” Minerva said as she stepped forward to greet the woman. “Welcome to Hogwarts.”

“Professor McGonagall, iz zeet not?” Maxime asked in heavily accented English. “I was expecting Professor Dumbly-dorr.”

Minerva nodded, “Yes, I am indeed Professor Minerva McGonagall, the new Interim Headmistress of Hogwarts.” At Maxime’s confused look, Minerva added, “Since it was only in our local papers this morning, I imagine the news hadn’t reached France before you left, but our Board of Governors has seen fit to dismiss him from his post as Headmaster.”

“No, I ‘ad not ‘eard that. Why?” Maxime asked.

Edward stepped forward at this and said, “Probably because they felt it wouldn’t be prudent to keep him on after I ordered a warrant for his arrest for high treason.”

Maxime’s eyes widened, as Minerva said, “Madame Maxime, please allow me to introduce His Imperial and Royal Majesty King Edward Pendragon.”

Maxime curtseyed, although at her height, she was still quite a bit taller than Edward and everyone else, as she said, “Zis is a most uneexpected pleasure, Your Majesty. I was not eexpecting a royal welcome.”

Edward smiled. “My dear Madame Maxime, it’s not every day that Albion receives such distinguished guests as yourself and your students, so I felt that it was my duty to greet you personally.” Of course, what Edward didn’t say aloud was that the main reason he’d opted to greet the delegations personally was because he’d had word from King Willem-Reinier of the Netherlands that his daughter, Princess Alianna van Oranje, was part of the Durmstrang delegation and he wanted to be there to greet her personally, since Edward’s late mother was King Willem-Reinier’s sister and thus Alianna was one of Edward’s cousins.

Maxime practically beamed at this as she motioned to the students and three adults standing behind her. “Allow me to introduce Professor Genevieve Prevette, the Professor of Charms at Beauxbatons,” a black-haired woman in a fancy black and red dress curtseyed, “And our ‘Erbology and Transfiguration teachers, Professors Jean-Luc Lavoisier and Stefan Delaney,” as a handsome blond-haired man, who was standing next to a brown-haired man both nodded at McGonagall and bowed to Edward. “And of course ze students we’ve brought for the tournament.”

Minerva smiled as she said, “I was under the impression you were only bringing two of your professors with you Madame Maxime, but no matter as I’m sure the house-elves can prepare suitable guest quarters fairly quickly.”

“’Zat won’t be neecessary, Professor,” Maxime said. “Professors Lavoisier and Delaney can share, as they’re a married couple. I was only planning on bringing two of ze professors but when Professor Lavoisier was one of the random drawn, I invited ‘iz ‘usband to accompany us, as it would be unfair to ask them to spend almost an entire school year apart.”

Minerva nodded. “Well, then I’ll make sure the house-elves make some changes to make the room prepared for them more comfortable for two people. Anyway, did you wish to wait outside with us for the Durmstrang delegation to arrive or head inside?”

Noticing the flaming brazier and the shimmering field of magic over their heads, Madame Maxime said, “Normally I think I’d be inclined to say ‘ead inside to warm up a bit, but it’s not nearly as cold as I eexpected it to be.”

Professor Prevette nodded and said, in a voice that wasn’t as accented as Madame Maxime’s, “It’s the brazier and shield dome causing that, I imagine, although I’ve never seen magic quite like it. Is it Protego Maxima?”

Shaking her head, Minerva said, “No, Professor, it’s a maximized mage-level Dome of Protection and the brazier is lit with a controlled mage-level Firestorm,” as she summoned her staff back to her hand as she’d originally vanished it after casting the spells, “as I’m an Archmagister.”

“Vairy impresseeve,” Madame Maxime said, clearly not expecting that revelation. “I was unaware that ‘Ogwarts ‘ad any mages on ze staff.”

“We have five of them, actually,” Minerva said, surprising a number of the students and staff from both schools. “Although, I shall refrain from mentioning who other than myself they are, as it’s not up to me to reveal that information.”

“Of course,” Madame Maxime said, with a nod of her head. “You were Deputy ‘Eadmeestress were you not?”

Minerva nodded, as she motioned towards Septima. “Yes, I was. That post for the time being now falls to our Arithmancy teacher, Professor Septima Vector.”

“For the time being?” Stefan Delaney asked, in a crisp British accent, suggesting that he wasn’t native to France, despite teaching at Beauxbatons.

Septima nodded. “Yes, the Board of Governors will be making a final decision over the Winter Break, as they wanted to give all the professors on staff a chance to apply and submit their visions for how the school should operate in the future, including perhaps ways to improve it.”

Jean-Luc Lavoisier nodded and said, “A worthy goal. My husband attended Hogwarts, actually, so I know a bit about the school and I must say I was surprised at how short a period of time students attend Hogwarts and the lack of a broader subject base.”

Filius stepped forward at this and squinted at Stefan Delaney for a moment, before he said, “Ah, yes, Stefan Delaney, I thought you looked familiar. Ravenclaw, class of ’78, isn’t it?”

Stefan nodded at his former Head of House. “Yes, it is. Hello Professor Flitwick.”

“May I ask what you mean by those statements, Professor Lavoisier?” Edward asked, with an obviously perplexed look on his face, which stemmed from his always being told that Hogwarts was, hands down, the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Of course, he should have realized that the people telling him that were his tutors—who’d all attended Hogwarts—and thus they were probably biased.

Jean-Luc smiled and said, “I meant no disrespect, Your Majesty, however at Beauxbatons, the students study for France’s OWL-equivalent for six years instead of five and then study for the NEWT-equivalent for three years instead of two.” Looking contemplative for a moment, he then added, “And I believe Durmstrang is actually four years for their NEWT-equivalent.”

“Arithmancy is also a required class for all first through sixth year students, rather than being an elective,” Stefan added. “We also have a summer program for muggle-born and muggle-raised students the summer before their first year to teach them about wizarding culture and many of the things that the wizard-raised students already know coming into the school.”

Maxime nodded, as she said, “’Aving seen ze class list at ‘Ogwarts I can also say zat zere are quite a few elective classes that we offer at Beauxbatons that are not offered at ‘Ogwarts, alzough I believe it is because zey ‘ave been classed as ‘dark’ by your Mineestry, even zough zey are not.”

“Hmm,” Edward said, as he looked at Minerva. “We shall definitely have to look into that, as it sounds like Minister Fudge and his predecessors, while empowered to do so, may possibly have gone overboard in granting my royal assent on certain things, such as laws that required the governors to make changes to the Hogwarts curriculum.” With a shake of his head, he then motioned Ramesses forward and said, “Anyway, Madame Maxime, Professors, please allow me to introduce Prince Ramesses Ptolemy of Egypt whom I shall be marrying this coming Saturday.”

Ramesses held out his hand, which Madame Maxime shook as she said, “A pleasure to meet you, Your ‘Ighness and congratulations to you both. You do, if a may say so make a vairy ‘andsome couple.”

Edward smiled. “Thank you, Madame. I admit that our union is a political match, although I have grown very fond of him and I hope to one day say that I love him.”

Ramesses returned the smile. “Yes, same here.”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I was at the World Cup,” Stefan said, “and I thought I’d heard a rumor that you had selected a number of suitors to consider? I have a brother who lives here, so he keeps me abreast of what’s happening and he hasn’t mentioned anything about you making a decision where they were concerned.”

Edward nodded. “Indeed, I have not yet issued a statement to the press about that, but I have decided to release all of them. None of them did anything wrong, I just decided that they weren’t right for me at this time. Although I won’t rule out the possibility of possibly taking additional husbands at some point in the future.”

A few eyes in the Beauxbatons delegation widened at that, which prompted Edward to add, “I suppose that may shock some of you, but it’s bound to be in all the papers eventually that I do plan to take a page from Ramesses’s father Pharaoh Seti’s book and take multiple spouses. I am the last living Pendragon after all, so I have quite a bit of work to do in repopulating my once proud dynasty.”

Madame Maxime nodded. “Yes it was a great tragedy what ‘appened to your family, Your Majesty. Please accept my condolences.”

“Thank you, Madame Maxime,” Edward said.

Turning to McGonagall, Maxime said, “About ze ‘orses…”

“You needn’t worry, Madame,” Minerva said, anticipating what she was about to say. “I’m sure that our Keeper of the Keys and Grounds, who’s also our gamekeeper, will be more than happy to care for them as soon he finishes dealing with another matter.”

“She didn’t call him the Care of Magical Creatures professor,” Ron whispered to Hermione, who nodded as she wondered if that meant anything. She loved Hagrid, but she did have doubts about his fitness to teach classes, considering that he didn’t have a single OWL or NEWT to his name and had in fact been expelled from Hogwarts in his third year. Not to mention his tendency to believe that extremely dangerous magical creatures like dragons were simply misunderstood or thinking that Acromantulas were cute and cuddly.

 _‘And then there’s the Blast-Ended Skrewts,’_ Hermione thought. _‘A clear violation of the Ban on Experimental Breeding. I’m honestly surprised that Malfoy or someone else hasn’t reported Hagrid to the authorities yet. I don’t want him to get in trouble, but still…’_

The next few moments passed relatively quietly as Madame Maxime and Minerva continued talking, although Hermione was only half-listening. She heard the words ‘single-malt whiskey’ but couldn’t say what the context was as she gazed out at the Black Lake. A short moment ago, the surface of the water had been calm and still, until all of a sudden it wasn’t, as bubbles and waves began forming and suddenly a huge whirlpool formed in the center of the lake. Noticing that everyone was gazing up at the sky, she pointed towards the lake and said in a loud voice, “Look at the lake!”

Several pairs of eyes shifted towards the lake to watch the disturbance, as Eleanor Branstone—who had significantly calmed down thanks to Cedric’s reassurance—asked, “Is that the giant squid doing that?”

Cedric shook his head and said, “In six years at Hogwarts, I’ve never seen the lake do that and I’ve seen the squid plenty of times, so I’m going to say no.”

“Agreed,” Terence said, as a few of the other older students also nodded.

Suddenly a long black pole came up out of the center of the whirlpool and as she spied the rigging, followed shortly after by a crow’s nest, Hermione gasped. “It’s a ship’s mast!”

Moments after Hermione said this a huge skeletal ship that looked like a resurfaced wreck moved up out of the water, as several large sails depicting a horned skull beneath a double-headed eagle were unfurled. Within a matter of seconds the ship sailed from the center of the lake to the shore, and moments later there was a splash as the anchor was dropped, followed by a thud as the gangplank was lowered and the spectators could see people disembarking from the ship and walking up the hill towards the castle.

It took a few moments for the group to reach the assembled Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students and staff, but after a moment, a severe looking man wearing a heavy white coat trimmed in silver fur led the group up the hill. He was followed by two adults, one male and one female, and a dozen or so students of both genders, all draped in heavy fur cloaks of varying quality. As he reached the top of the hill, the man at the head of the group called out, “Dum…” and then not seeing who he’d meant to address, asked, “Where’s Dumbledore?”

“First off, Professor, please allow me to introduce His Imperial and Royal Majesty King Edward Pendragon,” Minerva said, motioning towards Edward. Karkaroff’s eyes widened a bit and he bowed his head, but otherwise said nothing. Minerva then continued with, “And to answer your question, Professor Dumbledore no longer works here,” as she explained the reasoning behind it.

Moments later, a feminine voice asked, “Eddie, is that really you?” as a girl wearing an exquisite and clearly very expensive fur cloak and hat stepped forward. “You’ve certainly grown since I saw you last.”

Edward smiled. “Ali, it was twelve years ago, so I rather think that was bound to happen.” Looking the girl up and down, he added, “You’ve certainly grown up from the annoying little girl I met all those years ago.”

“Annoying? I could never be annoying,” Alianna van Oranje said as she came to a stop in front of Edward, who quickly pulled her into a hug. It wasn’t perhaps the most royal thing to do, and he was sure his tutors would be bemoaning his breach of protocol, but with the entire Pendragon family being murdered when he was only two years old, Edward wanted to remain close to what family he still had left and refused to let protocol get in the way of that.

“I beg to differ,” Edward said with a grin, “but it is good to see you, cousin.”

“You too, Eddie,” Alianna said with a smile as she pulled back.

Edward raised an eyebrow and asked, “You do realize that you’re the only one I allow to call me that, right?”

Alianna nodded, before she noticed Ramesses and looking him up and down, she asked, “And who is this gorgeous young man?”

Ramesses blushed, as Edward laughed. “Down girl. This is Prince Ramesses of Egypt… my fiancé.”

“Drat,” Alianna mumbled under her breath, loud enough that only Edward, Ramesses, and one of Alianna’s classmates standing behind her heard it. “All the cute ones are either gay or already taken.”

At this a male classmate behind Alianna cleared his throat and said, “Um, Ali, you’re also taken, I might add.”

“And who is this?” Edward asked.

“My boyfriend, Ethan Delrossi, Duke of Tarentum,” Alianna said.

“That’s a Byzantine title originating in Italia, is it not?” Edward asked.

Ethan nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. My father,” he motioned towards a tall, black-haired man who looked to be in his mid-to-late thirties, “is Lord Rafael Delrossi, the Grand Duke of Southern Italia.”

Edward looked a bit surprised at that as he addressed the man that Ethan had just identified as his father and said, “I’d thought you were one of Durmstrang’s professors.”

Stepping forward, Rafael said, “You weren’t wrong, Your Majesty, as I am Durmstrang’s Professor of Astronomy. As for my title, I inherited it when my elder brother died without issue, but thankfully for me, Emperor Justinian is perfectly willing to allow me to hand over all the administrative duties of the Grand Duchy to my seneschal, as I have very little interest in actually running it personally, as teaching has always been my true passion.”

“Ah, I see, well, welcome everyone to Hogwarts,” Edward said. Turning towards Minerva, he asked, “Perhaps we should all head inside?”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Minerva answered. “Hogwarts students, please return to your houses for the time being. Prefects please ensure they stay there for one hour, while I get our guests situated in the guest quarters.” Terence, the Head Girl, and the prefects nodded as they began herding the Hogwarts students into the castle.

Once they were inside, Minerva turned to the two foreign delegations and said, “If you’ll just follow me, we’ve had guest quarters set aside for all of you.” Looking specifically at Karkaroff and Maxime, she said, “I’ve had the house-elves clean and prepare some of our empty, unused classrooms for your use while you’re here. Also, Madam Professor Griselda Marchbanks of the Albion/Iwernia Wizarding Testing Authority and a few of her examiners who have also passed their ICWATs have agreed to come and assist in making sure your students continue to receive proper tutelage in all of their subjects while they’re here.”

Karkaroff nodded, but said nothing, as Maxime said, “Zank you, Minerva, zat sounds acceptable.”

-o-0-o-

Much later that evening, after curfew, Harry was under his invisibility cloak, checking the Marauder’s Map occasionally, as he snuck downstairs to the dungeons. Every one of the houses had two private suites of rooms meant for the Head Boy and Head Girl, which were only used if the head student was a member of that house. Thus, currently, the Slytherin Head Boy quarters was being used by Terence Higgs and this was where Harry was sneaking. Turning into the corridor that Harry knew held the door that granted non-Slytherin students access to Terence’s rooms, Harry moved to the door and after quickly checking the map to see that no one was around, raised his fist and knocked.

Harry could hear movement inside the room and a moment later, the door opened to reveal Terence, who looked like he’d been getting ready for bed, since he was currently shirtless and wearing only a pair of silk pajama bottoms. Seeing nobody at his door, he looked confused for a moment, until he felt an invisible hand on his chest pushing him backwards. “It’s me, Liam,” Harry whispered as he crossed the threshold into the room.

“Harry?” Terence asked. “How?”

Closing the door behind him, Harry pulled off his invisibility cloak. “As long as your family has served mine I’d have thought that you’d know about the family heirloom invisibility cloak.”

Running a hand over the cloak that looked like liquid-silver in Harry’s hands for a moment, Terence said, “I’d heard about it, but until now I’d never actually seen it.” With a shake of his head, he said, “So, Harry, what brings you to the Head Boy’s quarters at this time of night? Over an hour after curfew? You do realize that as the Head Boy I can not only take points but assign detention, right?”

Harry smiled, “I’m aware of that, but I figure since you’re oath bound to be loyal to me, you won’t be doing that.”

Terence sighed. “Can I just say that you almost sound like a Slytherin when you talk like that? And no, I suppose I won’t be. So, why are you here anyway?”

“Well, the Sorting Hat did want to put me in Slytherin,” Harry revealed, which caused Terence’s eyes to widen. “So it doesn’t hurt to get in touch with my Slytherin side every now and then. As for why I’m here, I need your help, Liam.”

Deciding to ignore the Sorting Hat revelation for now, Terence asked, “With what?”

Harry grinned. “I need you to give me the password to the prefect’s bathroom and then I need you to go find Cedric, bring him there, and make sure we’re not disturbed for an hour or so.”

“You’re not asking for much are you, Harry?” Terence asked. “You do realize that since you’re not a prefect or a Quidditch captain that you’re not allowed in the prefect’s bathroom, right?”

Harry nodded. “Yes, I’m aware of that Liam, which is why after you’ve brought Cedric up there, you’ll be standing watch. I have the Marauder’s Map, but I figure I’ll probably be too distracted to pay attention to it. So, once Cedric and I are safely in the room, I’ll give you my cloak and the map and it’ll be your job to make sure we aren’t disturbed.”

Terence groaned as he thought about the nice, soft bed that he’d been just about to crawl into when Harry knocked. “You’re actually asking me to stand guard outside of a bathroom while you and Cedric hook up? Really, Harry?”

“Yes, really, Liam.”

Terence sighed. “Fine, I’ll go put some clothes on and then I want to see this Marauder’s Map, as I’ve been curious about it ever since you first mentioned it at the cottage.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, I’ll teach you how to use it once you’re dressed.”

Twenty-minutes later, Terence was dressed and had been shown how to use the Marauder’s Map, although for the moment, Harry retained possession of it and his cloak as he snuck up to the fifth floor and made his way over to the fourth door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered. Terence, meanwhile, headed for the Hufflepuff Dormitories to collect Cedric. As the Head Boy, he was allowed to be out after curfew so while he did see Professor Babbling patrolling the halls on his way, she didn’t question or stop him.

Reaching the door to the bathroom, Harry whispered, “Pine fresh,” and let himself in, as all the lights lit automatically upon sensing someone in the room. One thing that Harry had not known prior to Terence telling him was that there were security charms on the door to the prefect’s bathroom that would not allow anyone of the opposite gender to enter the room while it was in use. So, the female prefects, Head Girl, and female Quidditch captains didn’t need to worry about the boys coming in while they were bathing and vice versa. The security charms would not, however, prevent same-sex people from entering the room while it was in use and thus Terence standing guard outside the room was still necessary.

Since the lights had been off when he entered, Harry assumed correctly that nobody else was in the room, so he removed his cloak and pocketed the Marauder’s Map, as he headed over to the massive swimming pool like bathtub. He supposed if he’d never heard anything about the prefect’s bathroom, he would have been shocked at the size of the tub, but living with three prefects—one of whom was now Head Boy—and a former Quidditch captain at Forest Cottage, Harry had heard plenty about the prefects’ bathroom and it definitely lived up to what he’d imagined.

Turning on a few of the taps to start the tub filling, Harry debated whether he should wait until after Cedric had arrived to get undressed. With a mischievous gleam in his eye, he opted to start getting undressed, although for modesty sake so that he wasn’t completely naked when Terence came in to get his cloak and the map, he decided that he’d leave his red boxer-briefs on, at least for the moment. Of course, he’d also stuffed an extra pair in the pocket of his trousers so that he’d have a dry pair in case he ended up using the ones he was currently wearing as swimming trunks. He wasn’t entirely sure if Cedric would be open to what he was planning, but he could hope.

Not long after Harry had dropped his trousers and toed off his socks, the door opened and Terence and a rather confused looking Cedric entered the room. Before either of them could say anything, Harry pulled the map from the pocket of his trousers, picked up his cloak and walked over to Terence, handing him both, as he said, “You know what to do.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Terence said, thankful that he’d taken a Pepper-Up Potion when he’d ducked into his bedroom to get dressed, because otherwise he was sure that he’d be asleep before the hour or so that Harry had requested was up. “Have fun, guys,” as he threw the cloak over him and retreated for the door, mumbling, “The things I do for my lord.”

“Er, Harry? What’s going on?” Cedric asked.

Harry smiled. “I missed you and thought we could spend a little time together.” Harry wiggled his eyebrows a little at this and that combined with his tone left little doubt in Cedric’s mind what Harry was talking about.

Cedric blushed, as he said, “Harry, we’re not even dating yet.”

“True, but we have to start somewhere, right? And we’re both teenage boys, so you can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”

“You know I’ve thought about it,” Cedric said. “I told you as much back in your room at the cottage, remember?”

“I remember, so what about it, Ric? If you’re not comfortable doing anything, we can just soak for a little while and chat. I understand that you’re still dealing with your inner demons, so I don’t want to rush you into anything you’re not ready for.” After a moment, he added, “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how far I’m ready to go myself, because as you know I am a virgin, but I figure who better to have my first experience with—no matter how far it ends up going—than my soulmate?”

Seeing that Cedric was struggling to make up his mind, Harry decided to pull out the puppy-dog eyes, hoping that it would convince the older teen.

Shaking his head, Cedric said, “Oh, that’s so not fair, Harry, how can I possibly say no with you looking that?”

Harry pouted his lips a little in addition to the puppy-dog eyes and said, “Easy, don’t say no.”

“Oh, I swear you’ll be the death of me, Harry Potter.”

“I hope not, because I much prefer you alive.”

Cedric laughed. “Yeah, me too.” With a sigh, he asked, “You’ve thought of everything haven’t you? The prefect’s bathroom over an hour after curfew when nobody’s likely to be using it. You’ve even recruited the bloody Head Boy to stand guard outside.”

“Well, he did swear that oath of loyalty to me,” Harry said with a grin. “So, I figured I may as well take advantage of it every now and then.”

“I guess.”

“I mean I probably could have called for Tilly and asked her to bring a couple of my guards over, but I figured that might be a little too conspicuous if anyone saw them standing outside the door, since technically speaking I’m not supposed to be in here. Of course, I suppose since I do co-own the school and I’m a Governor, there’s not much the professors could do about it.”

“Yeah, I suppose not,” Cedric said, “although I don’t imagine that the other governors would really like you using your position that way. Not that they can really do much about it since you’re a Duke and the Lord High Chancellor, but it’s probably best to try to stay on their good side, Harry.”

With a nod, Harry said, “True. Well, I won’t tell them if you won’t.”

“Um, yeah, I think I’ll definitely not be telling the governors which includes my father that I’m meeting up with Harry Potter after curfew in the prefects’ bathroom to do… well, whatever it is that we end up doing that my father would definitely not approve of.”

“Well, then we’re good. So, why don’t you strip out of some of those clothes? We can keep our underwear on for now and just soak in the tub for a while, and maybe chat. If anything more happens, well, we can cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Cedric sighed. “Yeah, okay,” as he began to remove his school robe. He wasn’t sure why but he was feeling a little self-conscious about taking his clothes off in front of Harry. His year mates in the Hufflepuff dorms had seen him completely naked so he didn’t understand why he’d suddenly feel self-conscious about being nearly naked around Harry. Of course, then again, Harry was his soulmate and had made it rather clear that he was hoping they might if not go all the way and have sex tonight, that they’d at least do something of a more than friendly nature. Which is definitely not something that Cedric had ever done with any of the boys he shared his dorm room with, considering that they were all straight and he was deeply closeted.

Taking a deep breath and summoning his courage, Cedric dropped his school robes onto the floor near Harry’s discarded clothes, before pulling off the t-shirt he was wearing under it to reveal his toned chest and abs. He couldn’t help the blush that creeped up when he could see Harry licking his lips and clearly enjoying what he was seeing. Toeing off his shoes as he undid his belt, Cedric took another deep breath, before unzipping his trousers and pushing them down to reveal a pair of yellow boxer-briefs with a black waistband.

“Do all Hufflepuffs wear yellow and black underwear or is it just you?”

Seeing the grin on Harry’s face when he said it, Cedric knew the younger boy didn’t mean it as an insult but instead as a joke, so Cedric, deciding to play along, nodded and said, “Yes, actually, they do. We have a gift shop off our common room and it’s a rule that we all have to wear yellow and black underwear. House pride and all, you understand.”

Harry looked a bit shocked, as he asked, “Really?”

No longer able to keep a straight face, Cedric laughed. “No, Harry, I’m only kidding. We don’t have a gift shop and that’s not a rule. I’ve only seen the boys in my dorm room and my teammates on the Quidditch team in their underwear, but I can say that most of them don’t wear yellow or black. I wear it more often, but then I’ve always been partial to the colors even before starting at Hogwarts.”

“Ah, okay, well then, get your socks off and then we can soak in the tub,” Harry said, as he saw that the taps had turned off now that the tub was full of water, complete with bubbles in a variety of colors. Strangely enough, yellow, red, black, and gold were the dominant colors. Harry had never seen black bubbles before, but he’d stopped questioning the things that magic was capable of producing a long time ago.

Toeing off his last sock, Cedric said, “Okay, socks are off.”

Neither boy moved for a moment, however, until finally Harry summoned his Gryffindor courage, moved so that he was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Cedric—which thanks to the growth potions that he’d taken was actually possible since he was now only an inch or two shorter than Cedric instead of nearly a foot when they’d first entered training—before clasping the older teen’s hand in his. Cedric looked down as he felt Harry’s hand grasp his own and he smiled, as they moved into the tub together, still holding hands.

“Oh the water feels so nice,” Cedric said, as he leaned against the side of the tub and could feel all of his muscles relaxing in the nice, hot water.

“Yeah it does. After the last few days, I definitely needed this.”

“Huh, I’ll bet. I have some idea what it’s like to be in charge of a noble family, as I’ve been trained since birth as the spare heir, just in case something happened to Noah, and then of course when he was disowned, I got even more experience, but to actually be the lord of the family and then to have the added responsibilities that go with your title on top of it. I’m not sure I could deal with that kind of stress.”

“It’s definitely been stressful,” Harry agreed, as he let go of Cedric’s hand and swam over to other side of the pool, were he grabbed two small towels from a basket near the corner, before moving back to his previous position next to Cedric, making sure not to get the two towels wet. Rolling one of them up he said, “Lift up your head for a moment.”

Cedric did as Harry asked, confused for a moment, but smiling when he realized what Harry was doing. “Thanks Harry,” Cedric said as he laid back again, only this time with his head on the softer surface of the rolled up towel instead of the tiled floor surrounding the in ground pool.

“You’re welcome,” Harry said, as he rolled up the other towel and then rested his own head on it.

Nothing was said for a few minutes, as the two boys both took a deep breath and laid there, their eyes drifting closed, as they just let the hot water relax them and wash away all the stresses that life had presented them lately. Finally, after a moment, Harry asked, “So, Ric, you think you’ll enter the tournament?”

“I don’t know,” Cedric said after a moment of silence, as he took some time to contemplate the question. “I know my father wants me to, because from the little flashes of memory I’ve gotten from my double when I’m asleep, I can see that he’s been dropping hints ever since the arrival feast when Dumbledore first announced the tournament. I’m sure he figures that Triwizard Champion—especially if I win—will look good on my resume.” Turning his head slightly to look at Harry’s profile, he added, “I’ve told you about him wanting me to be the youngest Minister for Magic in history.”

Harry nodded, as he turned his head to face Cedric and asked, “Yes, you did. But beyond what your father wants, and more importantly, what do you want?”

“I think I might enter,” Cedric answered after another moment of quiet contemplation. “You saw it earlier when RJ chose to be in Hufflepuff. Everyone at the other tables seemed so shocked by that decision, as if actually wanting to be a Hufflepuff is so hard to believe. So, I have thought that maybe entering the tournament might earn some respect for my house if I get chosen.”

Harry nodded. “For the record, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a Hufflepuff. All the ones I’ve met are decent and loyal people who really don’t deserve the scorn that some of the other students give them. Nick and RJ don’t, and you certainly don’t.”

“Thanks Harry, but I have to ask, are you saying that because you actually believe it or because I’m your soulmate?”

“I truly believe it, Ric. Even before I met Nick and RJ, I had a very high opinion of you ever since last year when you tried to get the Quidditch game that the Dementors interrupted replayed. I can’t imagine that was a popular decision with many of your housemates, so it took a lot of guts to make it and I definitely respected you for it.”

Cedric nodded. “Yeah, for all of the talk about how Hufflepuffs are supposed to be loyal and value fair play, I’m afraid many of my housemates would prefer to put loyalty to our house ahead of being fair to others. Personally, I don’t see why there can’t be a balance between the two.”

“I suppose the house rivalries have gotten out of hand to an extent,” Harry said, as he found Cedric’s hand under the water and held it again, which made Cedric smile. “I know in Gryffindor there’s very much an ‘us against them’ mentality when it comes to the other houses, but then I suppose that’s not really that hard to believe considering that nobody ever really encourages us to work together with people outside of our individual houses.”

“True. You know, I’ve sometimes thought that maybe one way of doing that might be to add some private study rooms to the library that could be reserved by study groups to use. They could probably make it a requirement that you need to have two houses represented at a minimum to reserve a room, but if there’s a higher demand than there are rooms, then the study groups with more houses get higher priority. It might be hard going at first, but I think there’s plenty of people who would appreciate the private room, because even being a library, when it’s busy, it can still get a little too loud to study in. And you can forget about the common rooms, because that’s practically impossible.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, that could work, actually, although I think there’d have to be some kind of monitoring charm set to make sure that couples aren’t reserving the room for trysts.”

“Well, that could probably be remedied by requiring four people from at least two houses to be a part of the study group, but yeah I get what you’re saying.”

Silence fell over the room for a moment, before Harry decided to give in to his desire to kiss the older boy, who hopefully wouldn’t be totally repulsed by the idea. Still holding Cedric’s hand, Harry moved so that he was in front of the older teen, who looked at him with a questioning look as Harry moved a little closer and whispered, “Would it be okay if I kissed you?”

Cedric smiled, but instead of answering Harry’s question, he closed the distance between them and brought their lips together in a slow and tentative kiss. It was Harry’s first kiss ever and although Cedric had kissed a few girls that he’d gone on a date or two with in his attempts to hide his sexuality, he’d never worked up the courage to kiss a guy before. But Harry had done his best to make him feel comfortable and the hot water of the bath had helped to relax him sufficiently that he felt ready to take this step.

After a few moments, both boys were feeling a bit more confident and the kiss became less tentative and more passionate, as Harry moved his arms so that they were resting on Cedric’s shoulders, his hands clasped behind the older boy’s head. Cedric, meanwhile, wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist, pulling him forward so that their bodies were flush against each other as he deepened the kiss a bit by using his tongue to lick Harry’s closed lips, which prompted them to open and give Cedric his first real taste of Lord Harrison Potter… and he had to say that he definitely liked it.

They were both very into the kiss, but as all good things had to come to an eventually, Harry and Cedric broke their kiss and rested their foreheads against each other’s, as they simply looked into the other’s eyes for several moments. After catching his breath, Harry grinned and said, “That was bloody brilliant.”

Cedric grinned and said, “Yes, it was quite good. Far and away better than any kiss I’ve previously had, but then those were with girls, so they were pretty much unmitigated disasters.” After a moment, Cedric said, “I hope you won’t be upset, Harry, but I really don’t think I’m ready for anything more than what we just did.”

“That’s fine, Cedric,” Harry said with a reassuring smile. “I’m not really ready either to be honest. Although I do hope that we can at least do what we just did again.”

Cedric grinned as he said, “Oh I think that can definitely be arranged,” as he leaned forward and gave Harry a peck on the lips, “again,” another peck, “again,” another peck, “and again. You’ll be bloody sick of it.”

“I sincerely doubt that’s even possible, Ric, but I’ll definitely enjoy finding out.”

-o-0-o-

The following evening in the Great Hall, found the four Hogwarts houses seated at their normal tables, while the Head Table had been expanded to provide enough room for Edward and Ramesses to join the Hogwarts staff at their table, while two additional tables were setup between the Head Table and the house tables, one each for the students and staff from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. As the dessert courses appeared on the tables, Minerva stood and made her way over to the podium, as Septima tapped her goblet to get everyone’s attention.

“Attention students of all three schools,” Minerva said. “Exactly one hour after dinner this evening, the Goblet of Fire will be placed in the Entrance Hall and those of you who wish to put your names forward as your school’s champion, need only write your name and the school you attend on a piece of parchment and put it in the goblet. You will have until this time on Halloween to enter, at which point our three champions will be selected during our annual Halloween feast.”

Minerva paused for a moment, before she added, “Now, as was previously mentioned to the Hogwarts student body when the tournament was first announced, I would remind all of you that no student under the age of seventeen is allowed to compete and I will personally be drawing an Age Line around the goblet and trust me when I say that those of you under seventeen will be in for a very nasty surprise if you attempt to bypass it.”

As expected many of the younger students complained about how unfair it was that they weren’t allowed to enter. After a moment, McGonagall quieted everyone down, as she continued. “As a further warning, the same nasty surprise will befall any student over the age of seventeen who attempts to put a name in the goblet other than their own, so don’t do it. I would also remind you that putting your name in the Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract that is as unbreakable as a Gringotts’ contract, so if your name is chosen during the champion selection, you will be required to compete and there’s no way out of it.”

After another short pause, Minerva said, “I realize that the lure of a thousand galleons and eternal glory are powerful motivators, but I would also caution every person thinking about entering the tournament that these tasks are not for the faint of heart. Remember that in the past, people have been seriously injured and even died while competing in this tournament, so it’s not to be taken lightly. If you enter, make sure that you’re ready to face what will very likely be the most difficult, challenging, and potentially life-threatening tasks of your lives. You have been warned.”

With this, Minerva returned to her seat, as the students from all three schools began talking amongst themselves as they ate dessert. Despite the warnings, there were still plenty of underage students complaining about not being allowed to enter and plenty more who were of the right age who seemed to completely disregard Minerva’s warnings. But then when faced with the fact that people had been injured or died doing something, it was too often human nature to think, _‘Well, that was them, not me. I’ll be fine because nothing bad will ever happen to me.’_

-o-0-o-

Just over two hours later, there were plenty of students milling about in the Entrance Hall, where some benches had been placed so that people could sit down and watch people putting their names in the goblet. Sitting off to one side of the room was Edward, Ramesses, Harry, Neville, Roger, Blaise, and Terence, engaged in light conversation. A few of the Slytherins had given Blaise and Terence confused looks, not understanding why they’d be hanging out with two Gryffindors, but then again since the beginning of the school year it had become almost normal to see Terence and Harry interacting, what with Terence being Harry’s seneschal’s son and all.

Blaise was really the one that confused most people because he tended to keep to himself a bit more often, leaving many of the Slytherins to believe that Blaise was trying to get close to the King for whatever reason, which was something they could respect, so they pretty much left him alone. Hermione was also sitting with the group, although she was paying more attention to the book in her lap then to the conversation as she put the finishing touches on an essay for Professor Black’s class. Ron was nowhere to be seen but then he and Harry had been drifting apart a bit this year, as Harry’s double had begun hanging out with other people outside of the so-called Golden Trio, which for some reason that Harry couldn’t fathom didn’t seem to sit well with the youngest male Weasley.

Edward sighed. “Being here is rather bittersweet. I love that I finally got to come to Hogwarts, but I hate that I missed out on the whole experience of being a student here.”

“Personally, I can’t say that I mind not attending Hogwarts,” Ramesses said, “but that’s more to do with the climate than anything, because it’s too cold here for my taste.”

“RJ, I rather think you’d better get used to the weather,” Terence said with a grin. “You’re marrying Edward, after all, and he plans to make you his co-ruler so that pretty much suggests that you’re going to be living here for a while.”

Edward grinned, as he wrapped an arm around Ramesses and pulled him close, which thanks to the fact that they were wearing matching black jumpers made it hard to tell where one ended and the other began. “Liam’s right, Ram. You’re definitely going to be here for a while, like the rest of your life. I’m not saying we’ll never go on vacation back to your native Egypt or visiting your relatives in Byzantium or France, but you will be here primarily. Well, not here at Hogwarts, specifically, but I do have houses all over the country, including a few here in Scotland.”

Ramesses nodded and was clearly having trouble keeping a straight face as he asked, “They are heated right? And have hot water? Because that’s a deal breaker, Edward. No heat or hot water, means soulmate or not I’m going to have to back out of this engagement.”

Edward laughed. “Don’t worry, Ram, there’s heat and hot water at all of my estates. Just because I grew up in Albion doesn’t mean that I like the cold any more than you do.” With a grin, he added, “Besides I know you’re not going to back out of this engagement, simply out of fear that you might end up like Neferkamin.”

“Neferkamin?” Blaise asked.

Harry grinned. “One of RJ’s many, many, many brothers. He was one of the top three potential picks for Edward in terms of securing a marriage alliance with Egypt, but ultimately he picked RJ. Neferkamin, however, is thirty-five years old and like Ramesses, until he’s actually married, wears a chastity belt, so RJ ending up like him would mean another fifteen years of not being able to see—or touch—Little RJ.”

Ramesses blushed, “Can we please change the subject?”

“So, just how many brothers do you actually have then?” Roger asked, clearly intrigued by Harry’s ‘many, many, many brothers’ comment.

Ramesses grinned. “Well, there’s Neferkamin, Djoser, Nikare, Menkare, Amenhotep, Sneferu, Khufu, Khafre, Khyan, Neferkare, and Khaneferre, just to name a few of them.”

Hermione, who had now finished her essay and begun paying more attention to the conversation, asked, “That’s a few?” at the same time that Blaise asked, “There’s more?”

Ramesses nodded. “Yeah, there’s definitely more. From his seven wives, my father has, including me, a grand total of 137 children, 64 of those being sons.” Grinning at the wide-eyed expressions on everyone’s faces, he added, “Additionally, with his countless mistresses, he also has another 260 illegitimate children, although it’s important to note that those are only the ones that he’s acknowledged as being his, so it’s quite possible there’s more than that.”

Blaise shook his head and said, “Forgive me if this is crossing a line, RJ, but how does your father find the time to rule an empire? I’d think he’d have to spend ninety percent of his day in bed to have that many children.”

“Not to mention recovering from getting all those children,” Neville said. “I mean, damn, he must have superhuman stamina.”

“Well, he’d say it’s because he’s a living god,” Ramesses said. “Although, between us, I can tell you that the court potions master spends a good amount of time brewing various potions to help my father recover from his activities that I really don’t want to think about. I think he may also make use of a Time-Turner. Plus, it’s also important to note that there’s several sets of multiples among that number. For example, I’m the seventh-born son of my parents, so there’s six sons before me, along with eight daughters. Four of those sons and two of those daughters are sextuplets, so they all came from only one pregnancy.”

“I’d just like to state for the record,” Edward said, “that while I do intend to take multiple husbands and have lots of children in order to repopulate the Pendragon family, the Hells will freeze over and the gods will decide to release Kronos from Tartarus before I even consider having that many children.”

Ramesses grinned. “Good, because honestly it is an excessive amount of children.” After a moment, he said, “Honestly, I think my father’s large number of children is possibly why he allows Gringotts’ to send curse-breakers into the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Part of it is because at one time we thought the dead needed all those treasures for the afterlife and in time we realized that clearly wasn’t the case since it was still there sometimes centuries later. But, I think father might also be trying to pad the family coffers so that when he passes on, he may, hopefully, be able to leave all of us with enough money that we’re be able to afford more than one pack of chewing gum.”

Everybody laughed at that, before Edward said, “"I'd always wondered why the Egyptian government was actually allowing Gringotts' to raid the tombs of its' past kings."

“Yeah, well, as I said our opinions and beliefs changed over time,” Ramesses said. “Eventually we realized that the dead didn’t need all that wealth for the afterlife, so we stopped placing it in the tombs and began recovering what we could from the existing tombs. The belief now is that we’d rather all those riches be back in Egyptian hands, than the hands of tomb robbers or the filthy muggles looting the tombs.”

Hermione, obviously, bristled at that comment. “Filthy muggles? Do you have a problem with muggles, Ramesses?”

Ramesses shook his head. "Not all muggles, no, but I do rather dislike the ones employed in the archaeological field who see nothing wrong with looting tombs and taking everything inside of them—including the mummies—to display in their museums. If it was just the material wealth they were taking, I wouldn't mind it as much, since we do the same thing. However we never remove the mummies from their tombs, because it's wrong to remove them from their final resting places. Especially so that they can be gawked at in a museum or even unwrapped so that the muggles can do tests on them. How would they react, I wonder, if someone did that to their honored dead?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, before Hermione nodded and said, “I never thought about it that way. I’ve seen a few mummies on display at the British Museum, but I’d never really taken the time to really think about the fact that it was a person with a family. The fact that they died thousands of years ago doesn’t mean that they aren’t still worthy of respect or that their remains should become a museum exhibit. And you’re right, I seriously doubt people would react well if say Queen Victoria’s remains were put on display in a museum.”

Harry shuddered, as he said, “I imagine there’s some people who would have a truly morbid enough sense of curiosity that they’d go see such an exhibit, but me personally? No thank you, I don’t want to spend an afternoon looking at dead people.”

Moments after he finished speaking, Harry’s attention was drawn towards the Goblet as a large group of Hufflepuffs entered the hall, all egging Cedric on, who was clutching a piece of parchment in his hand. _‘I guess he decided to enter. Would it be wrong if I said I almost hope he doesn’t get picked? I think plenty of people think Minerva was just trying to scare them when she said the tournament was dangerous, but knowing what the first task is, I know it wasn’t just a scare tactic.’_

“Well, that’s that,” Terence said, as Cedric put his name in, as his housemates all started congratulating him and wishing him luck. “Cedric’s name is in the goblet.”

“Yes, it is,” Edward said, before he turned to Terence and asked, “You entered though didn’t you?”

Terence nodded. “Yes, I did, but I figure I’m the Head Boy so it’d look bad if I didn’t enter.”  
After Cedric and his housemates left the hall, another group of students from Beauxbatons, consisting of two girls and three boys, came over and entered their names, one at a time. Recognizing one of the girls, Terence called out, “Hey Victoire, over here.”

The two girls in the group turned towards Terence’s voice and one of them smiled as she and her friend came over. “Hey Liam.”

Before Terence could respond, Victoire and her friend scanned the faces of the people that Terence was sitting with, which is when their eyes went wide upon seeing Edward and they quickly curtseyed, as they both said, “Your Majesty.”

Edward smiled, “Relax ladies. In case you couldn’t tell from my clothes I’m in casual mode right now, so just think of me as another Hogwarts student.” Turning to Terence, he asked, “So are you going to introduce us?”

“Meet my half-sister, Victoire Blanchett,” Terence said with a smile. “And this is her best friend, Fleur Delacour.”

After a few pleasantries were exchanged, Victoire lightly punched Terence in the shoulder, as she asked, “Liam, how could you neglect to mention that you’re friends with the King?”  
“I didn’t mention it, Vic,” Terence said, “because Edward and I aren’t friends, at least not yet. We only just met each other about a week or so ago.”

“And ‘ow did zis meeting come about, Liam?” Fleur asked. As Victoire’s best friend for a number of years now, Fleur and Terence had met before now since Terence usually spent two to three weeks every summer in France with his mother and half-siblings, which coincidently meant that he’d met many of their friends. Of course, that was likely to change now that his mother was the new Acting Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Prophet.

“Well, I’m sure that either Vic or I has mentioned that my dad is the seneschal for the Potter family?” Terence asked, which prompted Fleur to nod and Terence to grin as he motioned towards Harry and said, “Well, Fleur, Vic, meet His Grace Harrison James Potter, the Duke of Granston and Lord High Chancellor to the Court of Pendragon—aka my dad’s boss and The-Boy-Who-Lived.”

Playfully slapping Liam’s shoulder, Harry said, “Liam, you know I don’t like the whole ‘Boy-Who-Lived’ thing, so don’t call me that or I may have to seriously reconsider ordering you to run down Diagon Alley starkers.”

Neville, Roger, and Blaise laughed at that, while Edward and Ramesses both chuckled lightly. Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry but said nothing because she knew he was kidding or at least she hoped that he was, while Fleur and Victoire looked confused.

It was a blushing Terence who said, “Since both my dad and stepmum work for Harry at Seacliff Castle, both them and I have sworn an Oath of Loyalty to him, which not only means we have to keep his secrets, but also do whatever he tells us to do.” Looking at Harry, he shook his head and said, “It was the portrait of his father James Potter—who was one of Hogwarts’ most legendary pranksters—who decided to plant that particular seed in Harry’s mind, much to my chagrin.”

It was at this point that several cheers sounded throughout the Entrance Hall as Fred and George Weasley ran triumphantly into the room, both grinning from ear to ear, as they each held a potions vial aloft. Knowing that they’d been upset about the age rule and having heard a rumor that they planned to use an aging potion to get past it, Hermione shook her head and called out, “It’s not going to work.”

Coming over to Hermione, Fred asked, “Oh yeah?”

“And why’s that, Granger?” George asked.

Moving her hand in a circular motion, Hermione pointed at the golden line surrounding the Goblet of Fire and asked, “You see this? This is an Age Line – McGonagall drew it herself.”  
“With her staff, I might add,” Harry said with a grin.

“So?” Fred asked Hermione, as George looked at Harry and asked, “So?”

“So, McGonagall is an Archmagister,” Hermione said. “You honestly think that something as simple as an Aging Potion is going to fool an Archmagister’s Age Line?”

Fred and George looked at Hermione for a moment, then at each other, then back at Hermione as they grinned, nodded, and said in unison, “Yes.”

Moving to stand on a bench that was within jumping distance of the Goblet of Fire, Fred and George toasted each other with their vials as they both said, “Bottoms up!” before looping their arms and each downing the vials in their hands before jumping into the circle around the goblet. When nothing bad happened, everyone assumed it had worked and cheered as Fred and George lifted their arms and dropped the parchments with their names on them into the goblet, to many cheers from all over the room.

Harry, Hermione, Neville, and the others in their group looked momentarily shocked that it had worked, but then suddenly, it became apparent that it hadn’t worked, when the flames turned red and two pieces of paper were ejected from the Goblet and the next second, Fred and George were both hurled high into the air and away from the goblet, but before they could land, they felt the front of their robes being caught in sharp claws and several screams sounded throughout the room, for standing there grasping Fred and George in its front claws was a full-size Hungarian Horntail.

The Horntail wasn’t attacking, however, as it turned its giant head and looked first at Fred then at George and then shook its head, before to the shock of everyone it spoke, in Professor McGonagall’s voice, “I did warn you, did I not?”

The next second the Horntail melted away only to be replaced by McGonagall, who was still clutching the front of the Weasley twins’ robes. “Both of you will serve detention for attempting to illegally enter into a tournament you were warned you couldn’t enter.”

Despite the fear that many of the students had felt just moments ago upon seeing a dragon in the Entrance Hall, many of them now started laughing their heads off as Fred and George’s red hair turned grey and grew several inches, they both sprouted long grey beards, and they found themselves leaning over as they both developed bad hunchbacks. McGonagall just shook her head and said, “I should let both of you stay this way for a few days to teach you a lesson, but I suppose that would be cruel and unusual punishment, so both of you off to see Madam Pomfrey and she’ll put you right again.”

As Fred and George hobbled off towards the Hospital Wing, McGonagall looked at everyone in the hall and said, “Let this be a lesson to all of you not to try to fool my age line, because it’s not going to work.” Throwing her arms up, McGonagall shocked everyone by turning into a phoenix and then disappearing in a flash of flames.

Hermione and several others were wide-eyed, as Hermione asked, “She can turn into a dragon and a phoenix?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, she’s an Archmagister, but she’s also a Shape Mage, which allows her to turn into any magical creature she’s physically seen and gain full access to its abilities while in that form.” After a moment, he added, “Don’t ask me how I know that, because I’m afraid that’s classified, so I really can’t tell you, but I think it’s clear she’s definitely not someone you should mess with.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I hadn’t intended to end the chapter here, as I had intended to also include Edward and Ramesses’ wedding, their wedding night, and the Triwizard Champion selection, but the muses have been inspiring me lately on one of my original works, so I wanted to take some time to concentrate on that and figured since I had this much already written, I’d split the chapter here and give y’all something to tide you over for the time being.  
> So, what did you think of this chapter? Possibly one of the biggest events was the scene in the Prefect’s Bathroom. I hadn’t originally intended to have any Harry/Cedric interactions until they returned to Forest Cottage in Chapter Seventeen, but in the end I decided that I had to add a scene in the Prefect’s Bathroom while they’re both at Hogwarts. Hope you enjoyed it.  
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email, my Yahoo group, or on Twitter @JVascardi.


	24. Chapter 16, Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC: Noah, OMC: Edward/OMC: Ramesses, OMC: Nick/OMC: Dominick
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric/OMC/OMC, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Twincest, Threesome, Foursome, Moresome, Harem

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Sixteen  
Part Three

-o-0-o-

_A few months ago…_

Seventy-six-year-old Frank Bryce stood in front of his kitchen sink in his cottage in the village of Little Hangleton, as he filled his tea kettle with water. Once it was full he walked over to his stove and had just put the tea kettle on the burner and was about to turn it on when he glanced up at the old Riddle House on the hill and noticed a light on in one of the windows.

“Bloody kids,” Frank muttered to himself as he abandoned his tea for the moment and walked over to his front door, put on his coat, grabbed his walking stick, a flashlight, and the keys to the Riddle House before he left the warmth and comfort of his cottage to head up to the old house that he was the caretaker of to scare off whoever was trespassing. He’d lost count of how many kids he’d chased off who were either daring each other to break windows or otherwise vandalize the house, not to mention using it as a place for trysts and snorting, smoking or injecting whatever drugs they didn’t want their parents to know they were using.

Heading up the path to the old house, Frank climbed the crumbling stone steps up to the front entrance and readying his keys, prepared to unlock the door. Much to his surprise, however, he found the door already unlocked and ajar. That certainly confused old Frank as he couldn’t understand how the house could be unlocked because he was the only person with keys to the place, well, except for the wealthy man who actually owned it, but he didn’t live there and never visited. It fact, it had been just over twenty years now since Frank had actually seen him in person and while the owner continued to pay Frank like clockwork to keep up the garden at the old estate, he never visited. Rumor in town was that the man only kept the old house for tax reasons although nobody was clear what exactly those were.

Crossing the threshold, Frank cast his flashlight around inside the old house, the interior of which was covered in dust and cobwebs since he was only paid to upkeep the garden and not clean inside the house, so he didn’t. A good thing really because at Frank’s age he sometimes had problems just keeping up the garden without also worrying about the interior of the old estate. Hearing voices from upstairs, Frank headed over towards the stairs as he was currently too far away to hear what was actually being said. As he climbed the stairs, something in the back of his mind told him not to make too much noise.

Even though he was there to scare off whoever was in the house, he knew he was getting on in years and one time last month one of the kids had almost knocked him down the stairs when he told them to get out. ‘Kids these days are much more brazen,’ Frank thought. ‘Absolutely no respect for their elders.’

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was afraid he might seriously hurt someone, Frank had on occasion thought that maybe it would be a good thing if he started carrying his shotgun, just because some of the kids he’d scared out of the house could probably have killed him quite easily if they weren’t stoned out of their minds or too embarrassed at literally being caught with their pants down by a man old enough to be their grandfather.

As he crept up the stairs, the voices became clearer and he started hearing some very strange talk about witches, wizards, the Ministry for Magic, and something called the Quidditch World Cup. As Frank paused on the steps to put a finger in his ear and turn it a few times, sure that it must have been a buildup of earwax that was causing him to mishear what was being said—because Quidditch wasn’t a real word—he then continued up the stairs, tensing a bit when one of the steps creaked loudly. Whoever it was talking didn’t seem to notice, however, so Frank continued on his way up the stairs, turning off his flashlight halfway up and relying instead on the light that he could see coming from the room at the end of the upstairs hallway.

Reaching the upstairs landing, Frank crept quietly down the hallway, wanting to get a handle on how many of the bloody kids were in the house this time so that he could work out how best to scare them off. This close, he could now hear the voices much more clearly.

“I brought you Bertha Jorkins, my Lord,” a male voice said. “And I’ve cared for you this entire time.”

“This is true, Wormtail,” a second voice said, or almost hissed. “Although you didn’t know when you brought her to me that Jorkins would be of any use at all. You just panicked and didn’t know what to do after you were stupid enough to let her see you. Wizards who are supposed to be dead would do well not to be seen by Ministry employees at wayside inns.”

“You should abandon this piece of filth, my Lord,” a third voice said. “I’m far more loyal to you then this cowardly rat could ever be.”

“Ah, Barty, my faithful servant,” the second voice hissed. “You are indeed most loyal and probably correct about Wormtail, but he serves his purpose. I need you to go out and gather my followers, send them a sign, and make everything ready for my inevitable return to power. As for Wormtail here, I need someone here to care of me, as much as I loathe the idea. This rudimentary body limits my access to my magical core and only when the ritual to give me my full body back is complete will I be strong enough to be on my own. Until then, Wormtail must remain with me as someone needs to milk Nagini and feed me.”

“I would gladly do all of that, my Lord,” the voice identified as Barty said.

“I know, Barty, but you have far more important tasks to perform for me,” the second voice hissed. “Like securing Harry Potter.”

“My lord, the Potter boy is so well protected,” the first voice—Wormtail apparently and Frank couldn’t help but think that was a very strange name for a person—said. “It might be wiser to use someone else. I’m sure I could find a suitable replacement.”

“Don’t question our Lord, you fool!” Barty yelled. “If he wants the Potter brat than it’s the Potter brat he shall have.”

“Indeed, Potter is essential to my plans and it must be him,” the second voice hissed, as Frank tensed upon feeling something near his feet and looked down only to see a huge snake slithering down the hallway and into the room where the three people were talking. Since the door was ajar, Frank could see the snake slithering up the side of an old wingback chair and turning its head to look at presumably the person sitting in it as it began hissing loudly.

A moment later, the second voice hissed, “Nagini says that the old Muggle caretaker is standing right outside listening to everything we’re saying.”

Before Frank could even think about moving, the door flung open and a balding, rat-faced man appeared in the doorway. Frank suddenly didn’t think that Wormtail was such an odd name anymore because it fit the man now standing in the doorway quite well since he looked like a rat.

“Wormtail, stand aside and allow me to give our guest a proper greeting,” the second voice hissed, which caused Wormtail to grin and move aside. “Avada Kedavra!” were the last words that Frank Bryce ever heard, before the jet of green light hit him and he fell over, dead before his body even hit the floor.

-o-0-o-

With so much happening during the last week of October, Minerva and the other trainers decided to cancel their mage students’ classes until the First of November. Harry’s, Cedric’s, Terence’s, and Roger’s doubles had therefore been banished temporarily and thus they were all attending classes at Hogwarts as they would have been doing if they hadn’t entered mage training. Blaise’s double, however, had not been banished, as the trainers put him through an intensive program of remedial work to catch him up to where the others were in their studies. Thus it was actually Blaise’s double attending his Hogwarts classes while the real one was often holed up on the upper level of the Headmistress’s office being trained by one of the four trainers.

Nick, Edward, and Ramesses were, of course, included in many of these lessons, although there was the occasional interruption for Edward and Ramesses who had to meet with Tristan and the wedding planner that had been hired to put together a royal wedding in a matter of days. With magic and house-elves that was quite a bit easier than it would be in the muggle world, but it obviously still required quite a bit of work to pull off correctly.

One hurdle that had to be dealt with quickly was that with everything going on and everything else that was on his mind, Edward had forgotten to mention in the first meeting with the wedding planner that he was allergic to shellfish and peanuts. Thus, when he and Ramesses met with the planner a second time, his eyes widened as he saw that the sample menu that the planner had put together consisted of several dishes including those two elements. Now, while it was true that Merlin’s protections would not allow Edward to die from ingesting his allergens, it wouldn’t prevent him from suffering other unpleasant symptoms, including the possibility of slipping into a coma and after spending over a decade at Nurmengard, the last thing Edward wanted was to become a prisoner in his own body.

Informed about the King’s allergies the wedding planner apologized profusely and set to work putting together a completely new menu, making sure that there was no possibility of any food that would be served to the King being accidentally contaminated with his allergens. Within only a few hours a new menu was in place and the planner moved on to other aspects of the wedding. The invitations had already been sent out, as that had been one of the very first things that had been done in order to give the guests as much time as possible before the event to make the necessary arrangements to attend. It was definitely shorter notice than normal, but then again in the wizarding world, wedding invitations were very rarely sent out months ahead of the day, simply because the Owl Post was much faster than the muggle postal service and with magic, setting everything up was much easier than in the muggle world and so all that extra time wasn’t necessary.

Several RSVPs had already come in and thus Edward knew that every reigning monarch in the magical world would be in attendance, which would make this by far the largest gathering of royalty that Albion had seen in over two decades.

Looking over the responses, Harry got a confused expression and asked, “King Theron?”

Tristan nodded. “King Theron of the Kingdom of New Byzantium, which is on the South American continent. The land in question originally belonged to the Iberian Empire—which is also known as the Spanish-Portuguese Empire—and was part of their Viceroyalty of Brazil but a few hundred years ago a marriage alliance between Iberia and Byzantium split off a portion of it which was then renamed the Kingdom of New Byzantium. Although until about five years ago it was a kingdom without a king, ruled by a governor-general on the Byzantine Emperor’s behalf.”

Thomas grinned. “Then just over five years ago, Emperor Justinian named Theron Caesar as King of New Byzantium, although Theron very rarely actually sets foot in his kingdom, as he prefers to stay in Constantinople with his husband—Emperor Justinian.”

“Wait, so Emperor Justinian actually did take a husband?” Harry asked. “I remember Minerva mentioning that she’d heard a rumor that he’d wanted to take a husband in addition to Empress Theodora, but as far as she knew it never happened.”

“Oh, it happened,” Tristan revealed. “It was in all the papers, at least on the continent anyway, as none of the papers here in Albion picked up the story, because I guess they all thought it a bit scandalous for Emperor Justinian to have both a wife and a husband.”

Coming back into the main room of the guest suite at Hogwarts that had been prepared for Edward and Ramesses, the Egyptian prince—who had overheard the entire conversation from the bathroom—grinned and said, “Yeah, Uncle Justinian and Uncle Theron are quite cute together, if you ask me. That’s not to say that Aunt Theodora isn’t attractive, because she is, but since I’m gay, she’s not really my type. Anyway, she put her foot down and said the only way she’d allow Uncle Justinian to marry him is if he agreed to give him the lower title of King, because she wanted to remain the highest-ranked imperial spouse.”

“So I guess then it won’t be just your father and I practicing polygamy.”

“No, Edward, it won’t be,” Ramesses agreed. “Of course Uncle Justinian got the idea from my father, since my mother is his twin sister. I guess he figured that if his twin sister was okay with being in a polygamous union and sharing her husband with at that time three other women, then perhaps he could indulge his desires for men and take a husband. Uncle Justinian is bisexual and he truly does love Aunt Theodora and remained faithful to her throughout their marriage, but that didn’t stop him from lusting after men. So he was quite happy when he got the chance to court and wed Theron, who was the younger son of the Grand Duke of Northern Italia.”

“Speaking of polygamous unions,” Harry said as he turned to Edward, “have you given any thought to who else you might take as additional husbands? Or are you just concentrating on RJ for the moment?”

“Mainly just concentrating on RJ for the moment,” Edward answered. “Although, a couple of people have caught my eye.”

“Really? Dare I ask who?” Thomas asked.

“Cassius Warrington, for one,” Edward answered. “I saw him put his name in the Goblet of Fire last night and I couldn’t help but think that he’s very attractive.”

“He’s also the grandson of the man who tried to kill you, Your Majesty,” Tristan pointed out.

Edward nodded. “True, but I asked Professor Slughorn about him and found out that he’s seventeen years old. Which means he was born in 1977, five years after the attempt on my life. I don’t think it’s really fair to hold his grandfather’s actions against him, unless of course he agrees with his grandfather’s actions, which would make me quite sad.”

“True, he can’t really be blamed for something that happened before he was even born,” Harry agreed. “Depending on who you asked, they’d probably tell you that it’s a given that Cassius agrees with his grandfather’s actions simply because he’s a Slytherin and all Slytherins are evil bastards.”

Thomas and Tristan both tensed a little at that comment, prompting Harry to say, “I’m not saying I agree with that sentiment. At one time I might have, but then until recently I’ve had very little contact with Slytherins. The only ones I ever really interacted with were Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and occasionally Pansy Parkinson and they weren’t exactly the best representatives of Slytherin house in terms of getting me to change my mind. Recently, however, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Terence Higgs and now Blaise Zabini and have begun refining my thought processes where Slytherins are concerned.”

“Understood,” Thomas said. “I suppose there are bad apples in every bunch. I know when Tristan and I were in school there were certainly plenty of students who gave all Slytherins bad names. Of course, sometimes looks and even actions can be deceiving, especially in Slytherin house.”

“What do you mean?” Ramesses asked.

“Well, when I was in school,” Thomas answered, “there were a few of my fellow Slytherins who pretended to be supportive of the pureblood dogma, not necessarily because they actually believed it, but because it was the only way they could survive in the Slytherin dungeons without becoming an outcast and pariah. Personally, I said and did all the right things when I was around my fellow Slytherins to make them think I was one of them, but I usually dropped the act when I was alone or with people from other houses and I wasn’t worried about it getting back to my housemates or my family.”

Tristan nodded. “Indeed. I was in much the same boat, because if I wanted to survive not only in Slytherin house but also at home, I had to act like I was a pureblood supremacist. Although I suppose as a child, I may actually have bought into many of those beliefs, simply because growing up in the family that I did it was all I ever knew. My opinions changed quite radically, however, during the three years that I spent training as a mage with Minerva, Rolanda, Pomona, and Septima. So from the ages of twelve to fifteen it was actually my double at Hogwarts and he did a good job of cementing my reputation in Slytherin house of having acceptable beliefs that wouldn’t turn me into public enemy number one in the eyes of my housemates and family.”

“Acceptable I take it being total support of Voldemort?” Edward asked.

Shaking his head from side to side, Thomas answered, “No, not necessarily. You didn’t have to support Voldemort, as long as you clearly believed that purebloods are better than everyone else and that muggles and muggle-borns were the enemy. Being versed in the Dark Arts and believing that their use should be allowed also helped. I can also tell you that especially when he first started his rise to power, there were many pureblood families who didn’t support Voldemort because his new moniker of Lord Voldemort was new enough that people still spoke his birth name and they knew that Riddle was not a pureblood wizarding name.”

“So at first many of the purebloods wrote him off as an upstart dark lord that would never amount to anything,” Tristan said. “Obviously they were wrong, however, and after he’d won several victories and was showing no signs of slowing down or being beaten, many of the purebloods who otherwise wouldn’t have supported him knowing that he wasn’t a pureblood himself, began following him because they thought he was their ticket to greater power. And then he successfully pulled off the plan to kill the royal family or most of them anyway.”

Thomas nodded. “Now, you’d probably think the fact that his plan to wipe out the royal family completely failed since Edward lived would have hurt his popularity. In fact, it had very little effect or just made him even more attractive to the power seekers, because even if it wasn’t a complete victory, it was still quite a bit further than any other Dark Lord in history had managed to go. Even Grindelwald at the height of his power never managed to kill off nearly an entire royal family, including the reigning monarch.”

“Well, at least Voldemort is dead and gone,” Ramesses said. “I think we have enough to worry about with Albus and Gellert. We don’t need him added to the mix.”

“Unfortunately, Voldemort is not gone,” Harry said. “His body may have been destroyed but he took precautions to ensure that he couldn’t easily be defeated.” Harry then explained what he knew about Horcruxes from Regulus and his mother.

Thomas and Tristan were looking rather pale by the end of Harry’s explanation, as Tristan undid his sleeve and pushed it up, revealing the Dark Mark on his arm, although at the moment it wasn’t jet black, but more pink, just barely visible against the color of Tristan’s skin. “I guess that explains why the Mark is coming back. Within a few weeks of the attack on you, Harry, the Dark Mark faded from all of our arms, which is how so many of the Death Eaters managed to avoid Azkaban, because the lesser known ones no longer had a visible mark on their arm. And those who were known to be followers of Voldemort, like Lucius Malfoy and my brother, were able to claim that they were under the Imperius Curse. Although I imagine being nobility and rich also helped.”

During his explanation of Horcruxes, Harry mentioned that fact that it was Regulus’s double and not Regulus himself that had gotten marked. Rolling up his own sleeve to show the Dark Mark on his arm, also pink and just barely visible against his flesh, Thomas said, “Can I just say that I’m extremely jealous of Regulus? I never wanted this thing marring my skin and I’d give just about anything to be able to be rid of it or change history so that it was my double who was marked instead, but I suppose there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Have you ever tried to remove it?” Edward asked. “You are a mage, after all.”

Shaking his head, Tristan said, “No, neither of us has ever tried, but then again until recently—say the last three or four months—our Marks had seemingly vanished, so there was no need to try. But even if they were still as black as they were when they were first placed, I doubt there’d be anything that Thomas or I could do to remove them. Because you see, while I am a Grand Mage and Thomas is an Archmage, that’s only a small fraction of the power wielded by the person who placed the Marks in the first place.”

“So, you mean Voldemort is a mage?” Harry asked.

Thomas looked grave as he nodded and answered, “Yes, Harry, the Dark Lord is indeed a mage. He took great pleasure in informing many of us of the fact that he was a mage and that he had taken his power by force for you see he didn’t train under anyone for three years as Tristan and I did. Instead he sought out a mage trainer and used the Imperius Curse to make them perform the blood ritual on him. He never said the name of the trainer, although he always used male pronouns when talking about him, so I assume it was a man. Anyway, after the blood ritual was finished, the Dark Lord hit the trainer with the Killing Curse, stole all of his books, and trained himself.”

“Now the fact that he was self-trained might suggest that he wasn’t an effective mage,” Tristan said. “However, in truth he was, because he was strong enough to fake it most of the time and whenever he felt that he needed extra understanding, he’d find ways to get it. For example, he’s a Master Legilimens and he basically mind-raped both Thomas and I, and the other mages among the Death Eaters who were not self-trained, on a regular basis, thus adding to his own understanding of mage training. As for his power level? He was level twenty-six on the scale or an Apprentice Magus.”

“An Apprentice Magus?” Harry asked. “Well there’s a scary thought. That means he’s actually more powerful than Albus and Gellert, although then again, they’ve got the Elder Wand. Voldemort never bragged about possessing any divine artifacts did he?”

“No, he didn’t,” Thomas answered. “So I’m inclined to believe he doesn’t have any because if he did, I highly doubt he would kept that a secret.”

Tristan nodded. “Yes, the Dark Lord was very much into ruling by intimidation and fear, so if he did have a divine artifact at his disposal he would have mentioned it in order to strike fear in the hearts of not only his followers but also in his enemies.”

-o-0-o-

Tristan and Thomas stayed at Hogwarts until lunchtime, eating lunch in Edward’s suite with Edward, Ramesses, and Harry, before they left. Ramesses was feeling a little tired after eating and decided to have a short nap before his afternoon fitting for his wedding robes. This left Edward and Harry alone in the main room of Edward’s suite, as Edward tossed a pinch of Floo Powder into the fireplace so that he and Harry could Floo to McGonagall’s office. As McGonagall had recreated Harry’s double so that it could attend his morning classes in Harry’s place, while Harry was in the meeting with Edward, Ramesses, Tristan and Thomas. The plan was that Harry would step back into his double’s place, however, and attend his afternoon classes, one of which was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Moody.

Looking at the green flames, Harry muttered, “I hate traveling by Floo. I always end up either on my arse or flat on my face.”

Edward smiled. “There’s a trick to remaining standing, but as Minerva is expecting us, I don’t have time to teach it to you right now.” Coming up behind Harry, Edward wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist and said, “So, we’ll just go through together and I’ll hold you up. Okay?”

“Okay,” Harry said, sure that his skin flushed slightly from the contact with Edward, because even though the King wasn’t aroused and they were both fully dressed, due to their current closeness, Harry could still feel the King’s flaccid cock pressed against his arse. He’d be lying if a part of him didn’t wonder about what it might be like to be with Edward, but he didn’t really see himself marrying the king, because while he was attractive, Edward wasn’t really Harry’s type. True, to an extent, Harry was still figuring out exactly what his type was, but he’d already placed Edward pretty firmly in the friend category. His teenage mind, however, couldn’t help but think that he wouldn’t say no to that friendship having occasional benefits… which just made Harry blush even more.

Thankfully for Harry, Edward either didn’t notice that Harry was blushing or he decided not to comment on it. Of course, as they walked closer to the flames, it was also a possibility that Edward may have assumed that Harry’s reddened cheeks were a result of the heat from the flames themselves and not from blushing. Whatever the case Harry was glad that no comment was made because he wasn’t ready to have that particular conversation at the present time. Any further thoughts on Harry’s part were cut off, however, as Edward said, “Headmistress’s Office,” and found himself spinning through the Floo, wrapped tightly in the King’s arms.

Stepping out of the fireplace in the Headmistress’s office, Harry took a moment to look around the room and immediately noticed the distinct difference from the last time he’d been in the room. Gone were all the strange spinning silver instruments and Fawkes’ perch. The contents of the shelves were also quite a bit more orderly—a pair of wooden chairs now sat in front of the desk, upon which the ever-present dish of lemon drops was now conspicuously absent. Additionally, there was now a pair of wingback chairs with a small end table with a fancy Victorian gas lamp on it sitting between them positioned in front of the fireplace. It was in one of these chairs that Minerva was currently sitting, a roll-around tea cart sitting off to one side and a saucer in her hand, as she raised an ornate china cup to her lips. Proper protocol would usually demand that she stand when Edward entered the room, but he’d given her, and the other trainers and mage students standing permission to remain seated if it was only them in the room.

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty, Lord Potter,” as she motioned towards the other chair. “Please have a seat.” At Edward’s and Harry’s raised eyebrows, since she was motioning to a single chair and there were two of them, she added, “It’s charmed with Wizard Space, so even though it doesn’t look like it, you’ll find there’s more than enough room that you can comfortably share it.”

Edward shrugged and sat down. Harry meanwhile still looked a little apprehensive as he turned and prepared to sit down, sure that he was about to sit in Edward’s lap, but as his arse made contact with the chair, he quickly realized that wasn’t the case, as he was in fact sitting next to Edward, with a good few inches between them. Although with a smile, Edward did move his knee a bit to touch Harry’s as a gesture of friendship or camaraderie—Harry wasn’t really sure—but it brought a smile to his face, nonetheless.

Putting her cup on its saucer and then placing the saucer on the small end table between the two chairs, Minerva pulled the tea cart a little closer and asked, “Tea?”

Before Edward or Harry could answer, however, an ancient looking owl flew through the window. It was clearly having trouble flying and all three occupants of the room could clearly see when the poor creature lost consciousness, moments before it crash landed in Edward’s lap, a bright red envelope clutched in its beak.

“Well, that would be Errol,” Harry commented as he looked at the poor, unconscious owl that was currently laying on Edward’s lap, it’s head twisted at an odd angle so that the red envelope was sticking straight up, even though the owl had landed sideways on the king’s lap. “He belongs to the Weasleys.”

Shaking his head, Edward said, “This poor creature should have been retired years ago.”

Harry nodded. “I agree, but the Weasleys are dirt poor and probably can’t afford a replacement. Their two oldest sons, Bill and Charlie, both make respectable livings but Molly and Arthur are too proud to accept money from their children, especially when they’re living on their own now. Ron told me that his parents do let Percy contribute part of his Ministry paycheck to the household budget, but only because for the moment he still lives with them.”

Taking the envelope from the owl’s beak, Edward looked at it and said, “Well, it’s not for me, of course I doubt there’s many people who would have the courage to send a howler to the king.” Handing the now smoking envelope to Harry, he added, “It’s for you, Harry.”

With a shaking hand, Harry took the envelope took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the onslaught to come, before breaking the seal and letting the clearly angry yelling of an irate Molly Weasley fill the room.

**_HARRY JAMES POTTER! WHAT IN MERLIN’S NAME HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU? I KNOW YOU HAVE ISSUES WITH DUMBLEDORE BUT TO USE YOUR POWER AS A GOVERNOR TO REMOVE HIM AS HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS, STRIP HIM OF HIS AUTHORITY AS CHIEF WARLOCK AND ASK THE ICW TO REMOVE HIM AS SUPREME MUGWUMP?! I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT HE’S DONE NOTHING BUT GOOD WITH THE POWER FROM ALL OF THOSE POSITIONS AND I CAN’T BELIEVE FOR ONE SECOND THAT HE COULD POSSIBLY BE GUILTY OF ANY CRIME LET ALONE HIGH TREASON!_ **

**_IF IT WASN’T SO UNSEEMLY I WOULD BE SENDING A HOWLER TO KING EDWARD BECAUSE HE’S CLEARLY LOST HIS MIND IF HE THINKS THAT DUMBLEDORE IS A CRIMINAL OR THAT HE’S DONE ANYTHING THAT WARRANTS CHARGING HIM WITH A CRIME THAT CARRIES A DEATH SENTENCE! I CAN’T EVEN PUT INTO WORDS HOW MUCH WORSE OFF THE ENTIRE WIZARDING WORLD WOULD BE WITHOUT ALBUS DUMBLEDORE, THE LEADER OF THE LIGHT AND OUR ONLY HOPE AGAINST THE DARKNESS OF YOU-KNOW-WHO. HARRY, YOU MUST KNOW THAT HE WILL RETURN AT SOME POINT. YOU’VE FACED HIM YOURSELF TWICE AT SCHOOL AND DUMBLEDORE HAS ASSURED THOSE OF US WHO ARE LOYAL TO HIM THAT IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE YOU-KNOW-WHO RETURNS._ **

**_SO HARRY I IMPLORE YOU TO REVERSE THESE COMPLETELY IDIOTIC ACTIONS AND PUT DUMBLEDORE BACK IN THE POSITIONS OF POWER THAT HE NEEDS TO HELP OUR WORLD AND ENSURE THAT NOBODY ELSE HAS TO DIE BECAUSE OF THAT FIEND. I’VE ALREADY LOST BOTH OF MY BROTHERS TO THAT MONSTER, IN ADDITION TO MORE FRIENDS THAN I CARE TO COUNT, AND HARRY I SWEAR TO YOU IF HE RETURNS AND I LOSE MY HUSBAND OR ONE OF MY CHILDREN BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO GET DUMBLEDORE BACK INTO A POSITION TO HELP LEAD US TO SALVATION FROM YOU-KNOW-WHO I’M NOT SURE I’LL BE ABLE TO FORGIVE YOU. I’VE COME TO LOVE YOU LIKE A SON, BUT RIGHT NOW YOUR ACTIONS HAVE MADE ME MORE ASHAMED AND ANGRY THEN I’VE EVER BEEN – EVEN FRED AND GEORGE HAVE NEVER MADE ME THIS ANGRY!_ **

Harry couldn’t help but notice that the entire paragraph in which Gideon and Fabian Prewett were mentioned was smudged and stained with what he could only assume were tears, suggesting that Molly was crying as she wrote the words. Harry hated the fact that he’d made Molly cry because he truly did think of her as a sort of surrogate mother, as she was the first motherly figure in his life to treat him with any kindness at all. Still, knowing everything that Dumbledore had done, there was no way he’d even attempt to reverse any of his actions in regards to him. Of course, since she wasn’t in the know about what Dumbledore had actually done, Harry couldn’t exactly blame Molly for being angry and confused, as she—like many other people in the Wizarding World—were still looking at Dumbledore through rose-colored glasses and seeing only the carefully cultivated hero persona he’d created over the years.

As the letter ripped up, Minerva said, “Well, that was… loud.” She was unable to come up with anything else to say, as her ears were still ringing from the decibel level of Molly’s tirade.

“Yes, it was definitely that,” Edward said, as he shook his head a few times and rubbed his temples. After a moment, he said, “While I’m slightly angered by her implication that I’ve lost my mind, I suppose I can understand why she must think that, seeing as how she doesn’t know any of the details that led to my issuing that warrant in the first place.”

“True,” Harry said with a sigh. “And I’m sure she’s not the only one in the country who’s confused. I’m not really sure what the best course of action is, but I can’t help but think that we need to communicate at least some of the facts to the public, otherwise we risk getting more howlers and I for one could do without them. And while Molly might have refrained from sending one to you, Edward, considering that there are quite likely people who were involved in the murders of your family that were never caught, I’m sure there’s at least a few people who would see nothing wrong with sending you one. A howler is after all quite minor in comparison to cold-blooded murder.”

“Well, that much is true,” Edward agreed. “I just don’t know how much of the details I’m comfortable sharing with the public at large. Remember, Minerva has already tried to banish the double of me that she created at Nurmengard to hide my escape and it didn’t work. So I think it’s clear that what we discussed at the castle around the round table is true. If we say that I was imprisoned at Nurmengard and that Gellert Grindelwald has been loose for over a decade nobody is going to believe it because they’ll just go to Nurmengard see that he’s still there and then everyone will think we’re lying. And if you think the public is angry now? Just wait until they think their hero is being unjustly accused by the king.”

With a sigh, Edward added, “Oh sometimes I wish I had been born to a different family—any other family—and didn’t have to deal with affairs of state or ruling over anyone. My life would be so much simpler and a hell of a lot less stressful.”

“That might be true, Your Majesty,” Minerva said. “But on the other hand, if you weren’t a Pendragon, chances are you would never have met Prince Ramesses and you certainly wouldn’t be about to marry him. So, while your life might have far less stress, you’d also be living it without your soulmate.”

Edward nodded, a small smile coming to his face, as he said, “You make a good point, Minerva. I’m not in love with Ram yet, but I do really like him, so I think in time I honestly could love him. I don’t think I’d much enjoy life without him, so I definitely want to keep him.”

Minerva smiled. “From what I’ve seen, that sentiment is mutual, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about there. Prince Ramesses looks set to become a permanent staple of your life, so you’re just going to have to get used to him.”

Edward sighed, a grin on his face, as he said, “That’s going to be such a hardship, but I’m sure I’ll find some way to deal with it.”

“Quite,” Minerva said, as she shook her head. As a teacher at Hogwarts and a mage trainer she’d dealt with more hormonal young people than she could count over the years and thus knew all too well what they were like.

Clearing his throat, Harry said, “Back to the subject of the Weasleys and what to tell the populace?”

Turning serious, Edward nodded. “Yes, well, for the populace, I guess I could tell them that there’s evidence that Albus had masterminded a plot to overthrow the monarchy and that he was using his Brian persona to help facilitate his plans. I don’t think we’d have to get any more specific than that.”

Minerva nodded. “Personally, I’d say that should work. It has the benefit of being true, while not revealing all of the precise details. Ideally we could tell them the whole truth about Gellert and Albus, but it looks like they’ve taken precautions to make sure nobody would believe us if we said that Gellert was loose. And admitting that Edward was kidnapped from the palace and imprisoned for years will only make Albion look even more incompetent than they already did after the entire royal family save one member was killed off. We’d probably become the laughingstock of the magical world.”

It was at this point that Harry remembered all of the portraits in the room and casting a nervous look around the room, he asked, “Er, should we be discussing this with so many portraits around?”

Minerva smiled. “Don’t worry, Harry, in case you hadn’t noticed all of them are sleeping because they don’t even know anyone’s in the room.” At Harry’s and Edward’s curious looks, Minerva added, “I used several mage level protections around the fireplace and this seating group so that not only can our conversation not be overheard by the portraits, they can’t see us sitting here either. In fact, if anyone were to come into the office from the doors, they also wouldn’t see us sitting here or hear our conversation. The only way they’d see us is if they came in through the Floo and I locked that down the moment you two came through.”

“Thanks for that,” Edward said as Minerva nodded. Turning to Harry, the young king asked, “Harry, do you trust the Weasleys?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are sort of like surrogate parents to me,” Harry answered. “I know some of what Molly said in the howler would suggest that I’m not that important to her, but Ron, Fred, and George have all told me over the years that Molly has a fiery temper to match her red hair and sometimes when she gets really fired up and angry, she’ll say things she doesn’t mean and regrets them when she calms down. I’m hoping this is one of those times.”

Edward nodded. “Okay. I ask because I’d be willing to allow them at least to be given the full truth, especially if you’re close enough to them to think of them as family. Of course, they’d have to swear an Oath of Secrecy just to be safe, but if they’re your closest family and friends, I also don’t want you to have to lie to them, even by omission. Plus, I don’t want you to have to deal with getting angry howlers from your surrogate mother all the time if it can be avoided.”

Harry didn’t know what to say for a moment, until finally he smiled and said, “Thank you, Edward.” Edward nodded, before Harry asked, “Er, could we include Hermione in the explanations? She’s already sworn an Oath of Secrecy to me but I haven’t told her any of the details about you or Albus and Gellert. She’s stood by me throughout this whole ordeal but I can tell that she doesn’t understand what’s going on and she always looked up to Albus, so it’s been something of a shock to her to realize that he isn’t the man she thought he was.”

“I’m sure that sentiment is shared by everyone who does know the truth, Harry,” Minerva commented.

“Yes we can include Hermione if you want,” Edward said. “She’s one of your best friends right?”

Harry nodded. “Yes, she’s one of my best and oldest friends. The second friend I’d ever made in fact, after Ron Weasley, although he’s been pulling away recently. I think it’s because my double has been spending a lot of time with people other than him and Hermione. For a long time it was just the three of us and I guess he doesn’t like sharing my attention. Of course, his family isn’t very well off, so I can’t imagine knowing that I’m wealthy or that I own a castle and several houses helps. He’s always known that I had money, but until he actually saw Seacliff I don’t think he ever realized just how much and I’m sure that’s made him take a step back and reassess.”

“What exactly do the Weasleys do?” Edward asked, a curious look on his face.

“Well, their eldest son, Bill, is a curse breaker,” Harry answered. “You’ve already met him since he was one of Gellert’s suitor picks.” Edward nodded. “The next son, Charlie, is a dragon keeper, recently transferred to the Coulderton Reserve from Romania. Although as I said earlier because they don’t live with their parents, their parents won’t accept any money from them, believing that all of their paychecks should go towards their own households and savings. Their third son, Percy, works at the Ministry in the International Magical Cooperation department—I think he’s Lord Crouch’s executive assistant or something.”

Edward nodded but remained silent, as Harry continued, “And then sons Fred, George, Ron, and daughter Ginny are students here at Hogwarts. Molly is a housewife and Arthur also works at the Ministry as the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. I had Robert do some checking and due to the disdain that a lot of wizards have towards muggles, Arthur’s job doesn’t pay all that well to begin with. However, a few hundred years ago, the family was also dishonored and lost all of their savings and wealth. They’ve since regained their honor, but to this day are still saddled with crushing amounts of debt that ensure they live in poverty because the vast majority of Arthur’s paychecks goes towards paying off those old debts, so they can never really save up any money. I remember just before my second year Mrs. Weasley cleaned out their Gringotts’ vault to buy school supplies and there was only a single galleon in it and some odd sickles and knuts.”

“Hmm,” Edward said. “I’ll have Tristan look into that and see if some of those debts can be forgiven. No family should be saddled with having to pay off old debts that were incurred a few hundred years ago. I’ll also have him set in motion an audit of the entire Ministry for Magic and see if any changes need to be made to the payroll and other expenditures.” After a moment, he looked confused as he asked, “And only a single galleon? Isn’t that like five pounds in muggle money, if I’m remembering the exchange rate correctly?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, that’s correct.”

“Bloody hell,” Edward said. “Compared to the Weasleys, both the Pendragons and the Potters probably look like they have an embarrassment of riches. I can definitely see why your friend Ron would be jealous.”

Harry nodded. “Probably, although I think the biggest issue is that he doesn’t like sharing me. I think he thought of me as his ticket to fame. As the youngest of six boys he feels like he can’t do anything special that his brothers haven’t already done, so being my first and best friend was sort of his claim to fame and something that his brothers hadn’t done.”

Summoning her staff, Minerva mumbled a few words that caused the gem to glow, before she said, “I just sent a message to Cailan. He’s got the first afternoon period free so I asked him to collect Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione and bring them to The Burrow.”

“The Burrow?” Edward asked.

“The Weasley family home,” Harry answered.

“Ah,” Edward said. “Since he’s a past student of yours, can you also send a message to Tristan? Ask him to tell Arthur and Percy Weasley to take the afternoon off and go home? By royal command?”

Minerva nodded, as she mumbled a few words and the gem on her staff glowed again, as she said, “Done. Now, why don’t we have that tea and we can just relax for a few moments until Cailan and Tristan get back to me to let me know that all of the Weasleys and Hermione are at The Burrow? Then I’ll take you both there myself to let them in on what’s going on.”

Edward nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

-o-0-o-

About forty-five minutes later, the entire Weasley family, plus Noah and Hermione, were gathered in the kitchen of the Burrow. Cailan had brought the Hogwarts students personally, but then had to return because his free period was almost over and he had to get back because he had a class to teach. Needless to say, the entire Weasley family and Hermione were confused about why they were all here. The fact that Arthur and Percy had been told to take the afternoon off and return home, by royal command no less, only confused them more.

“Dad, Perce, do either of you have any ideas why the king would order you both to take the afternoon off?”

“No idea, whatsoever, Bill,” Percy answered, as Arthur nodded to indicate he was as clueless as his son.

“I can’t imagine it’s for no reason,” Charlie said. “I mean it’s the king so he’s surely a very busy man.”

“Yes quite busy,” Molly said. “Railroading innocent men.”

“Molly,” Arthur said, his tone suddenly severe. “Please tell me that you didn’t send a howler to the king about Dumbledore’s arrest warrant.”

“No, Arthur, I did not send a howler to the king,” Molly said, although she refrained from mentioning that she’d sent one to Harry.

Arthur had a sinking feeling in his gut that while his wife may have resisted the urge to send a howler to King Edward, that she might not have resisted the urge to send one to the King’s seneschal or even Harry. Before he could comment, however, there was a bright flash of fire as a phoenix appeared in the room, with Harry and King Edward holding onto the bird’s talons. Everyone just stared silently, unable to believe that the reigning monarch of Albion and Iwernia was standing in The Burrow, as Harry and Edward let go of the birds’ talons, who then flew about a foot away from them and transformed into Minerva McGonagall.

“Arthur Weasley, I presume?” Edward asked, as he looked at Arthur.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Arthur said. “This is a very unexpected pleasure.”

Edward nodded his head. “Yes, I imagine that it is and I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’m here.” Several heads throughout the room nodded, before Edward continued. “You see I was in the room when your wife’s howler to my Lord Chancellor,” motioning towards Harry, “arrived and I felt that I had to come in person to address her assertion that I had lost my mind.”

“Molly! You didn’t!” Arthur exclaimed as a collective sharp intake of breath came from several members of the family at the same time that Percy asked, “Mum! Are you nuts?”

Molly bristled at this, unable to understand why her family wasn’t supporting her, as she said, “Yes, Arthur I did and no, Percival, I am not nuts. I refuse to believe that a hero like Albus Dumbledore could possibly be guilty of a crime as serious as high treason and I had to bring that to Harry’s attention so that he could do something about it.”

“Well, you succeeded in getting my attention, Mrs. Weasley,” Harry said. “Especially when you said that my ‘completely idiotic actions’ had disappointed you more than Fred and George ever have and then proceeded to lay on a guilt trip about Dumbledore being the wizarding world’s only hope against Voldemort and basically saying that you’d never forgive me if you lost any more family and friends to that monster.”

“Molly,” Arthur almost whined, as he couldn’t believe that his wife had said all of that to a fourteen-year-old boy—who also happened to be one of the most powerful noblemen in the country.

“Mum, honestly,” Percy said. “You-Know-Who is dead.”

Clearing his throat to get everyone’s attention, Edward said, “After listening to your howler, Mrs. Weasley, Lord Potter, Professor McGonagall, and I discussed the matter and I decided to share some additional details with the public to calm everyone’s nerves. However, I also agreed to tell all of you the full story, with no details held back, since Harry thinks of you as his family and closest friends. However, since that will mean revealing state secrets to you, I must insist that all of you who haven’t already done so swear an Oath of Secrecy to Lord Potter.”

There was silence for a moment, before Arthur nodded. “That’s acceptable and more consideration then we deserve after my wife’s deplorable behavior, Your Majesty.”

Molly looked ready to retort, but a severe look from Arthur made the words die on her tongue. Since Hermione had already sworn an oath, she stayed back, as the rest of the family swore their oaths, starting with Arthur and ending with Ginny.

“Can we take this somewhere a bit more comfortable than the kitchen?” Edward asked. “The living room, perhaps?”

Arthur nodded. “Of course, it’s right this way, Your Majesty.”

Once everyone was seated in the living room of The Burrow—the seating arranged so that Harry and Edward were facing everyone else—and Minerva had cast several powerful mage-level protections to ensure privacy, Edward said, “Now, the information that I decided to be allowed to be given to the press and the public at large is that Albus Dumbledore masterminded a plot to overthrow the monarchy and was using the persona of non-existent Brian Dumbledore to aid in carrying out that plot.”

“That’s rubbish,” Molly said.

“Mrs. Weasley,” Harry admonished. “Please remember that you’re in the presence of the king and mind your manners. I understand you’re not used to dealing with royalty, but this will be a lot quicker and less painful if you don’t dispute every word out of King Edward’s mouth.”

The twins grinned at this, as Percy nodded and said, “Yes, Mum, please let’s just hear His Majesty out. I sincerely doubt that he would have issued that warrant in the first place without compelling evidence of Dumbledore’s guilt.”

“Thank you, Mr. Weasley,” Edward said with a nod to Percy. “Now, for the facts that won’t be shared with the press or the public, and I must impress upon you very strongly that these are state secrets and that you will not reveal them without Lord Potter’s or my express permission.” Once everyone nodded in agreement, Edward continued. “Albus Dumbledore is guilty of high treason because he deprived his sovereign monarch, me, of not only my rightful throne, but also over a decade of my life and freedom.”

Everyone in the room was so quiet that Harry was sure you could have heard a pin drop as Edward went on to explain about his kidnapping, his imprisonment, and the fact that Gellert Grindelwald had been masquerading as him. When he was finished Harry added how he had gone to Nurmengard, along with Minerva, Rolanda, Pomona, Septima and Amelia Bones and that they were present in Grindelwald’s cell as the Glamour Charms were removed from who the prison officials had thought was Grindelwald but turned out to be Edward. Minerva, of course, backed up every word that Harry and Edward said, after which Bill confirmed it as well, since he’d obviously been told the truth when Edward released him from the suitor bond that Gellert had created as Edward.

“Ron, Ginny,” Harry finally said, “you remember that I’d said at Hogwarts that Neville was involved in planning a joint military operation involving special forces from more than one country?” A wide-eyed Ron and Ginny nodded. “That operation was basically storming Castle Camelot itself. Every single one of the Lords of the Thirteen were involved as was the most elite special forces team of the Egyptian Empire and Pharaoh Seti Ptolemy himself—securing Egypt’s help is why Edward is marrying Prince Ramesses on Saturday.”

“Well, that and the fact that Ramesses and I do seem to get along quite well,” Edward said with a small chuckle.

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Fred said softly to George. He’d seen them together at Hogwarts, after all, and thought they made quite a handsome couple. George, for his part, agreed with his twin that they made a good-looking couple, although seeing as how he was the straight twin, he generally didn’t mention such things himself. Edward heard the comment, but chose not to respond, instead thinking again just how much he was sure he’d enjoy the wedding night.

“So Gellert Grindelwald is not in prison?” Charlie asked after a moment. Edward, Harry, and Minerva nodded affirmatively. Turning to Bill, Charlie asked, “And you had sex with him?”

Bill closed his eyes for a moment, clearly still disturbed by that thought—not to mention having his sex life brought up in front of his parents—before he nodded. “Yes, Charlie, I had sex with Gellert Grindelwald, although definitely not by choice. I never would have done it if I knew it was him, but that should show you just how well Albus and Gellert have fooled everybody. None of us—by that I mean the suitor candidates—suspected for even a fraction of a second that the person we were with wasn’t the real Edward Pendragon, but I know now that it wasn’t and that’s the reason that I was released from the courtship bond. Thankfully, Gellert identifying himself as Edward when he cast the bond bound me and the others to Edward and not Gellert, so Edward was able to break it.”

“Oh my poor baby,” a crying Molly said as she grabbed Bill’s head, pulled it down against her chest and begun rubbing the side of his head, as Bill protested, “Mum!” Molly didn’t care, however, as she felt the need to comfort her eldest son after he was so horribly violated by the former dark lord. Normally Fred, George or even Ron might have laughed at Bill’s current predicament, but considering the circumstances, none of them did.

“I can’t help but notice that there’s been no mention of Gellert Grindelwald being loose in the papers,” Arthur commented after a moment of watching his eldest son struggle to get out of his wife’s grasp. “May I ask what’s being done to bring him to justice after he basically forced himself on my eldest son under false pretenses which in my book constitutes rape?”

Edward sighed. “Unfortunately, there’s a problem there,” as he went on to explain about how they’d tried to hide his escape from Nurmengard from Albus and Gellert only to have that turned against them. He then also elaborated upon the final confrontation with Albus and Gellert in the throne room of Castle Camelot and the revelation in regards to the Elder Wand.

In the end, Edward said, “In short, while Gellert is a clear and present danger, I can’t tell the world that he’s loose without being made to look like a liar, since they’ll undoubtedly check and find him still in his cell. Albion’s reputation already took a hit following the murders of my family and I don’t know if it could survive another hit such as me being branded a liar. And if it appears to everyone else that I’m lying about Gellert, people will probably start to think that I’m lying about Albus, too, and then they’ll be demanding that I drop the charges against him.”

Harry nodded and said, “In other words everything will unravel and it’ll be an even bigger mess than it already is.” After a moment, he said, “But this is why none of you can discuss this anywhere, with anyone. Because if the wrong people overheard you, it’ll only make the current situation even worse.”

Finally letting go of Bill, a clearly distraught Molly launched herself at Harry and Edward, pulling them both into hugs and apologizing profusely about the howler and everything she’d said in it. After a moment, Arthur pulled his wife away, much to her displeasure, as he whispered in her ear, “Molly, stop manhandling the King.” Realizing what she’d just done, her eyes widened and she began apologizing even more than she already had been.

Edward was silent for a moment, before he smiled and said, “It’s okay, Mrs. Weasley. I understand that today has been a very emotional and trying day for you, so I can overlook your breach of protocol.” After a moment, he added, “In truth, it was kind of nice actually, because I haven’t had a motherly hug since my parents died and being so young at the time, I almost forgot what that was like.”

-o-0-o-

The following Saturday, Edward found himself back at Castle Camelot in a side chamber off the massive Emperor’s Cathedral, which was a substantial addition to the original Castle Camelot complex dating back to about ten years after the establishment of the Empire of Camelot and is where every royal wedding since had occurred. Of course, it was important to note that the Emperor’s Cathedral was not physically connected to Castle Camelot due to Merlin magically making structural changes to the castle—beyond updating the plumbing—impossible.

Already dressed in his finest dress robes, the only thing Edward hadn’t put on yet was the crown, choosing to leave that off until he actually left the room. Pacing a bit, he tried to calm his nerves, he took a deep breath and asked aloud, “Why am I so nervous?”

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s because you’re getting married today.”

Even as he spun around on his heel to see who it was who’d just spoke, a second voice said, “Don’t worry, son, everyone is nervous before their wedding and if they say they’re not, they’re lying.”

“Mum? Dad?” Edward asked, as he looked at the portrait of his parents. As a member of the royal family, that was obviously very wealthy, Edward knew that portraits of his parents had been done. Several of them, in fact, seeing as how it was something of a royal tradition to do a new portrait every year. He’d been very busy up until now, however, so he’d never actually had a spare moment to search the walls of Castle Camelot for their portraits, which could have taken several days to do considering that there were portraits going back over a thousand years.

“Hello, son,” Crown Prince Michael Pendragon said with a smile, as Princess Margaret van Oranje Pendragon looked almost near tears, as she said, “Oh my baby boy is all grown up and getting married.”

Michael put an arm around his wife, as she rested her head against his shoulder. Edward, meanwhile, stayed silent as he just stared at the portrait, momentarily struck dumb by seeing his parents again after so many years. There hadn’t been any copies of their portraits hung at the Winter Palace because as a child, Edward had found it far too painful to look at them, so this was basically the first time he was seeing his parents in twenty-two years.

After a moment, he shook his head and found his voice. “Yeah, I’m getting married today.” And then getting a slightly apprehensive look on his face, he asked, “Er, you’re not angry that it’s to a prince are you?”

“Now what kind of question is that?” Michael asked. “Seriously son? Are you happy?”

“Well, it’s a political match, but yes, I am happy about it.”

“Well, that’s all we care about,” Margaret said. “Do you think eventually you might be able to love this prince? What’s his name, by the way?”

“Prince Ramesses of Egypt,” Edward answered. “He’s one of Pharaoh Seti’s sons and yes, I think given enough time I could love him. In fact, he’s apparently my soulmate.”

“Well then that just makes your mother and me doubly happy,” Michael said. After a moment, he asked, “So just how many sons does Seti have these days? I know he had about two dozen the last time we met, but then that was over twenty years ago obviously.”

“It’s over sixty of them now,” Edward said with a shake of his head. “Combined with his daughters he’s got 137 legitimate children and that’s not counting the over 200 illegitimate ones that he acknowledges.”

“Oh good heavens,” Margaret said. “I know he’s got multiple wives and several lovers, but I almost feel sorry for them, because they must spend most of their lives pregnant.”

Edward nodded. “Probably, yes. I’ve already told RJ that we’re not having that many, although in truth I do plan to take a page from Seti’s book and marry more than once, although husbands in my case.”

“Wanting to repopulate the family, I assume?” Michael asked and Edward nodded. “Well, as long as you’re happy, then we’re happy. Although I suppose you’ll still need to bring in some ladies-in-waiting for your husbands, simply because you’ll need them to act as surrogates.”

“Yeah, I guess, although I haven’t actually thought that far ahead yet.”

“That’s fine, Edward. One thing at a time,” Margaret said, as she fell silent and just looked at him for a moment, before she shook her head and said, “I just can’t get over how much you’ve grown. My sweet and innocent little baby is a tall and handsome young man now. And you definitely favored your father, I see.”

“Well, he has your nose, dear,” Michael said. “And your hair color, but then we knew that when he was still a toddler. Still, seeing him all grown up is quite the change from our little man that we loved so much.”

“Love, Michael, present tense,” Margaret corrected. “Just because we’re dead doesn’t mean that we don’t still love him.”

“Of course,” Michael said. “I’m just surprised that it’s taken this long for us to see him again.”

Edward looked down at his feet for a moment, before he said, “Well, I spent my formative years at the Winter Palace, where you probably know there aren’t as many family portraits, or at least the more recent ones. And the ones that were there of people that were alive to see my birth I had taken down. I suppose it was survivor’s guilt or something, but I just couldn’t bear to look at any of the portraits—let alone talk to them—of all the family I’d lost. I think I was starting to get over that by the time I was about twelve, but then Nurmengard happened.”

Margaret looked pained as she nodded and said, “Yes, Merlin and Arthur told us about your imprisonment, Edward. If I wasn’t a portrait I’d strangle both of those monsters for what they did to my baby.” With a sigh, she said, “I’m just glad that you’re out of that hellish place now and trying to move on with your life.”

“Me too,” Edward said, as he glanced over at the clock and said, “Well, I guess it’s time for me to go get married.”

“Yes political match or not, it’s best not to keep your groom waiting,” Michael said, before he grinned and added, “Especially when they’re the son of a living god.”

-o-0-o-

Roughly twenty minutes later, Edward and Ramesses were standing in front of the altar of the Emperor’s Cathedral. Neville Longbottom was standing next to Edward as his best man, while Ramesses’ brother Khaneferre Ptolemy was standing up as his. Garrick stood behind the altar, which had been cleared of most of the religious paraphernalia that usually decorated it out of respect for the fact that this was to be for the most part a non-denominational ceremony owing to the fact that Edward worshipped the Olympian pantheon, while Ramesses worshipped the Egyptian pantheon.

Obviously that had come up during the wedding planning and Ramesses questioned whether he’d be expected to convert, at which point Edward had shook his head and said that no, he wouldn’t be for which Ramesses was happy. He was interested in learning more about the Olympian pantheon and wouldn’t rule out the possibility that he might start praying to some of its gods and goddesses when it seemed appropriate, but after twenty years of worshipping the Egyptian deities—which included his father—he doubted that he could ever fully convert to a different religion.

Clearing his throat, Garrick began the ceremony. “We are gathered here today to witness the union of His Imperial and Royal Majesty, Edward IX Pendragon, son of the late Crown Prince Michael Pendragon and Crown Princess Margaret Pendragon nee Van Oranje, and His Royal Highness Ramesses Ptolemy, son of His Most Divine Majesty Pharaoh Seti Ptolemy and Princess-Consort Nefertari Ptolemy nee Caesar. Who gives these men to be united to one another?”

If he was alive, Crown Prince Michael—who may well have become King Michael by this point—would have been the first to speak on his son’s behalf, but since a portrait wasn’t allowed to take part in a ceremony like this, Harry was filling in for him as he had done during the courtship ritual. And since Harry was only a Duke, it was decided to allow Pharaoh Seti to speak first, since he was royalty rather than nobility.

“I, Seti Menkare Khufu Ramesses Neferkamin Khaneferre Djoser Ptolemy, Pharaoh and Living God of the Magical Dominions of Upper and Lower Egypt, the Realms of the Egyptian Empire and Head of the Most Ancient and Imperial House of Ptolemy, gladly give my consent and blessings to Ramesses on this union, and wish him and Edward many long years of happiness together."

As Seti resumed his seat, Harry stood and said, “I, Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston, Lord High Chancellor to the Court of Pendragon, and Lord of Seacliff Castle, on behalf of Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Michael Pendragon, Duke of Penderleath and Lord of the Winter Palace, and Crown Princess Margaret van Oranje Pendragon, Duchess of Penderleath and Lady of the Winter Palace, gladly give my consent and blessings to Edward on this union, and wish him and Ramesses many long years of happiness together."

As Harry sat down, Garrick nodded and said, “Very well. Honored royalty of the Wizarding World and Ladies and Gentleman we are gathered here in the eyes of the Gods and these witnesses to unite this man, Edward Pendragon, with this man, Ramesses Ptolemy. If anyone present has a just reason for them to not be allowed to be united in wedlock, please speak now or forever remain silent."

Unlike when he’d officiated over the wedding of Charles and Noah, Garrick didn’t add that the fact that Edward and Ramesses were both men wasn’t a valid reason for why they shouldn’t be wed, as he rather felt that should be obvious to everyone present that the King would have made same-sex marriages legal in the Province of Camelot prior to his wedding to a man. He also rather doubted that anyone would be crazy enough to stand up and protest the wedding of a reigning monarch, but it was a required part of the ceremony and thus he gave the requisite minute to allow any objections—of which there weren’t any—before moving on.

“I would normally begin the ceremony with a prayer to the Goddess Hera, but since the grooms and many of you who have gathered to witness this union worship different pantheons, I instead ask that you all instead take a moment to pray to the gods or goddesses of your choice and ask that they grant their blessings upon Edward and Ramesses on this their wedding day.”

Heads throughout the cathedral bowed at this as the gathered royalty, nobility, and other guests began praying. Garrick silently offered up a prayer to Hera, and when he was finished he lifted his head and gazed out at the crowd. Once he saw that nobody in the cathedral still had their heads bowed in prayer, he pulled out his wand and said, “Very well, now Edward and Ramesses have requested a traditional marriage bonding, so at this time I would ask that they please remove their robes and hand them off to their best men.”

Both Edward and Ramesses removed their formal robes at this point, revealing the matching outfits they wore underneath. However, unlike Charlie and Noah, who had worn white silk shirts, black knee-length breeches, white stockings and black shoes under their formal robes, the grooms had instead opted to bring a bit of Ramesses’ native culture into the ceremony and thus both Edward and Ramesses were dressed in ancient Egyptian attire. This consisted of a shendyt—a kilt-like wraparound skirt—that was gathered at the front and fastened with black leather belts, along with sleeveless vests of white silk embroidered with gold, which were left open to reveal their bare chests and black leather sandals.

The clothes wouldn’t be appropriate attire this time of year, even in the Province of Camelot which was much further south than the Scottish Highlands, but it was fine indoors as obviously the Emperor’s Cathedral was well-heated. And just as Ramesses wanted to learn more about Edward’s culture, Edward also wanted to learn more about Ramesses’. It was actually Edward himself that suggested—much to Ramesses’ initial surprise—that they wear Egyptian attire during the ceremony, which prompted Edward to say that he thought it was important to bring some of Ramesses’s culture to their wedding. Ramesses was touched and thus it was that the Egyptian tailor who had made all of Ramesses’s new clothes—in addition to the mage students’—was employed once again to craft their wedding attire in the ancient Egyptian style that was still utilized in all of the formal ceremonies in Wizarding Egypt.

As Edward and Ramesses handed their robes off to Neville and Khaneferre, who carefully folded them up and then held them under their left shoulders, Garrick pointed his wand at the floor and said a spell under his breath which caused an intricate runic pattern to draw itself around Edward and Ramesses on the floor of the cathedral.

"Edward and Ramesses, please turn to face each other," Garrick said, as they did so, "as I call upon the elemental spirits to bear witness to your union."

Raising his wand, Garrick incanted in Latin, "We humbly ask that you come and bear witness to this union, oh Great Spirit of Fire." As he said this, a jet of fire shot out of the tip of Garrick's wand and formed a circle around the king and his prince. Just as he had done at Charlie and Noah’s wedding, he then proceeded to call upon the spirits of Earth, Water, and Air.

"Oh Great Spirits of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, we ask that you lend your powers to formalize the bond between these two young men," Garrick intoned, once again speaking in Latin. At this the four elemental rings, which had previously just been moving around in circles around Edward and Ramesses began to speed up, moving in a very chaotic pattern up and down the length of their bodies. Harry remembered this from Charlie and Noah’s wedding and while he’d already seen it, he still thought it was definitely an amazing sight as the various rings changed size in order to pass by one another without ever coming into contact with their opposing elements. Just as they had in the previous wedding, the speed the rings soon slowed as they synchronized themselves with the grooms’ heartbeats.

"Now, Edward and Ramesses, please grip the forearms of your partners’ wand hand," Garrick said, prompting Ramesses to grip Edward's left forearm as Edward gripped Ramesses's right forearm. "Now it's time for Edward and Ramesses to make their vows to one another. As this is a political match, they’ve decided to skip the normal seven declarations of love at this time, as they felt it would be wrong to make such declarations when their feelings don’t currently reflect them. So, we’ll move directly to the vows with Prince Ramesses going first.” Turning to Ramesses, Garrick asked, “Are you ready?”

Ramesses nodded, prompting Garrick to ask, “Ramesses Jibade Seti Omari Damien Alexander Sebastian Ptolemy, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to honor, obey, and remain respectful of Edward as your husband and liege lord for the rest of your life?”

"I so vow, so mote it be," Ramesses answered, knowing that even though Edward planned to make Ramesses his co-ruler, he would always be lower than Edward, who was still the King by divine right. Edward could choose to share much of his power and authority with Ramesses and ask that others treat him as they would Edward himself, but Ramesses wasn’t crowned yet as he couldn’t be until he’d actually married Edward and when marrying a King the vows tended to be said in a very specific way.

“Ramesses Jibade Seti Omari Damien Alexander Sebastian Ptolemy, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to always be honest with Edward, and keep no secrets from him that could in anyway harm him, his rightful heirs, subjects, empire, or anyone else that he cares about?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Ramesses Jibade Seti Omari Damien Alexander Sebastian Ptolemy, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to trust in Edward’s decisions as your husband and liege lord and to support and believe him on all matters, regardless of what anyone else might say?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Ramesses Jibade Seti Omari Damien Alexander Sebastian Ptolemy, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to do everything in your power to safeguard Edward, as your husband and liege lord, his rightful heirs, subjects, empire and anyone else he cares about from any and all harm that may befall them, regardless of its source?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Ramesses Jibade Seti Omari Damien Alexander Sebastian Ptolemy, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow never to allow any grievances to fester between you and Edward, by bringing them to his attention for discussion at his convenience and then accepting whatever judgement he renders on the matter, whether you agree with it or not?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Ramesses Jibade Seti Omari Damien Alexander Sebastian Ptolemy, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to ensure that all taxes and rents due to Edward as your husband and liege lord that are generated from any possessions, material, monetary, or otherwise that you come to possess after this date are always paid promptly and without fail?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Ramesses Jibade Seti Omari Damien Alexander Sebastian Ptolemy, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to do everything within your power to help Edward as your husband and liege lord to become and remain the best man and ruler that he can be and to nurture your relationship with him to always be the strongest it possibly can be?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

With a nod, Garrick turned now to Edward, and said, “Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to honor, protect, and remain ever fair and merciful towards Ramesses as your husband and vassal for the rest of your life?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to be honest with Ramesses, and keep no secrets from him that could in anyway harm him, his heirs, or anyone else he cares about, unless telling him would place yourself, your rightful heirs, subjects, or empire in harm’s way?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to trust in Ramesses’s counsel as your husband and vassal and to support and believe him on all matters that do not pose a threat to yourself, your rightful heirs and subjects, or that would disrupt the unity of the empire?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to do everything in your power to safeguard your husband and vassal, Ramesses, his heirs, and anyone else he cares about from any and all harm that may befall them, if doing so will not pose a threat to yourself, your rightful heirs and subjects, or disrupt the unity of the empire?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow never to allow any grievances to fester between you and Ramesses, by summoning him to discuss whatever issues exist and agreeing to be as fair and merciful in all of your judgements concerning him and his heirs as you can be without posing a threat to yourself, your rightful heirs and subjects, or disrupting the unity of the empire?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to ensure that taxes and other fees due from Ramesses as your husband and vassal that are generated from any possessions, material, monetary, or otherwise that he comes into possession of after this date will be fair and not cause undue hardship upon him in times of peace for the empire?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

“Edward Arthur Charles Phillip Pendragon, in the eyes of the Gods—both Olympian and Egyptian—and these witnesses, do you vow to do everything within your power to help Ramesses as your husband and vassal to become and remain the best man and counsellor that he can be and to nurture your relationship with him to always be the strongest it possibly can be?”

"I so vow, so mote it be."

With both grooms having now said their vows, Garrick said, "Having made your vows, it is now time for the joining ceremony, for which I ask that all in attendance please stand."

Once everyone was standing, Garrick waved his wand and four long ribbons appeared in midair, floating above Edward's and Ramesses's joined forearms. "Mighty Spirit of Air, in your wisdom, do you believe that Edward and Ramesses have come here today to be joined with no hidden agendas to bring harm upon one another?"

One of the ribbons, an almost translucent white ribbon, began to glow at this point as it began to wrap itself around Edward's and Ramesses's joined forearms, tying them together.

"Mighty Spirit of Air, we acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony," Garrick said before he granted a moment for silent prayer, before continuing. "Mighty Spirit of Water, in your wisdom, do you believe that Edward and Ramesses have come here today to be joined of their own free will?"

At these words, another of the ribbons, a deep blue one that resembled the color of the ocean, began to glow brightly as it wrapped itself around Edward's and Ramesses's forearms, entwining with the white ribbon already tying them together.

"Mighty Spirit of Water, we acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony," Garrick said, before once again allowing a moment for prayer. "Mighty Spirit of Earth, in your wisdom, do you believe that Edward and Ramesses have come here today to commit to each other in fidelity and loyalty to each other?"

A third ribbon, a deep brown with accents of green, began to glow brightly and like the others before it, wrapped itself around Edward's and Ramesses's forearms, entwining with the blue and white ribbons already present there, as Garrick nodded and waiting a minute for everyone to offer prayers to their preferred deities, said, "Mighty Spirit of Earth, we acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony."

Garrick said, "And finally, Mighty Spirit of Fire, in your wisdom, do you believe that Edward and Ramesses together have everything they need to create a happy home, not only for each other, but for any children that may join them in the future?"

At these words, the final ribbon, a deep crimson colored length of silk which appeared to burn like fire, glowed bright, as it wrapped itself around Edward's and Ramesses's arms, entwining itself with the other three. "Mighty Spirit of Fire, we acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony."

Allowing a moment for prayer, Garrick then said, "Oh Mighty Spirits of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, you have come together to witness the union of Edward and Ramesses in a marriage binding and found them worthy. In your endless power and wisdom, we ask that you now bind them together for the rest of their lives."

The four ribbons entwined around Edward's and Ramesses's wrists all began to glow brightly. As the light emanating from the four ribbons got steadily brighter, Edward's and Ramesses's forearms, and then their entire bodies began to glow, surrounded by a bright, ethereal white light. As the pulsing light got ever brighter, Garrick, Edward, Ramesses, and everyone else in attendance closed their eyes for a moment to avoid being blinded. Mere seconds after the last pair of eyes in the room closed, there was a bright flash of light, as the four ribbons binding Edward and Ramesses together merged together to form a pair of solid platinum armbands with their initials and the date of their joining engraved upon them in gold.

As those assembled opened their eyes, Garrick said, "Oh Mighty Spirits of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, on behalf of Edward and Ramesses, whom in sacred marriage binding you have joined today, we once again acknowledge and thank you for your participation in this ceremony."

With a wave of his hand, a page standing off to the side of the room quickly moved forward, a large velvet pillow covered in a purple velvet cloth in his hands. Pulling the cloth off to reveal a slightly smaller and less grand version of the Crown of the Golden Dragon, which was obviously currently resting on Edward’s head, Edward took the crown from the pillow, as Ramesses knelt on the ground before his new husband, as Edward placed the crown on his head. “I, Edward Pendragon, King-Emperor of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor of the Empire of Camelot, do hereby crown you, Ramesses, as King-Emperor-Consort of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and Emperor-Consort of the Empire of Camelot and make it known that you shall have equal authority to my own as my co-ruler for the rest of my natural life.”

As Ramesses stood back up, Garrick smiled at the grooms and said, "Edward and Ramesses, I'm sure you've been eagerly awaiting this moment - you may now seal your bond with a kiss."

Grinning at each other, Edward and Ramesses, leaned forward and kissed as Garrick announced to thundering applause, "It is my great honor to present to you, Their Imperial and Royal Majesties Edward IX and Ramesses I!"

-o-0-o-

A few days later at Hogwarts, Septima tapped her glass with a spoon as Minerva stood up and rounded the table, as she said, “Quiet, everyone, please. It’s time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the announcement of the Triwizard Champions!”

Pulling out her wand, Minerva pointed it at the nearest brazier and extinguished the flames in it, before she cast her wand around in an arc, lowering the lights throughout the Great Hall and making the blue-white flames of the Goblet of Fire much more visible. Turning her wand upon the goblet itself, Minerva waved her wand for a moment, before placing it back in the holster that was concealed up her sleeve. The whole room was silent as the entire Hogwarts body, along with the delegations from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons watched the goblet anxiously.

After a moment, the flames in the goblet turned red and sparks started flying out of it and then suddenly there was a small explosion as a charred piece of parchment shot out and into the air. Reaching up, Minerva grabbed it and held it towards the light—now back to blue-white—of the goblet as she read, “The champion for Durmstrang is Mr. Viktor Krum!”

Cheers came up from the Durmstrang delegation as Viktor stood and came over to Minerva, who shook his hand and said, “Congratulations, Mr. Krum,” and then motioning towards the Head Table, she said, “If you’ll please stand just over there, we’ll see who you’ll be competing against.”

Viktor nodded and moved to stand on the raised dais in front of the Head Table. Seconds after he turned his back to the table to look at the goblet, the flames turned red again, as it shot out a second scrap of parchment, which Minerva deftly caught. Reading it, she announced, “The Beauxbatons champion is Miss Fleur Delacour!”

A mix of cheers and wails came from the Beauxbatons delegation, as two of the girls burst into tears and clutched at each other as if their lives were over, making a blond-haired Beauxbatons boy sitting nearby roll his eyes at them before shaking his head. Two other boys, another blond and a brunet, sitting near the first had similar reactions. Fleur, meanwhile, stood and made her way over to Minerva, who smiled and shook her hand. “Congratulations, Miss Delacour,” before motioning for her to go stand next to Viktor, which she did.

Moments later, the flames turned red for the third time as the parchment shot up out of the goblet and every Hogwarts student in the hall was on the edge of their seats waiting to hear who would be representing their school. Reaching up and grabbing the charred parchment out of the air, Minerva read it, before she smiled and said, “And finally the Hogwarts champion is Mr. Cedric Diggory!”

Practically everyone at the Hufflepuff table cheered and stood up as one, all trying to congratulate Cedric, as he stood and made his way over to Minerva. As he passed, Harry gave him a smile and a thumbs up, although he held his hand very close to his body so very few people noticed the gesture. Cedric did, however, and he smiled a little wider at Harry, before turning his attention to Minerva. “Congratulations, Mr. Diggory.”

As Cedric joined Viktor and Fleur, Minerva said, “There you have it, your champ-”

Minerva stopped speaking mid-word, as the flames in the goblet turned red again and more sparks shot out of it, before a fourth piece of parchment was ejected. Reaching up, Minerva caught it and it was with a very confused look on her face that she said, “It would seem we have a second champion from Durmstrang… Mr. Chandler Delrossi!”

Murmurs sounded throughout the hall, many confused and some others angry because it wasn’t fair for Durmstrang to have two champions. Over where the Durmstrang delegation was seated, a shocked Chandler Delrossi—and his brother Schuyler—stood up and made their way over to Minerva. As some of the students realized that Chandler was one half of the pair of conjoined twins among the Durmstrang delegation, there were a few more murmurs of discontent about Durmstrang now having three champions, while the other schools only had one each.

“I’m not sure what to say, Mr. Delrossi, other than congratulations,” Minerva said, as she shook hands with Chandler, before motioning towards the three other champions—all of whom looked quite dumbfounded—and adding, “If you and your brother could just join the other champions?”  
Chandler nodded as he and Schuyler moved to stand in front of the head table, next to Viktor, who whispered something to Chandler causing him to shrug, while Schuyler simply shook his head from side to side. Minerva, meanwhile, turned to address the rest of the hall as she said, “I’m not sure what to say, as I…” she stopped as the flames turned read again, and she asked, “Again?”

Sparks flew up out of the goblet for the fifth time, as yet another charred bit of parchment flew up into the air and Minerva reached up and caught it. Pausing to read it, she said, “Well, we have a second champion from Beauxbatons… Mr. Nicolas Lavoisier-Delaney!”

The eyes of the blond-haired boy, who’d first reacted to the two crying girls—who were sobbing even harder now that a second champion that wasn’t one of them had been picked—widened and his mouth dropped open, unable to believe that he’d just been picked as his school’s second champion when there was only supposed to be one. His two friends, Ryan and Noah, clapped him on the shoulders and murmured their congratulations and though they were both smiling, they were clearly just as confused as their friend. Nearby two of the professors that had accompanied the Beauxbatons delegation were beaming with pride and many of the more observant people in the room realized from the similar features all three shared it was rather obvious that Nicolas was related to the two professors. Standing up, Nicolas made his way over to Minerva and shook her hand. She congratulated him and motioned for him to join the others.

Instead of trying to say anything, however, she turned and looked at the goblet, which had not yet extinguished as it was supposed to after selecting three champions. Crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the floor, she waited for a moment, before finally the flames turned red again as more sparks were issued from the goblet and a sixth parchment flew up into the air. Grabbing it, Minerva said, “The second Hogwarts champion is…”

Every Hogwarts student was literally on the edge of their seats and waiting with baited breath to see who else other than Cedric would be representing their school.

“…Cassius Warrington,” Minerva announced, immediately causing several raucous cheers to go up from the Slytherin table, as boos sounded from all three of the other tables. Ignoring the boos, Cassius stood up and held his head high as he made his way over to Minerva and shook her hand, as the Interim Headmistress congratulated him, before motioning him to join the ever growing number of champions… now twice the number there should be.

As Minerva turned to look out over the Great Hall, she was about to speak, when the flames turned red yet again. Minerva’s eyes widened, as she exclaimed, “Oh Sweet Circe and Morgana, not again!” as yet another piece of parchment shot up out of the goblet. Reaching up and grabbing the parchment, she paused to read it, before turning and saying, “And the third champion from Durmstrang,” she pointedly ignored the students who tried to correct her by pointing out that Durmstrang had four champions because of the Delrossi twins, “is Miss Alianna van Oranje.”

As the Princess of the Netherlands stood and approached Minerva, there were murmurs all throughout the hall as people wondered just how many champions the goblet was going to pick. Unlike with the other champions, Minerva curtsied and only shook hands with Alianna after she’d offered her own hand.

As Alianna joined the other champions, the flames in the goblet turned red again and an eighth scrap of parchment shot into the air. Everyone in the hall was silent as they waited for Minerva to read the next name, which if the pattern held, should be another Beauxbatons student. Moments later, twin wails of despair were heard and some people winced, mere seconds after Minerva said, “And the third—and hopefully final— Beauxbatons champion is Miss Victoire Blanchett!”

From his place at the Slytherin table, Terence—who as Head Boy had put his own name in the goblet, despite the fact that Oliver had expressed concerns about the dangerous nature of the tasks—grinned and called out, in fluent French, “Félicitations, sœur.” Some of the other Slytherins who understood what Terence said looked confused, as they clearly weren’t aware of the fact that Terence had a sister at a different school. Victoire stood up, found Terence and smiled at him from across the room, as she said, “Merci, Liam.”

Turning to head over to McGonagall, she moved past her two crying classmates and couldn’t help but roll her eyes, as she pulled out her wand and said, “Silencio!” twice in rapid succession, silencing the incessant crying of both girls. Shouts of “Thank you!”—from both students and teachers—went up throughout the hall, as Victoire made her way over to Minerva, shook her hand, and then moved over to stand with the other champions who by now were all wearing various stages of shock on their faces, clearly wondering if the goblet was going to decide that every person who’d put their name in the bloody thing was going to have to compete.

Standing next to the goblet with her arms crossed, Minerva tapped her foot on the floor again as she waited for the goblet to turn red for the ninth and what she really hoped was the final time. She really had no idea why the Goblet of Fire had decided to pick three champions from each school instead of three total, but once the selection process actually started, the goblet was immune to all magic, including diagnostic charms. After a moment the flames shot a bit higher than they had previously, as several sparks came out, followed shortly after by another small explosion as a new scrap of parchment shot out of the goblet.

Reaching for it, Minerva read the name on it, her eyes widening as she did so. She couldn’t possibly have read what she thought she’d just read. She’d cast the Age Line herself—using her staff instead of her wand—and yet as she read it a second and third time to herself, she couldn’t argue with what was on the paper. In her hesitation following reading the name, she failed to notice the flames in the goblet die out, meaning that it was finally finished spitting out names. With a slightly shaking voice, she turned to the waiting student body and said, “The third Hogwarts Champion is… Lord Harrison Potter.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it. Chapter Sixteen, Part Three of The Journey Begins. I had originally intended to include a sex scene in this chapter between Edward and Ramesses, which leads me to an announcement. I’ve decided to add a new book to the Unexpected Love series which will be updated concurrently with this story—and later the other stories in the series—which will be basically an appendix of one-shots that are related to the story but were not included in the main chapters. So, additional scenes, possibly extended scenes, and other things that weren’t put in the main chapters in the interest of them not being over a hundred pages long.
> 
> The new addition to the series will be titled ‘Along the Journey,’ so keep your eyes peeled for it to be posted. The sex scene between Edward and Ramesses will be one of the first additions to the new book, as well as a few additional one-shots detailing their wedding reception. Most of these additional companion stories will probably be under 5,000 words, focusing on just one or two scenes, rather than multiple scenes. And as long as you stay current with the main story, there shouldn’t be any issues with reading spoilers in any of the one-shots.
> 
> So, what did you think of this chapter? Mrs. Weasley sends a howler to Harry over the Dumbledore situation. Edward got to have a chat with his parents, Edward and Ramesses got married, and Ramesses was crowned. And then there was the selection of the Triwizard Champions, which I’m sure surprised most of you.
> 
> I know some of you hate Mrs. Weasley and may be even more inclined to do so now, but that wasn’t my intention with the scene. I personally don’t hate the character. In some stories I do, but generally I do like her. For this story, I figure her howler was, if ill-advised, perfectly believable for a person who has been a staunch supporter of someone for over thirty years and has bought into all the lies they’ve been telling in that time. Remember, Molly didn’t know about any of the events that had been going on or why the warrant for Dumbledore’s arrest had been issued. All she knew was that a man she greatly respected and thought of as a hero for several decades was being attacked and she like many other people in the Wizarding World couldn’t understand why. Yes she lost her temper and said some mean things, but who hasn’t done exactly the same thing in a moment of anger and later came to regret having said it?
> 
> Also, with the last chapter this story hit a milestone on FFNet in that it now has over 400 reviews, so I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you reading this story—no matter where you read it. Your comments truly do mean the world to me. So with that, I leave you with my usual end of chapter closing…
> 
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email, my Yahoo group, or on Twitter @JVascardi.


	25. Chapter 16, Part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> Established Pairings: Terence/Oliver, Charlie/OMC: Noah, OMC: Edward/OMC: Ramesses, OMC: Nick/OMC: Dominick
> 
> Eventual Pairings: Harry/Cedric/OMC/OMC/OMC, plus others that I choose not to reveal at the present time.
> 
> Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Mpreg, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Twincest, Threesome, Foursome, Moresome, Harem

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter Sixteen  
Part Four

-o-0-o-

“The third Hogwarts Champion is Lord Harrison Potter.”

Harry’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as Minerva said his name because he knew that he hadn’t entered his name in the goblet. Even if he had been seventeen, he had no intention of entering the Tournament, not the least of which was because as a Governor of Hogwarts he knew what the First Task entailed and thus he had a very unfair advantage over the others. Chancing a look at some of the other people at the Gryffindor table, he could see many of them staring at him wide-eyed, although from the expressions that he saw—which certainly wasn’t everyone’s—only Ron’s appeared to be hostile.

“Lord Potter?” Minerva asked. “If you could please stand and follow me?” Harry nodded mutely and stood as Minerva motioned towards the door to the antechamber and added, “All of the champions please head into the antechamber.”

The nine champions all did as Minerva requested, as she, Madam Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, Lord Crouch, and Ludo Bagman followed the students out of the Great Hall. Professor Moody soon followed, which prompted Professors Prevette and Thornquist to join them—the latter of whom was the Dark Arts professor at Durmstrang. Edward and Ramesses also got up from where they’d been sitting watching the selection and followed the others into the antechamber, closing the door behind them.

Before anyone else said anything, Minerva summoned her staff and mumbled something under her breath as she locked down the Floo, put up privacy charms, and finally warded the door and all the portraits, save for one. The one she didn’t ward was the newest addition to the room, added only a few days ago. It was Merlin’s and Arthur’s portrait, which had been hung in the antechamber so that people could have a more private place to talk to them, but like the other portraits having a portrait at Hogwarts meant they could now visit any frame in the castle.

Pausing to quickly bring Merlin and Arthur up to speed on the surprises during the selection process, Minerva turned to everyone else and said, “Well, this was extremely unexpected. Honestly I’m still in shock as I can’t understand how this happened.”

“Isn’t Lord Potter only fourteen?” Genevieve Prevette asked. “How did he get past your Age Line to put his name in the goblet?”

“I didn’t, because I didn’t put my name in,” Harry answered.

Several people in the room scoffed at that, but then Edward said, “I can personally guarantee that Lord Potter did not put his name in the goblet. With the exception of when he was in class, he’s been with me around the clock since the goblet was unveiled. He’s even been sleeping in the third bedroom of the suite that was given to me, as we talked about several important matters of state and there’s no way that he’d be able to slip out of the room while I was asleep without the royal guards stationed outside the door noticing.”

Alianna smiled and said, “Well, if Eddie says Lord Potter didn’t enter then that’s good enough for me.” This show of support got her a smile from her cousin Edward, even if it was accompanied by an eye-roll at the nickname she insisted on calling him. Obviously both Edward and Alianna knew that proper protocol would demand that Alianna not refer to her cousin by any nickname, since he was a reigning monarch and she was only a princess, but for better or worse, Edward had given her standing permission to call him Eddie when they were still kids. Some might argue that permission didn’t carry into adulthood, but since Edward hadn’t said anything to the contrary, Alianna figured the permission was still in force.

“I’ll withdraw from the Tournament,” Harry said. “I have no intention of competing.”

Lord Crouch sighed. “I’m afraid you can’t do that, Lord Potter.” Everyone turned to look at Bartemius at this, as he added, “Even if you didn’t put your name in the goblet, it came out, which I’m afraid constitutes a binding magical contract that requires you to compete and doesn’t allow for you to withdraw from the tournament.”

“Given the dangerous nature of the tasks,” Moody said, “I think we must consider the idea that whoever put Lord Potter’s name in the goblet probably wants him dead.”

“That’s going a bit far, don’t you think, Alastor?” Minerva asked.

Karkaroff rolled his eyes at this and said, “Haven’t you all figured out by now that Professor Moody thinks he’s wasted his morning if he hasn’t uncovered at least six plots to murder him before noon? Apparently now he’s teaching his students to fear imminent assassination as well, which I must say is a very strange quality for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.” Looking at Minerva, he added, “But no doubt you had your reasons.”

“Don’t look at me like that, Igor,” Minerva said. “It was Albus who hired Alastor as our Defense teacher and seeing as how I didn’t take over as headmistress until last week, I decided to allow him to continue on in the position.” Turning to Alastor, she added, “Albeit on probation after his stunt of demonstrating all three of the Unforgivable Curses to a class of fourth years.”

Moody, however, wasn’t paying attention to Minerva, as he stared coldly at Karkaroff and growled, “So I’m imagining things, am I? It was a skilled witch or wizard—and probably a mage at that—who put Lord Potter’s name in that goblet.”

“And what evidence is zere of zat?” Maxime asked, obviously frustrated.

“Whoever put Lord Potter’s name in the goblet,” Moody answered, “managed to hoodwink a very powerful magical artifact. It would have had to be a particularly powerful Confundus Charm to make the goblet think it was supposed to pick three champions from each school instead of only one. And let’s not forget about Minerva’s Age Line or the fact that she placed enchantments with that line that would prevent any student from entering a name other than their own in the tournament, which means whoever put Lord Potter’s name in the goblet wasn’t a student.”

Everyone fell silent for a few moments, before Nicolas asked, “How exactly is this going to work out? Three champions from each school?”

“Four from Durmstrang, actually,” Cassius added.

Shaking her head, Minerva said, “No, Mr. Warrington, three. The fact that Mr. Delrossi and his brother are conjoined twins does not make both of them Triwizard Champions. Only Chandler Delrossi is a champion because it was only his name that came out of the goblet.”

“’Ow can we not conseeder both of zem, champions, Minerva?” Maxime asked. “Zey can’t leave each ozzer’s side so unless you expect one of zem to just stand zere and do nothing while ze ozzer competes I don’t know ‘ow you can say zat zey are not both champions.”

“It is a rather unfair advantage,” Cedric piped up.

“And a disadvantage,” Minerva added.

“Actually, it’s neither,” Schuyler Delrossi said, as everyone in the room turned to him and his brother. “Chandler and I have a way of dealing with this situation, although we’ll need a little help.”

“And just how are you going to deal with it?” Victoire asked.

Chandler grinned. “Schuyler and I are metamorphmagi,” as he said this, both he and his brother removed their robes, to reveal the jumpers they were wearing beneath, which they quickly pulled off to reveal only the sleeveless undershirts they were wearing underneath.

“What are you two doing?” Elsa Thornquist asked.

“We’re sorry for the impromptu strip show, Professor,” Schuyler said with a grin. “But it’s necessary for this to work.”

“For what to work?” Karkaroff asked.

“This,” Chandler said, as he put his arm out straight in front of him, his hand palm down, as Schuyler then did the same, only placing his own arm on top of his brother’s. Closing their eyes, both twins concentrated and the eyes of everyone else in the room—including Merlin and Arthur—widened as they watched the Delrossi twins’ hands and arms merge into a single hand and arm right before their eyes.

“Chandler and I can fully merge our bodies into a single body,” Schuyler revealed during the shocked silence that followed. “Of course, doing so requires quite a bit of concentration and we can only hold the transformation for about two or three hours at a stretch before he have to undo it and then we can’t do it again for a day or so, because it’s very tiring.”

“The only potential problem,” Chandler added, “and why Sky said we’d need help, is because even with our bodies merged into one, we maintain our separate minds, so while we’d physically only have one head between us, mentally, there’d still be two of us.”

“There’s also the issue that in order to fully join our bodies we need to be naked,” Schuyler added. “But I rather think that should have been obvious due to us taking our robes and sweaters off. Although that does mean that we have to try not to cut the transformation time too close, because if we do and it gets time for us to go back to normal, whatever clothes we’re wearing will be destroyed since they wouldn’t be meant for two people.”

“Hmm,” Merlin said, as he stroked his chin. “First off, let me say that is very impressive. I knew a few metamorphmagi while I was alive—Sir Lancelot du Lac was one, for example—but I never knew any other pair of them who could merge their bodies into one. Although I would speculate that the reason you can do that is because you’re partially joined anyway due to your… liver, I’m assuming?”

Chandler shook his head. “No, actually Schuyler and I don’t share any vital organs, unless you consider our magical cores, which are obviously joined. Other than that the connection between our torsos is just a large band of flesh and cartilage.”

“Well, that gives you another unfair advantage, doesn’t it?” Ramesses asked. “I have a pair of conjoined twin half-brothers—Nerikare and Djedkare—and I know from experience that they can cast spells that are much stronger because they can tap each other’s magical cores and thus put more power into their spells.”

“No, there’s a way around that,” Arthur said, as he looked at Merlin, who nodded his head. “There’s a spell that can be used on them which will block them from accessing each other’s cores and there’s also a spell which can essentially lock Schuyler’s mind away and give Chandler full control over their shared body. Essentially all of Schuyler’s brain power would be shifted to focus solely on keeping up their transformation, while Chandler is then free to concentrate on the tasks.”

“That’ll work,” the twins said in unison, as they unmerged their arms and put their clothes back on.

After a moment, Harry said, “Speaking of the tasks and unfair advantages, binding magical contract or not, I can’t compete because as a Governor of Hogwarts I already know what the First Task entails, so it wouldn’t be fair for me to compete.”

“I’m afraid that you have no choice but to compete, Harry,” Merlin said. “My apprentices—Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw—were the ones who charmed the Goblet of Fire, so I can assure you that the contract it creates is as magically binding as it comes and nobody—not even King Edward himself—can overrule it.”

Of course, what Merlin didn’t say was that the goblet was charmed in the Tribunal Chambers, as Merlin had allowed his apprentices access to the focus site to aid in placing the charms on the goblet. He agreed with Professor Moody’s assessment that someone must have placed an extremely powerful Confundus Charm on the goblet in order to make it pick three names from each school and only a mage would be powerful enough to do that. ‘Or someone wielding the Elder Wand,’ Merlin thought and couldn’t help but wonder if Albus and Gellert had had something to do with this.

“I appreciate your ‘onesty, at least, Lord Potter,” Fleur said, as both Nicolas and Victoire nodded.

“I think I have a solution for this whole mess,” Edward said, as everyone turned to him. “How about we have each school compete against each other with the three champions from each acting together as teams of three? Would that be permissible according to the goblet’s contract?”

As the one who was most familiar with it—since he was the one who dealt with most of the legal aspects, while Ludo concentrated on the gaming and sporting aspects—Lord Crouch nodded and said, “Yes, that would work, Your Majesty. The contract says that the champions from each school must compete in at least three magical tasks, but since it assumes that there’ll only be one champion from each school, it doesn’t forbid multiple champions from the same school forming teams and working together.”

“Well then I think that’s probably the best way to go,” Edward said. “That way we won’t have people competing against their classmates and friends. I will also personally put up an additional 2,000 galleons for the prize money, so that each member of the winning team will receive the 1,000 galleons that was previously stated as the prize. The eternal glory part will have to be shared, but I think you can all handle that, right?”

The champions nodded their heads, as Elsa asked, “What if we made the three main tasks team challenges, but then added in smaller side tasks that can be completed by each member of the team separately?”

“That’s an interesting idea,” Minerva said. She supposed that some people at Hogwarts were probably put off by the fact that Elsa taught the Dark Arts at Durmstrang. However, since Minerva knew just how lacking the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were due to not covering the numerous dark spells that had counters that couldn’t be performed without knowing how to cast the dark spell in question—not to mention the spells that weren’t really dark but were mislabeled as dark due mostly to their dark-sounding names—she wasn’t bothered by having her around. In fact, while she hadn’t done it yet, she hoped at some point to be able to have a chat with Elsa about possibly adding the Dark Arts as an option at Hogwarts, although she knew that would likely be an uphill battle with some people. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

“Well, I was thinking we could score the main tasks on a scale of zero to thirty points,” Elsa answered. “Then for the side challenges, on a scale of zero to five points. The side tasks would basically be extra credit that each member of the team can earn for their team—thus allowing them to earn a maximum of an additional fifteen points per side task. I also think it would be a good idea to tie them to school subjects. For example, having the champions brew a particularly difficult potion, charming an object to do a complex task, or possibly even dueling.”

“Dueling the other champions, I assume?” Genevieve asked, as Elsa nodded. “An interesting idea.”

Minerva nodded. “Interesting, yes, but also potentially dangerous considering that Durmstrang fully teaches the Dark Arts as a compulsory class, while Beauxbatons offers a limited Dark Arts curriculum as an elective. I’m afraid the Hogwarts students would be at a disadvantage since we don’t teach the Dark Arts at all.”

“Well, the tasks are supposed to have an element of danger,” Ludo pointed out. “That’s been a fact of the Tournament since its inception.”

“True,” Minerva allowed.

Looking at the Beauxbatons champions, Edward asked, “Have any of you taken the Dark Arts elective?” All three of the champions revealed that they had, at which point Edward asked, “Well, then, perhaps Professor Thornquist could be so kind as to tutor the Hogwarts students in preparation for the dueling side task? I realize that the champions aren’t supposed to get any outside help, but I think we all know that aspect of the rules has been broken many times over the years and never been punished. So, I don’t think it’d be wrong to at least put everyone on equal footing.”

“Tutor the Hogwarts students in the spells taught in Beauxbatons’ elective, perhaps?” Minerva asked. “While forbidding the Durmstrang students to utilize any Dark Arts spells that the Beauxbatons and Hogwarts students couldn’t counter?”

Maxime nodded and said, “Zat sounds fair,” at the same time that Karkaroff exclaimed, “That’s not fair!”

“How is it not fair, Igor?” Elsa asked. “I see nothing wrong with putting all the champions on equal footing in this tournament, so I’ll teach the Hogwarts students what they need to know if someone can provide me with a syllabus of what’s covered in Beauxbatons’ elective.”

“I can do zat,” Maxime said to Elsa. “We brought ze syllabuses for all our classes after all, so zat zey could be given to ze instructors being provided by Albion’s Wizarding Testing Authority to teach our students while zey are ‘ere.”

“It’s not fair because it eliminates an advantage that my students possess,” Karkaroff said, “while doing nothing about the advantage that the Hogwarts students already possess.”

“And what advantage is that, Igor?” Minerva asked.

“I imagine he’s referring to my knowledge of the First Task?” Harry asked, before the Durmstrang Headmaster could answer Minerva, which prompted him to nod his head. “A situation which is easily rectified if I tell everyone here what the First Task is. Only the details of the First Task have been mentioned thus far in the Governor’s meetings, meaning I don’t know what the Second and Third Tasks are, so until the conclusion of the Tournament, I will send my seneschal to any further Governor’s meetings that discuss the Tournament and order Robert not to tell me any details that he should learn during the meetings. Does that sound acceptable?”

“That sounds perfectly equitable to me,” Edward said.

With the reigning monarch in the room agreeing with Lord Potter, Karkaroff sighed and said, “Fine, that’ll work.”

“Very well then,” Harry said. “The First Task involves obtaining a golden egg, in which is a clue about the Second Task. It will, however, be harder than it may at first sound, considering that we’re going to have to get said egg away from a nesting mother dragon—either a Swedish Short-Snout, Chinese Fireball, or Hungarian Horntail, which one to be determined by random draw on the day of the task.”

“A nesting mother dragon?” Schuyler asked. “Damn I’m glad I’m not a champion, although it does make me wish I wasn’t connected to one.” Turning his head to look at Chandler, he added, “Chance, do try not to get us killed while we’re merged and you’re competing, okay?”

“Yeah, that was the plan, Sky,” Chandler said. “I rather enjoy living and have no intention of stopping anytime soon.”

“’Ow are we supposed to go up against a mother dragon?” Fleur asked. “Zat’s sueecide.”

“Dragon handlers do it all the time,” Ludo said in a dismissive tone.

“That’s all well and good for them, since they’re trained for it,” Cassius pointed out, “but in case it escaped your notice Mr. Bagman, none of us are dragon handlers, so I rather fail to see how that argument has any bearing on Fleur’s point, which in my opinion is a very valid one.” Fleur flashed a smile at Cassius and several of the other champions nodded their heads in agreement.

Alianna nodded and said, “Indeed, I knew the tasks would be dangerous, but I have to say I never expected to be told that I’d have to get an egg away from a nesting dragon. I doubt even dragon handlers do that on a regular basis, simply because doing so is likely to get them killed.”

“Considering the heightened emphasis on safety this year,” Edward said, as he inwardly shuddered at the thought of the international incidents that were sure to happen if the daughter of the King of the Netherlands or the nephews of the Grand Duke of Southern Italia died on Albion soil, “could we perhaps agree to give each team a ten-minute sit down with the dragon handlers brought in to handle the dragons so that they can discuss possible strategies with them?”

Before anyone could respond, Minerva said, “Or alternatively, my nephew Cailan is a Shape Mage,” since he’d already revealed this fact to his classes after taking over as the Interim Transfiguration Professor, she felt it was okay to say it, “and I know that he can take the form of each of those dragons. So, perhaps, we could give each team the sit down with the dragon handlers and then let’s say a total of three hours—one hour with each breed—to practice working together as a team and refining their strategies with Cailan as the dragon? Obviously Cailan will be more docile during the practice sessions then the real ones will be during the task itself, but it’ll give everyone some time to prepare and perhaps feel a bit more confident going into the task.”

“Well that rather sucks the fun out of it,” Ludo said, looking rather disappointed.

“How does it make it less fun, Ludo?” Minerva asked. “You were a professional Quidditch player. Are you telling me that the Wimbourne Wasps or the English National Team never did practice games before playing the real matches?”

“Of course we did practice games.”

“And did those practice games make playing the real games less fun?” Minerva asked.

“Of course not.”

Minerva gave Ludo a hard look at this, as she said, “Then I fail to see how allowing the champions some time to practice so that they can hopefully all live through the task makes it less fun. Although truth be told I also don’t see how trying to get an egg away from a nesting mother dragon could in any way, shape, or form be called fun. Unless you were referring not to fun for the champions, but fun for the spectators and think that having the champions all go in unprepared and fearing for their lives will make watching it more fun for them?”

Ludo looked almost nervous as he said, “Well, when you put it like that, I suppose it does sound rather ridiculous.”

“Is there anything in the rules which state that the champions can’t have practice time before the actual task?” Genevieve asked.

Lord Crouch shook his head. “No, there’s nothing in the rules which says they can’t practice beforehand. Of course, again, usually the tasks are kept secret until the day of the task, so there wasn’t much of a need for a rule that allowed or disallowed them practice time prior to the task. Although safety has been an overriding concern in bringing the Tournament back, so I personally see nothing wrong with attempting to make it safer for everyone, while still maintaining the appropriate level of danger that’s expected of Triwizard tasks.”

-o-0-o-

Once the conversation in the Antechamber was finished, the king, professors, champions and others who’d been in the room emerged and Minerva moved to stand behind the podium to address the students. After laying out the decisions that had been made, Minerva said, “Now, I’m speaking specifically to the Hogwarts student body when I say that I know some of you are likely to try and support one of our school’s champions over another due to house loyalties, but I would ask you not to do that and to put your full support behind all three champions—as I’m sure the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students will do for their teams—as ultimately this competition is now not about one house triumphing over another, but instead about students from different houses coming together and working towards a common goal. A concept which I fully support and I expect each and every one of you to do the same.”

Some might assume that her speech was aimed mainly at the Slytherins, but they’d be wrong, as it was also aimed at the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, as she had a feeling that if she didn’t say anything that the house rivalries would take over and lead to the students supporting only the champion from their own house. Obviously Ravenclaw didn’t have a champion, but that didn’t make them any less likely to pick one student over another as the ‘Real Hogwarts Champion’ and treat the others differently because of that. Minerva hoped that her speech would quash that before it began, although knowing how deeply ingrained the rivalries were in some of the students, she wasn’t going to hold her breath.

Of course, while she was giving the speech, Minerva had managed to hide it well, but she’d felt a bit embarrassed that such a speech was even necessary or that she’d had to give it in front of the king and the delegations from the other schools. However, as it turned out she had no cause for embarrassment, as she learned from Professors Delaney and Delrossi later that day that similar issues regarding house loyalty and rivalry between houses did exist at both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Sometimes, perhaps to a greater degree than at Hogwarts, considering that Durmstrang had five houses and Beauxbatons had seven.

Not long after the headmistress’s speech, the hall began to empty out. The champions were just about to start going their separate ways when Edward said, “Champions, if you could please stay for a moment?”

This obviously stopped each and every one of them in their tracks, as they turned and waited for Edward to tell them why he’d asked them to stay. It didn’t take long before he said, “I just wanted to offer the nine of you my personal congratulations on being selected to represent your schools in the Triwizard Tournament. It is my hope that you will all perform well and do your utmost for your individual teams, but that you also try to get along with each other and to maintain good sportsmanship, as I would be very disappointed if I heard that any of you was attempting to swing the tournament in your favor by resorting to dirty tricks.”

Edward didn’t know many of the champions well enough to know if they’d do it, but he had the suspicion from what he’d seen over the last week of Igor Karkaroff that he wouldn’t be above encouraging his team to play dirty. He was sure that Minerva wouldn’t do that and Olympe Maxime didn’t strike him as the type, but he couldn’t be certain since he hadn’t talked to her very much.

After all of the champions promised him that they’d follow the rules they were given and not resort to any dirty tricks, Edward dismissed them and headed for his suite to spend some time with Ramesses. Viktor, Alianna, and the Delrossi twins left the Great Hall not long afterward and were followed by Fleur, Nicolas, and Victoire shortly thereafter. This left Harry, Cedric, and Cassius alone in the Hall, but the three of them remained silent for a few moments, before Cassius moved to leave.

Before he could, however, Harry said, “Cassius, wait.”

Turning around, Cassius asked, “Yes, Lord Potter?”

“Since we’re going to be working together,” Harry said, “it seems to me that Cedric, you, and I should spend some time getting to know one another.”

Cedric nodded. “That’s probably not a bad idea. We don’t have to become friends or anything if you don’t want to, Cassius, but we do need to develop a rapport that will allow us to function well together as a team. Because I don’t know about you, but I plan to do everything I can—within the rules of course—to make sure that Hogwarts wins this tournament.”

“Yes, winning would be good,” Harry added. “And making it through the tournament alive and with a minimum of injuries would be even better and being able to work together well in the team tasks would probably help with that.”

Cassius was silent for a moment, before he nodded and motioned with his head towards the door to the antechamber. When they arrived, they saw that most of the room’s portraits had either dozed off or gone visiting. This included Arthur and Merlin, thus leaving the three boys relatively alone in the chamber. As Harry and Cedric moved to sit down, Cassius closed the doors and put a series of locking, silencing, and other privacy charms on them.

When he came over to sit down, he must have seen Harry’s and Cedric’s questioning looks because he said, “I have an image to maintain in Slytherin House that will not be helped if anyone sees me socializing with you two.” Cassius sighed at this and added, “I really don’t like the image that I need to maintain, but if I want to survive in Slytherin House…”

“…then you need to act like a bigoted, pureblood supremacist who wouldn’t be caught dead with a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff?” Harry interrupted.

Cassius was silent at that, until he nodded and said, “Not exactly the way I would have put it, but essentially yes.”

Harry nodded. “I figured when you started talking about maintaining a certain image that that’s what you meant, as I recently learned that not everyone in Slytherin House is what they appear.”

“Really?” Cassius asked, clearly intrigued. “And where did you learn that?”

“From two former Slytherins,” Harry answered. “A married couple who I won’t name, but they explained to me that there are some Slytherins who act a certain way and say what’s expected of them in order to remain on good terms with their housemates and avoid becoming pariahs.”

“Very true,” Cassius said with a nod. “If I’m being honest, I don’t actually believe any of the pureblood spiel that my family has tried to push upon me all of my life, but I understand the necessity of acting like I do. Not only in order to keep a roof over my head since my parents would kick me out on the street if they knew that I don’t subscribe to their bullshit, but also in order to remain safe in the dorms, because there are some in Slytherin House who would not react kindly if they knew that I wasn’t one of them and I can do without getting beaten up and nastily hexed.”

Cedric felt a sort of kinship with Cassius at this, which prompted him to say, “Well, I understand what you’re going through.” At Cassius’s doubtful look, Cedric took a deep breath and said, “I’m gay, Cassius, and my father is vehemently against that. He disowned my elder brother Noah for being bisexual and dating a man. So, I have no illusions that he’d kick me out on the street too if he knew that I’m gay. So not exactly the same thing, but definitely similar since my not wanting to end up homeless has made me act a certain way around my parents.”

“Okay, you’re right. Not exactly the same thing, but there is a certain similarity.” After a moment of silence, Cassius added, “I’m gay too, by the way. I don’t think my parents would care too much. Honestly, I think they’d say that as long as I was discreet, they wouldn’t care who I took to my bed, so long as I marry a nice, pureblood girl and have a couple pureblood kids. Of course, I’m a six on the Kinsey scale so I have absolutely zero interest in ever being with a girl period.”

Cedric grinned. “So am I. A six on the scale that is.”

Feeling a little left out of the conversation, Harry said, “I’m a four on the scale, so I do prefer males although I suppose I could go with a girl if I found one that I really liked. However,” he grinned at this and added, “I’d have to break up with Cedric first and I have no intention of doing that.”

“Good, because I don’t intend to let you go, Harry.”

“So you guys are a couple then?” Cassius asked.

Harry and Cedric nodded, as Harry answered, “Yes, we are. The relationship is still pretty new, as we’ve been together less than a month at this point, but we’ve been enjoying ourselves thus far.”

“Obviously we’re keeping our relationship a secret, however,” Cedric said. “While I suppose Harry would probably let me move into Seacliff if my Dad kicked me out, that’s not a bridge I’m willing to cross right now, as I know he’d also forbid me to see my little sister, since until his wedding day when my Uncle Bruce, Aunt Caroline, Cousin Cormac and I conspired together, Noah had never even seen Lucy in person. She was born after he was disowned and Dad refused to let her see him, thinking she should grow up not even knowing that she had another brother, other than me.”

Cassius nodded. “Okay, that’s harsh and I can understand where you’re coming from because I’ve got a little brother that I’d hate not being able to have a relationship with.”

After a few moments of silence, Harry remembered his recent conversation with Edward, Tristan, and Thomas and asked, “So, Cassius, if you don’t believe in the pureblood spiel, I assume that you’re not happy about the fact that your grandfather died trying to kill King Edward?”

Cassius’s eyes widened slightly, as he asked, “How do you even know about that?”

“Um, Cassius, I am the Lord High Chancellor,” Harry answered. “So, I’ve talked to Edward quite a bit and as he said earlier in this very room, I’ve been sleeping in the third bedroom of his suite the last several nights as we discussed matters of state that I can’t go into. However, the circumstances of his family’s murder did come up, as did the fact that your grandfather was found dead next to his crib, apparently after trying to kill him in much the same fashion that Voldemort tried to kill me.”

Cedric remained quiet, as he honestly hadn’t known anything about this. Cassius, meanwhile, took a deep breath and then said, “No, I’m not happy about it and I never have been. However, there’s very little that I can do about it since it happened five years before I was even born. So, obviously I never even knew Grandfather Warrington, although from what I’ve heard, I’m actually happy about that because I know that I would not have liked him.”

Harry nodded and said, “Edward will be very happy to hear that.” Then with a cheeky grin, he asked, “I don’t suppose you’d ever be interested in him would you?”

“What? Who?”

“King Edward,” Harry answered. “I was asking if you thought it’d be possible for you to like him in a sexual way.”

“Why?” Cassius asked, clearly confused. Cedric, who had not been privy to the conversation in which Edward had expressed an interest in Cassius, was also quite confused.

“The King plans to take multiple husbands,” Harry explained. “Ramesses will be the main husband and the only one who shares his throne and his power, but he still intends to marry more than just Ramesses. As for why I asked about your thoughts on Edward, he saw you put your name in the goblet and said that he thought you were very attractive. So since you’re gay, I figured I’d ask if you’d have any interest at all in him.”

Cassius blushed slightly at this. “Well, he’s certainly very easy on the eyes. Not sure I’m really ready for marriage at this point, although I have to admit that marrying the King is a rather attractive prospect. My parents might even be able to get on board with that enough that they’d forget about me marrying a girl.”

After a few minutes of silence, the three boys began talking about the First Task, agreeing that it definitely sounded dangerous, but they couldn’t make any definite plans until they’d talked with the dragon handlers and gotten a few tips. Cedric did, however, suggest that they start looking into spells to protect them from fire, which Harry and Cassius agreed was probably a good idea when dealing with a creature that breathed fire.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Part Four of Chapter Sixteen of The Journey Begins. It’s shorter than I’d intended for this part to be but I couldn’t think of anything else to include for the moment and rather than holding up the entire update schedule, I figured I’d post what I had thus far to give you all something at least. Also, this will be the only update to Journey Begins for this cycle, as there were two updates to the companion story, Along the Journey. If you haven’t read it then I suggest that you do. Next up on the schedule is three chapters of my Mass Effect/Star Trek crossover ‘The Q Effect’ and then I’ll be returning to ‘A Royal/Windsor at Hogwarts’.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email, my Yahoo group, or on Twitter @JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at jayson.vascardi.


	26. Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.
> 
> -o-0-o-
> 
> Author’s Note: There will be times when I release a chapter that will have no clear forward movement in terms of plot. This is because sometimes I just want to write something that fits in the story's universe but is not directly tied to the plot, but that I still think a majority of my readers will like and enjoy. And sometimes things that may not appear to be tied to the plot are in fact important to the plot or subplots, whether they appear to be so to you or not.
> 
> Also, in case it wasn’t clear from my penname, I’m male and I’m also gay. My stories will most often focus on the gay relationships because that’s what interests me. However, that does not mean that I’m a) sexist, or b) that I hate women. Neither of those is true. If it was, there wouldn’t be any women in my story at all and I think if you’ve read this far, then you know that even if they are in the background, there’s still female characters present. I also do not hate heterosexual people, as I, like most people, owe my very existence to a pair of them. My choice to place them in the background doesn’t change that or indicate that I hold any ill will towards them, however.
> 
> Ultimately, this is my story and I can write whatever I want. I don’t expect all of you reading my works to like them or even to agree with everything that I write. Also, I welcome feedback and suggestions. However, if all you’re going to do is criticize everything I do, cuss at me, or make assumptions about my character (see the above paragraph) then I can do without hearing from you and really would rather you didn’t contact me at all. This message isn’t directed at anyone specific who’s ever read my works, either in the past or in the future. I’ve honestly been thinking about this for years now, but I’ve refrained from saying anything.
> 
> So, in short, my story, my choice. I’m writing this story for fun and to give voice to my imagination. If you don’t like it, nobody is forcing you to read this, so go read something else or write your own story. And if you don’t like my story and continue to read it, or you like it but decide to ignore everything that I wrote above? Don’t expect a response should you opt to review, because you will not get one. And now, on with the story.

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

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_Previously in ‘The Journey Begins’…_

-o-0-o-

To the surprise of everyone at Hogwarts, the Goblet of Fire picks three champions to represent each school and the third Hogwarts Champion is Harry. This comes as a major surprise to Harry since he never entered the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Of course, Harry’s name coming out of the Goblet isn’t the only controversy, as one of the Durmstrang Champions, Chandler Delrossi, has a conjoined twin brother, Schuyler, leading many to believe that Durmstrang now has four champions. Minerva insists this isn’t the case, however, as only Chandler’s name came out of the Goblet. Chandler and Schuyler reveal that they’re metamorphmagi and that they can completely merge themselves into a single body, so only Chandler will be competing.

Harry shares the fact that the First Task is dragons in order to eliminate the unfair advantage he’d otherwise possess, since as a Governor of Hogwarts, he knew the details of the task. It’s further decided that the Tournament’s main three tasks will be turned into team challenges, with all three champions from each school working together to complete them. A number of solo side challenges related to school subjects are then planned to occur throughout the year. To put the Hogwarts Champions on more equal footing, Durmstrang Dark Arts Professor Elsa Thornquist agrees to teach them the Dark Arts in accordance with the Beauxbatons Dark Arts elective’s syllabus, which all of the Beauxbatons Champions have taken. Additionally, the Durmstrang Champions are restricted to use only what’s taught in the Beauxbatons elective.

Cedric and Harry spend some time getting to know their fellow champion, Cassius Warrington, better. During the course of this conversation, Cassius learns that Cedric and Harry are dating. Harry also decides to try his hand at matchmaking when he finds out that Cassius is gay, since he knows that Edward expressed an interest in Cassius.

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Chapter Seventeen

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Following the champion selection, Minerva and the other trainers agreed that it was time to return to Forest Cottage so that they could continue their mage students’ training. This return to the cottage didn’t last long, however, as the morning after their return Minerva sensed an attempt to breach the wards around the property.

With help from Pomona, Septima, Rolanda, Asterion, and Regulus the interloper was turned away before they could penetrate them. Unfortunately, they had no way of discerning who it was that had been behind the attempt, which appeared to be a scrying ritual centered upon Edward.

Obviously they suspected Dumbledore and Grindelwald were behind it and Merlin hypothesized that they may have been trying to locate Edward. The Fidelius Charm would usually prevent scrying attempts, but with the power of the Elder Wand on their side, if it was them, the Fidelius or the numerous other wards around the cottage wouldn’t keep them out forever. This led to Minerva and the trainers coming to the realization that Forest Cottage was no longer a safe place to carry out their students’ training. It was because of this that the mage students found themselves moving from Forest Cottage to Castle Camelot, which with the restored protection of Hestia’s Grail, was a lot more secure.

The Grail had entered an almost completely dormant state upon the death of King Charles Pendragon and needed to be reactivated by his successor in order to restore its full protection to the castle. Obviously Grindelwald had never done so, however, because even if he knew that the Grail was in the castle—which was unlikely—he wouldn’t have been able to access it since it was stored in the hidden compartment under the Round Table that only a blood member of the Pendragon family could access.

Even the Elder Wand couldn’t breach that particular protection, since the power for it was derived from the Grail itself. As powerful as the Elder Wand was, it was no match against Hestia’s Grail, as Hestia was quite a bit more powerful than Thanatos.

With Arthur’s help, Edward had now activated the Grail and restored its full protections to the castle. Edward also vowed that he wouldn’t do what his grandfather had done in regards to the castle wards which had resulted in the deaths of so many people, including Charles himself and Edward’s parents.

Merlin then revealed the existence of a magically hidden tower in the family wing of the castle which hadn’t been seen by anybody since Merlin died. It housed his private library and the workspace he’d used as the Camelot Court Sorcerer. From his portrait, Merlin instructed the trainers on the necessary spells to override the charms that prevented structural changes to the castle. With this knowledge, the trainers were able to convert the space into training areas that were pretty much identical to what they’d had at Forest Cottage.

As for living quarters for the mage students and the trainers themselves, there unfortunately wasn’t room in Merlin’s tower as there were limits to just how much space could be added with Wizard Space, and adding all of the necessary training areas, while retaining Merlin’s extensive private library in addition to adding the contents of Forest Cottage’s library, the books from the students’ common room and Minerva’s study had prevented the addition of living quarters.

However, this wasn’t an insurmountable issue, as there were plenty of unused bedrooms in the family wing of the castle. Granville Barker and a select group of his most trusted guards were let in on the secret of the training by Minerva, after which the Captain changed the guard patrols to make sure that only those who knew would be assigned to guard duty in the family wing.

About a week after the move, after a long day of royal duties and mage classes, Edward was relaxing on the sofa in his private study. Ramesses was seated on the other sofa across from Edward because while he’d prefer to be cuddling with his husband, he also wanted a good view of the doors into the room.

The reason for this was because on the day of the move from Forest Cottage to Castle Camelot, Ramesses was contacted by his younger brother, T.J. with a message regarding Edward from two members of T.J.’s mother’s family. Apparently they’d met Edward years ago and wanted to see him again, but they wanted to surprise him. So, with T.J. acting as a go-between, Ramesses made all the necessary arrangements for the surprise visit.

At the appointed time, Ramesses did his best to keep the grin off his face as the doors to the room were opened as quietly and slowly as possible to admit two people. He’d seen pictures before, but this was the first time that he’d actually seen T.J.’s uncles in person.

 _‘Well, they’re certainly easy on the eyes,’_ Ramesses thought, as the two guests quietly snuck up behind Edward and Ramesses continued to act like he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary happening. It would totally ruin the surprise after all if he gave Edward any advanced warning.

“What the hell?!” Edward asked, jumping slightly as a pair of hands closed over his eyes. “Who are you? Ram, why didn’t you tell me we had company?”

“Oh, relax, Edward,” a male voice said. “We mean you no harm.”

“We?” Edward asked, noting that the voice wasn’t one of his fellow mage students. He hadn’t called for the guards because he’d initially assumed that it had to be one of them for them to have made it this far into the castle.

“Yes, we,” another slightly different yet very similar male voice said.

“Unhand me at once!”

“He was more fun when we were kids, brother,” the first male said.

“Oh I agree completely,” the second male said. “That three-way kiss we shared was so hot.”

Ramesses’s eyes widened at that. “Kiss? I think T.J. forgot to mention something.”

“Oh don’t get mad at T.J., Ramesses,” the first male said. “We didn’t tell our nephew why we wanted to surprise Edward, after all.”

“Wait, your T.J’s uncles?” Edward asked. “And three-way kiss… Charles and Maximilian von Habsburg, is that you?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Edward,” the second voice said. “You know we prefer Chaz and Maxx.”

“And of course it’s us, you silly boy,” the first voice added. “Just how many three-way kisses have you had?”

“I’d like to know that myself,” Ramesses said, as Chaz and Maxx removed their hands from Edward’s face and tilted his head backwards so that he could see them standing behind the sofa.

It’d been years since Edward had seen the conjoined twin younger brothers of Iberian King-Emperor Philip von Habsburg, who were obviously also the younger brothers of Patriarch Rodrigo von Habsburg—Philip’s twin brother and the Iberian Lord High Priest of Zeus—and T.J.’s mother, Princess-Consort Cleopatra Ptolemy, also known as the former Princess Carlotta von Habsburg.

The last time they’d met, Edward was only ten years old, as the meeting had occurred over the summer of 1981. Chaz and Maxx, meanwhile, were eleven, as all three of them had late birthdays. Edward’s being November 12th and the twins’ being December 30th.

“Don’t just stand there behind the sofa, come around and sit down,” Edward said. Once the twins were seated, “What are you even doing in Albion?”

“Careful, or I might think you’re not happy to see us,” said Chaz, who was the twin on the right and the first one to speak upon entering the room.

“Perhaps he isn’t, brother,” Maxx added. “It must be a bit disconcerting for him to see us again after all these years.” Motioning towards Ramesses, he added, “Especially after he’s gone and married our nephew’s half-brother.”

Chaz grinned. “Yes, I’m sorry we weren’t here for your wedding, Edward, but we were off on the official viceroyalty tour on behalf of our brother at the time and couldn’t get here.”

“Yes, we had a full day of photo ops and meetings with the Viceroy of Peru that day,” Maxx added. “Alex and Alexis were supposed to do the tour this year, but they both came down with the stomach flu the morning they were supposed to leave, so Philip had us go instead as last minute replacements.”

“We can’t really afford to get on Philip’s bad side right now,” Chaz revealed. “He’s none too pleased with us as it is, considering that he’s tried to use us for three different marriage alliances in the last three years and we keep putting the brakes on it.”

“Didn’t like the people he wanted you to marry?” Edward asked.

Shaking his head negatively, Maxx said, “No that wasn’t the problem. Grand Duke Andrei of Russia, Prince Valentinian of Byzantium, and Prince Tadashi of the Rising Sun are all very easy on the eyes and normally Chaz and I would have no issues marrying any of them, but what Philip and our father before him doesn’t know is that we can’t get married.”

“Why?” Ramesses asked.

“Because we’re already engaged,” Chaz answered.

“Without your brother’s consent?” Edward asked. “That was a very risky move.”

“Yes, well, the engagement happened during our father’s reign,” Maxx said.

“You still would have needed his permission,” Edward said. “And he died four years ago, so what’s the hold up? Other than you apparently not telling him or Philip about it?”

Chaz and Maxx were quiet as they looked at each other for a moment, before they looked at Edward and asked, in unison, “You don’t remember do you?”

Edward looked confused, as he asked, “Don’t remember what?”

Ramesses, meanwhile, cocked his head and asked, “Wait, does this have anything to do with why you said that it would be disconcerting for Edward to see you two after all these years?”

“Yes, it does, Ramesses,” Chaz said. “Maybe Maxx and I are wrong, but we figured it would be rather uncomfortable for Edward for us to be in the room when he married you.”

Maxx nodded. “Yes, having your fiancés in the room when you’re marrying somebody else would be awkward. And that’s without the fact that you’re our nephew’s half-brother.”

“Fiancés?!” Edward exclaimed.

Chaz shook his head, a sad look gracing his handsome face, as he looked at his twin and said, “He really has forgotten, brother.”

“I’m hurt, Edward, truly,” Maxx said. “Here we’ve remained faithful to you all these years, waiting for us all to grow up so that we could get married as we vowed that summer in Madrid.” Shaking his head. “Well, I guess now we know why you never wrote or Floo-called.”

Edward shook his head, a look of total confusion on his face, as he thought back to his last meeting with Chaz and Maxx. He’d been in Madrid for some official reason, he forgot what honestly, as his childhood had been full of them. He may not have been making official appearances within Albion and Iwernia itself, but starting when he was six he’d been making foreign trips just about every summer for one reason or another.

He remembered kissing Chaz and Maxx. It was hard to forget your first kiss after all, especially when it happened to be with two people at the same time. After a few minutes of thought, his eyes widened as it came to him. “Oh. **_Oh._** ”

“I think he remembers, Maxx.”

“Remembers what?” Ramesses asked.

Edward blushed bright red, as he said, “Chaz and Maxx were my first kiss. We were only ten and eleven at the time, or we probably would have gone further. Anyway, we kissed and I danced with them at a ball that their late father held in my honor.”

Maxx grinned. “That’s not all he did, though. After the ball, we spent a few hours walking through the gardens and talking late into the night. That kiss was under a full moon and a starlit sky. Honestly, with the smell from mother’s roses in the air it was all very romantic.”

Chaz nodded. “Yes, it was,” as he looked at Edward and said, “and despite numerous chances since then, Maxx and I have steadfastly sworn off all other romantic entanglements because of what happened after the kiss. You remember, don’t you, Edward?”

“Yes, I remember,” Edward said in a suddenly timid voice.

“Edward? What did you do?” Ramesses asked.

Turning to look at Ramesses, Edward said, “I sort of asked Chaz and Maxx to marry me. Gave them my signet ring as an engagement gift and swore a royal oath on my honor as a Pendragon that we would be married one day.”

Ramesses was quiet for a moment, before he shook his head and said, “Any other old promises to anyone else that you’ve forgotten about, Edward?” Edward shook his head negatively, prompting Ramesses to sigh and say, “Well, at least I went into this marriage knowing I wouldn’t be your only husband.” With a grin, he asked, “So, when’s the wedding?”

“We could ask the same thing,” Maxx said. “We were sure that once Edward turned seventeen he’d send for us. Or at least contact our late father to make arrangements for our wedding. But seventeen came and went. As did eighteen and nineteen. Then our father died the year Edward turned twenty and our brother took the throne. And now here we are four years later and you’ve gone and married our nephew’s half-brother. Meanwhile, we’ve had to continually put a stop to all Philip’s attempts to use us to forge a marriage alliance.”

“Yes, as I said, we can’t afford to get on Philip’s bad side,” Chaz said. “I’m afraid we’re already close to being there as it is. Going on the viceroyalty tour helped a little, but I know he’s going to try to arrange another union and it’s not going to be pretty if we put a stop to it again. Eventually, he’s just going to pull the absolute monarch card and tell us that we’re getting married whether we want to or not.”

“That sounds harsh,” a new voice said, prompting Edward, Ramesses, Chaz and Maxx to turn towards the doorway. Blaise was standing there, along with Gavin, Oliver, and Terence. It was Blaise who’d spoken.

“Chaz, Maxx, meet Blaise Zabini, Terence Higgs, and Gavin and Oliver Wood,” Edward said. “They’re my houseguests. Some of them, anyway. Guys, meet Their Imperial and Royal Highnesses Prince-Electors Charles and Maximilian von Habsburg, the younger brothers of King-Emperor Philip of Iberia, and two of the seven members of the Holy Roman Empire’s Electoral College.”

“It’s Chaz and Maxx,” Chaz said before the newcomers could say anything, as Maxx nodded and said, “There’s no need to be so formal Edward. We’re not in court or an official engagement.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highnesses,” Terence said, as he and the others bowed ever so slightly.

“I don’t recognize any of their names from the Albion peerage,” Maxx commented.

“They’re not nobility,” Ramesses added. “But they’re friends of ours, who along with a few others, are living here at the castle. I’m afraid I can’t tell you why. Fidelius.”

“Ah, well, no matter, any friends of Edward’s are friends of ours,” Chaz said with a smile. “As for my brother telling Maxx and I that we have to get married whether we want to or not, yes, I suppose it does sound harsh. But that’s just the way things are done among royals. Children and younger siblings of the monarch are commodities to be used to broker alliances, trade deals, and occasionally end wars.”

Chaz, Maxx, and Edward quickly caught up Blaise, Terence, Oliver, and Gavin on what was going on.

“What I don’t understand though is why you two have remained celibate all these years,” Ramesses said. “I get that Edward made a royal oath to the two of you, but that only affects him, not the two of you.”

“Because after he gave us his oath to marry us,” Chaz said, “Maxx and I gave him our oaths to remain forever faithful to him and only him. So, we’ve kept up our end by remaining celibate and avoiding all romantic entanglements because if we didn’t, being a Royal Oath on our honor as Habsburgs, it would affect not only us but the entire House of Habsburg if we broke it.”

“Yes, it’s a good thing that I only vowed to marry them,” Edward said. “And not remain forever faithful, since if I had, the House of Pendragon would have been stripped of their honor since I would have broken the oath on my wedding night to Ram.”

“Indeed,” Maxx agreed. “Now, while we’re speaking of things that we don’t understand, what I don’t understand, Edward, is just how exactly you completely forgot about our engagement until we reminded you. I would have thought that was something a person would remember. I get that we were young at the time, but we remembered.”

“Are we really that forgettable?” Chaz asked, before Edward could answer.

“No, you’re not forgettable,” Edward said as he grabbed Chaz’s hand in his left and Maxx’s hand in his right and squeezed. The twins were joined in a similar fashion to Markus and Mateus Eriksson in that they were joined side by side and each only had one arm. Chaz and Maxx were only joined from the shoulders down to their waists, however, and each had two legs. Unlike Markus and Mateus who were joined from their shoulders down to the toes of their shared leg.

“Really? Because you still forgot.”

“I know, and I’m sorry about that, Maxx,” Edward said. “I really am. I know this is going to sound trite, but I had a lot on my mind.”

“Well, I suppose that’s understandable,” Chaz said. “You are the absolute monarch of one of the largest empires on the globe. I suppose that must keep you pretty busy.”

“I wish that was the only reason,” Edward said with a sigh. “There’s more to it than that. A lot more. And all of it plays a big part in why I married Ramesses to begin with.”

“Well that sounds interesting,” Maxx said. “I admit there has been some gossip being exchanged in the court back home. The nobles are wondering why you chose an alliance with the Egyptian Empire, as there are other more powerful alliances you could have made instead. Iberia, Russia, and Byzantium come to mind as the three of them are probably the next largest empires after Camelot.”

“Well, Edward’s and my marriage might not have solidified an official Camelot-Byzantium alliance,” Ramesses said, “but it does put Edward firmly in Emperor Justinian’s good graces, since he is my mother’s twin brother and my godfather.”

“Before I say anything else,” Edward said, “I have to preface this by saying that what I’m about to tell you is a Camelot state secret and it cannot under any circumstances leave this room. Only a very select group of people know this, Ramesses and his father included, and for the time being it needs to stay that way.” Motioning towards Blaise, Gavin, Oliver, and Terence, he added, “They know as well for reasons which I can’t share due to the Fidelius.”

Chaz and Maxx looked at Edward for a moment, and then at Ramesses and the others, before looking back to Edward. After a moment of silence, they stood, took out their wands and held them over their respective hearts, as they said in unison, “You have my word on my honor as a member of the Imperial and Royal House of Habsburg that I will not share whatever knowledge you’re about to share with me with anyone without your explicit consent. So mote it be.”

Standing up and pulling out his own wand, Edward said, “And I accept your oath, Chaz and Maxx of the Imperial and Royal House of Habsburg. So mote it be."

Like with most magical oaths, there was a small burst of magic. It was perhaps a little less spectacular in terms of the magical display as something like the Alliance Oath, but no less serious, as failure to carry out a Royal Oath could cost an entire royal family their honor—and literally brand every living member of the family as dishonorable—so they were still taken very seriously.

Once everyone was reseated, Edward said, “I didn’t contact the two of you simply because I couldn’t. You see, later that same year, on the eve of my birthday, I was kidnapped and imprisoned. There was someone else put on the throne in my place who successfully pretended to be me for over a decade, but he didn’t know about the oath I’d made to the two of you, as the subject never came up in the meetings we had in the early days as he sought to perfect his performance.”

Chaz and Maxx, obviously, looked shocked and after a moment of silence, they both began asking different questions at the same time to the point that neither Edward nor Ramesses or any of the others were actually sure which one of them was asking what. “Kidnapped? By who?” “Who was the imposter?” and “How did they get away with that?” were just some of the questions.

Holding up his hands to stop them from talking, Edward said, “First of all, you haven’t heard about my kidnapping and subsequent imprisonment because as I said this is a state secret. I’m fully aware of the fact that there were whispers of incompetency in other courts after my family was murdered, so I didn’t want to add to that by making my kidnapping public knowledge.”

The twins nodded in response to that, as they could understand Edward’s reasoning. Especially since they’d heard some of those whispers, as they’d been present in the Iberian court when the murders actually happened. Their late father, Philip XVI, had quashed them when he heard them, but Chaz and Maxx knew that they’d persisted afterward, even if the people doing the whispering made sure that they didn’t do so in front of the King. Unfortunately, they hadn’t always exercised the same level of restraint around the King’s younger sons.

Edward launched into the full story at this point, thoroughly shocking Chaz and Maxx, as they could scarcely believe that Albus Dumbledore had kidnapped Edward or that Gellert Grindelwald had been masquerading as him for over a decade. Edward did leave out a few details, of course, as he couldn’t tell them about his mage training since he wasn’t the Secret Keeper of that particular secret.

When he was done, Edward said, “Well, now you know the whole sordid story. I hope the reason I didn’t contact you and forgot about the oath I made until you reminded me makes sense now.”

Chaz nodded. “Yes, it makes sense.”

Maxx nodded as well, as he said, “After that we’re not even angry with you either, as we wouldn’t wish that on our worst enemy, let alone the man that is literally our childhood sweetheart.”

“And future husband,” Chaz added with a grin.

“Well, how long can you stay?” Edward asked. “Tomorrow is my birthday and if you can, I’d be honored if you’d join Ram as my dates for the King’s Ball tomorrow night.”

“We’d love to,” Chaz said as Maxx nodded, before he looked over at Ramesses and asked, “Ram?”

Ramesses grinned. “That or R.J. are my nicknames, which I suppose since we’ll soon be sharing a husband, you guys can start using from now on.”

“Okay, R.J.,” Maxx said. After a moment he asked, “Um, does this mean that Chaz and I will be expected to marry you too? I’m not entirely sure how that would work with the oath we gave Edward.”

“No, you won’t be expected to marry him,” Edward said. “I plan to take a page from his father’s book and take multiple husbands since I want to build the family up a bit so that there’s people other than me who can undertake royal duties. Obviously children are in the future, but since I prefer men that’ll require a surrogate and it’ll be nearly two decades before any children I have would be old enough to perform royal duties.”

Ramesses nodded. “Yes, Edward told me that I was free to marry any of his other spouses if I so choose to do so. The only restriction is that I can’t take my own separate husbands that Edward isn’t married to. For the time being, I don’t plan on marrying anyone else, but I won’t rule it out as that could change in the future.”

“As for your oath,” Edward said, “I’m not entirely certain how that will affect things to be honest. The wording you used may play a role and it may not, but, Merlin and Arthur may be able to shed some light on it.”

“Merlin and Arthur?” Chaz asked. “I assume you’re talking about a portrait?”

“Indeed he is, young man,” a voice said, as they all turned and saw Merlin and Arthur standing in the frame above the fireplace. It wasn’t Merlin’s and Arthur’s actual frame, but, like the subjects of all wizarding portraits, they could visit other frames.

“Hello Merlin,” Edward said, since it was him who’d spoke. “Arthur.” Before he proceeded to introductions.

“So what is it that you thought we might be able to shed some light on?” Arthur asked. “We’re pleased to help in any way that we can.”

After explaining about their childhood meeting, which had actually consisted of two full weeks in which Edward was a guest of their late father, with balls in his honor being held on both the evening of his arrival and the evening before his departure. The royal oaths they’d exchanged had occurred after the second of the two balls, but the three young men had spent almost the entirety of their free time over the previous two weeks getting to know each other.

“Well, full moon, stars, roses, that’s very romantic,” Merlin said. “I’d say you were way too young for such declarations, but then again in my day, it wasn’t uncommon for people to marry young, since life expectancy back then was a lot shorter than it is now.”

“Ten and eleven may have been pushing things a little,” Arthur added. “But not by much, as another few years, say thirteen, fourteen, would have been about normal. Anyway, do you recall the exact wording of the oaths you gave?”

Chaz nodded and said, “Yes, I remember the exact words. So does Maxx.”

Grinning, Maxx said, “Unlike Edward, we committed that night to memory and have never forgotten it for a second since. We’ve only been reliving that night in our dreams nearly every night for the last fourteen years.”

Clearing his throat, Chaz said, “It was the same for both of us. _‘I accept your oath to marry me, Edward of the Imperial and Royal House of Pendragon and give you my own oath in return that I will remain forever faithful to you both before and after our wedding. On my honor as a member of the Imperial and Royal House of Habsburg, sic fiat semper.’_ Obviously when I gave the oath that last part was in English like the rest of it.”

“Indeed,” Merlin said, knowing that Chaz had said the ‘so mote it be’ part in Latin instead of English because otherwise it would have counted as giving the oath a second time. The entirety of the wording had to be said in the same language, so either all in English or all in Latin or another language in order to count. Mixing the languages rendered it invalid.

“Because of the wording of that oath,” Arthur said after a moment of silence, “the two of you are bound to be faithful only unto Edward. Meaning you can never marry or have sexual relations with anybody but him.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true,” Merlin said. At the questioning looks he elaborated. “Self-pleasure wouldn’t count, so you can masturbate and not break the oath. And because you’re conjoined and thus your magical cores are connected, you wouldn’t be breaking the oath if you opted to masturbate each other. Allow anyone else other than yourselves, each other, or Edward to touch you in a sexual manner, however, and the oath would be broken.”

Everyone in the room was blushing at this, because they weren’t used to somebody so openly discussing masturbation. Arthur and Merlin weren’t blushing, but then that’s because they were a portrait and while Merlin had woven a number of extra spells into their depiction that allowed them to do a lot more than a normal wizarding portrait, blushing is not something he’d covered among those spells.

“Well, Merlin, now that you’ve thoroughly embarrassed them, I think our job here is done,” Arthur said, before he grabbed Merlin’s arm and dragged him out of the frame.

Gavin recovered first, as he said, “You know, I guess it’s a good thing that you guys waited until now to make contact with Edward. Because until a couple of months ago you would have unknowingly broken your oaths if you’d married and had sex with who you thought was Edward but was actually Gellert Grindelwald.”

Chaz and Maxx visibly shuddered at this thought, clearly very unhappy about the idea. Not only were they sick to their stomachs at the idea of having sex with a Dark Lord, but they were also sick at the idea of dishonoring their entire family by the action.

“True,” Edward said. “Well, anyway, I suppose I should contact your brother. Oath or no oath, I still have to ask his permission to marry the two of you. And the royal solicitors need to get together and draw up the documents for a formal alliance.”

“Could we not mention the oath?” Maxx asked. “I mean unless we really have to? I can’t imagine Philip saying no to the union, because he’s wanted to marry us off for years now and he can’t say he’s not getting a good alliance out of the deal. But I’d prefer he didn’t know about the oath unless we have no choice.”

“Yeah, I’d rather Philip didn’t know myself,” Chaz said. “I’m sure he suspects that there’s a reason why we keep turning down suitors, but honestly, I’d rather he didn’t know the real reason. He took after our father in that he has a bit of a temper. Thankfully Isabella has made sure that their son Alex is a lot more even tempered. Not that it matters really, as he’s not going to be King anytime soon since Philip is only thirty-eight.”

“I’ll do my best to keep it from him,” Edward said, before he walked over to his desk and sat down. Taking out his wand, he tapped the glass of an ornate golden mirror on the edge of the desk, which allowed secure two-way communication between the various monarchs. Ideally Edward would have used this method to contact Seti originally instead of sending Garrick Ollivander with a letter, but then he didn’t have access to Castle Camelot at the time.

“Philip von Habsburg,” Edward intoned, as the surface of the mirror went from clear to cloudy, as magic swirled over its surface.

After a moment, the cloudiness cleared and coalesced into an image of Philip’s face. **_“Edward Pendragon. To what do I owe this pleasure?”_**

“I have a request,” Edward answered. “I’m hoping you’ll be amenable to it.”

**_“Well, I suppose that would depend upon the nature of the request.”_ **

Edward nodded. “I’m offering you an alliance and trade deal, in exchange for the hands of your brothers, Charles and Maximilian.”

Philip raised an eyebrow as he asked, **_“Forgive me, but didn’t I just attend your wedding to Pharaoh Seti’s son Ramesses a couple of weeks ago?”_**

“Yes, you did. Although as you know, I’m the last of the Pendragon line. Obviously I’ll be having children at some point, via surrogate since I prefer males, but it’ll be a couple of decades before they’re old enough to carry out royal duties on my behalf. So I figured I’d take a page from Seti’s book and take multiple spouses. Ramesses went into the marriage with me knowing this.”

 ** _“Ah, well, I suppose that does make sense,”_** Philip said. **_“And I know that Chaz and Maxx,”_** as their brother Philip tended to use their nicknames in all but the most formal settings because he knew how much they detested being called their actual names, **_“are good at royal duties. As I told them upon their return from the viceroyalty tour, I got nothing but glowing reports about them from my Viceroys. I’ll almost be sad to lose them to another kingdom, but then I knew it would happen eventually.”_**

“So you don’t have any problems with my request to marry them both? In addition to Ramesses?” Edward asked. “And may I say you’re also being more amenable that I expected? You’re not even going to attempt to get any concessions out of me?”

Philip smiled. **_“I grew up watching my father age at an accelerated rate from the stress of being too much of a micromanager. By the time he died, he looked thirty or forty years older than he actually was. So, I’ll leave the details of the alliance and the trade deal up to our advisors and the solicitors to hammer out. I’m sure they’ll come up with something that’s mutually beneficial. As for the multiple spouses, no I can’t say that I do have a problem with that. My sister Carlotta—I don’t think I’ll ever get used to calling her Cleopatra—is one of Seti’s wives after all.”_**

Before Edward could respond, Philip grinned and said, **_“And as I’m sure they told you—yes I know that they came to visit you—I’ve been trying for the last three years to marry them off. They keep rejecting the attempts, however, but in all three cases I was marrying them both off to the same prince. They think I don’t know why they keep saying no to my attempts to marry them off, but I saw that kiss the three of you shared in the gardens. I think my brothers have been carrying a torch for you ever since.”_**

Shaking his head, Philip continued, **_“Honestly the only reason I didn’t contact you first when I was looking to marry them off was because Tsar Nicolas and Emperor Justinian contacted me first. After those unions fell through I was going to contact you to start negotiations but then I heard you’d selected a group of suitors, so I figured you wouldn’t be interested and contacted Emperor Hiroshi instead.”_**

Edward laughed. “Well, then, Philip I suppose in that case at some point soon we’re going to be brothers-in-law. I’ll have my advisors and my solicitor draw up a proposal and send it over. As you said, I’m sure between them and your own people, they can work out something that’ll benefit both our kingdoms.”

 ** _“Yes. Tell my brothers they have my permission to stay on in Albion as long as they’re welcome.”_** Philip turned his face away from the mirror for a moment and Edward could see his lips moving but couldn’t hear what he was saying, suggesting that he was talking to somebody else in his own office. When he turned back, he said, **_“Anyway, I have a Privy Council meeting I need to get to, so we’ll have to bring this to a close. It was good seeing you, Edward. I wish you good health and look forward to the day I can call you my brother.”_**

Edward said his goodbyes to Philip, before the communication ended and he stood from his desk. “Well, that went better than I expected.”

“Looks like you were worried for nothing,” Oliver commented. “Seems your brother already knew.”

“Well, part of the story, at least,” Gavin added.

“I guess so,” Chaz said with a shake of his head, as Maxx just nodded.

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, in his new bedroom, Harry was seated in a chair next to the fireplace, his feet up, as he read a book. Or at least tried to read a book. His mind wasn’t really cooperating and thus the words on the page weren’t making any sense. Honestly, he’d probably read the same passage about ten times without noticing.

Instead of the book resting in his lap, his mind was instead on the King’s Ball tomorrow night. He was nervous. Even though Cedric insisted that he wasn’t as bad of a dancer as he believed, he was still worried he’d make a fool of himself. And now it wouldn’t just be Cedric and all of the other noble families in attendance that he had to worry about making a fool of himself in front of.

The King would be there, obviously, since the ball was in honor of his birthday. Although to be honest, it wasn’t even Edward that had him worried.

No, now he was worried he’d make a fool of himself in front of Jonas and Lukas Cuffe.

Asterion had given him and Cedric a pair of charmed diaries that had allowed them both to communicate with the Cuffe twins in real time. All four had taken advantage of this and had spent the last couple of weeks writing back and forth and getting to know each other better. Tomorrow night, however, would be the first time that Harry or Cedric had seen the twins in person since the Tribunal.

And if that wasn’t enough pressure, Harry would be escorting Jonas as his date, while “Evan” escorted Lukas. He was really beginning to regret suggesting that he and Cedric do their first date with Abigail’s brothers in such a public forum.

“Why couldn’t we have met for a coffee date or something?” Harry asked himself aloud. “Something less formal and with fewer people around.”

“Because you don’t drink coffee, son,” James said with a grin from the portrait above the mantle. James’s and Lily’s portrait now hung prominently above the fireplace in Harry’s bedroom, although the room he was currently in wasn’t technically his bedroom, since the bed wasn’t in the room he was currently in.

It had taken a few days after the move to Castle Camelot for Harry to adjust to his new living arrangements. With only one living member of the Pendragon family left, there were plenty of empty rooms in the castle and as a result, Harry and all the other mage students, plus the trainers had been given their own suites. Some had obviously doubled up, such as Nick and Dominick, and Terence and Oliver, of course.

Having his own private sitting room attached to his bedroom was not something that Harry was used to. Just as he wasn’t used to having a walk-in closet which was in turn attached to a dressing room. He’d had his own private bathroom in his room at Forest Cottage, but the bathroom in his new accommodations put the one at the cottage to shame. Of course, that was probably to be expected, considering that Forest Cottage was just a middle-class Scottish highlands cottage. Castle Camelot on the other hand, was a medieval palace with all the luxurious appointments one would expect in a place that was literally built for royalty.

It was Harry’s experience that no matter where one went in the magical world, it often felt like you were stepping backwards in time. And that feeling was no less apparent here at the castle. At Forest Cottage, Minerva had favored a Victorian style in her décor, while Castle Camelot was full of furnishings that had already been antiques for centuries when Queen Victoria’s great-great-great-grandfather was on the throne. There were a few modern touches here and there, but not many, as it was clear that the furnishings had been around almost as long as the castle.

Of course, Merlin’s spells had prevented structural changes to most of the castle beyond updating the plumbing. And it seemed that Edward’s ancestors had in turn not changed much of anything. As proven by the fact that Merlin and Arthur confirmed that the bed in the King’s Suite—where Edward and Ramesses now slept—was the same bed they’d slept in over a thousand years ago. The mattress had been changed several times over the years, but the bed frame itself and even the hangings—thanks to good care and Preservation Charms—were the same ones that adorned the room in the eighth century.

“Fine a tea date then,” Harry said. “You know what I meant, Dad. Something less formal than the ball to celebrate the King’s birthday would have been better for a first date.”

“True,” Lily said. “And I suppose where the ball is being held doesn’t help matters.”

Nodding, Harry said, “No, it doesn’t. If it wasn’t for the fact that my presence is pretty much required since I am the Lord High Chancellor, there’s no way I’d ever set foot in Maplecroft Manor.”

Maplecroft Manor was the ancestral home of the Lestrange family and the site where the King’s Ball had been held for well over a decade. This would be the first time since King Charles died that the King would actually be present at the ball, which had previously been held in June, instead of November. Still, with Arcturus Lestrange and presumably his sister Araminta acting as the hosts for the evening, Harry could think of numerous things he’d rather be doing. To be perfectly honest, kissing a toilet seat, crawling over broken glass, and walking on red hot coals were all among the things he’d rather be doing.

“Well, at least it’s just Arcturus and Araminta Lestrange,” James said. “It’d be a lot worse if you had to deal with the Lord and Lady Lestrange instead.”

“Thank heavens for small favors,” Harry said. “I feel sorry for Neville and his gran, having to go into that house.”

“True, I can’t imagine they’re too happy about it,” Cedric said, as he walked into the room through the connecting door that connected his sitting room to Harry’s.

Harry and Cedric had been a bit stunned on the first day of living at the castle to find out that they’d been given connecting suites, but they weren’t going to complain. While they hadn’t reached a point where they were comfortable with the idea of actually sharing a bed, they weren’t going to complain about the close proximity. It just made snogging sessions a lot more convenient.

As Cedric took a seat in the armchair opposite Harry’s own, Lily took hold of James’s arm and said, “I think we should go explore the castle.”

Grinning, James said, “Have fun, boys,” making them both blush, as James and Lily left their frame.

Closing his book and setting it aside, Harry stood up and moved over to the chair Cedric had sat down in before sitting down on the older boy’s lap. It was perhaps a little more awkward now than it might have been when Harry was a lot smaller, but he liked his new body. Of course, he wasn’t the only one since Cedric liked it too. Wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist and pulling the younger teen’s head down, the two kissed for a moment, before Cedric said, “It’ll be okay, Harry.”

“Well, at least I won’t have to socialize with Arcturus and Araminta too much. They will have a house full of guests and as the hosts, they can’t stick with just one group of their guests.”

“Indeed, they can’t. It would be seen as very rude.”

“I wonder what people will say about us though,” Harry said, after a moment as he wrapped one arm around Cedric’s shoulders and laced the fingers of his other hand with Cedric’s. “Well, not so much you and me—or Evan I suppose—but us and Jonas and Lukas.”

“Well, you are a legal adult, Harry. Nobody can say anything about it if you opt to date an older man. Besides, this being the first date, I’m not even sure it’ll be all that romantic. Probably more platonic in nature, just a group of friends going out together.”

“I guess, although we both know that Abigail is hoping that you and I hit it off with Jonas and Lukas in the romantic sense. So that the two of them can get out of the house more and actually go on dates.”

“True,” Cedric said. “For now though, let’s not worry about it. There’s something else I’d much rather be doing.”

Harry grinned as he recognized the look on the other boy’s face. “I do like the way you think,” before he leaned in and started making out with Cedric.

-o-0-o-

“Oh Gods, yes. Fuck me!” twenty-five-year-old Jonas Cuffe exclaimed from his nearly bent over position, the upper half of his body flat against the tiled wall of the shower in the bathroom of his flat, while his lower body was angled outward away from the tiles.

Instead of responding verbally, Jonas’s lover—and identical twin brother—Lukas just sped up not only his thrusting hips, but also his hand, which was wrapped tightly around Jonas’s manhood.

Leaning forward so that his chest was flush with his brother’s back, Lukas captured Jonas’s lips in a searing kiss, as the water cascaded over their bodies. It wasn’t long after the kiss began that they both felt their balls tightening, signaling that their release was imminent. They kept kissing, however, and thus any moans were silenced by their joined mouths as Lukas began shooting his load deep into his twin’s arse, and Jonas began shooting all over the wall and floor of the shower.

The twins kept kissing until the very last spasms of their orgasms faded, before Lukas broke the kiss and whispered, “I love you, Jon.”

“I love you, too, Luke.”

Pulling his softening cock out of his twin’s arse, Lukas said, “Well, I guess we should finish getting cleaned up. Hopefully our little diversion isn’t going to make us late.”

Grinning as he turned around to face his twin, Jonas said, “If it does, I really don’t care. Because it was so worth it.”

“True, I’ll never complain about making love to you,” Lukas admitted. “Or vice versa. But, we do actually have a date tonight, remember. And considering who it’s with and where, being late might not be the best idea.”

“You have a point,” Jonas conceded. Grinning, he asked, “You need me to wash your back?”

“I’ll do it myself,” Lukas said, shaking his head as Jonas’s grin faded. “Oh don’t give me the kicked puppy look, bro. I seem to recall me washing your back being what started the last diversion. As pleasurable as it was, there’s no way we have time for a repeat.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Think of it this way,” Lukas said. “This way, you’ll have something to look forward to when we get home later tonight.”

“Oh now you’re just being wicked,” Jonas complained. “With that in my head, I’m going to have a hard time keeping myself from being uncomfortably hard all night.”

“Since I’m the one who will benefit later, I fail to see the problem,” Lukas said, as he picked up the abandoned washcloth and began washing his back, as Jonas just rolled his eyes, before he got to work finishing off his own washing up.

About five minutes later, the twins emerged from their bathroom, dry and completely naked. There wasn’t much point in wrapping towels around their waists, after all. They lived alone and they’d obviously seen each other naked before, so there was absolutely no need for modesty.

Walking over to the dresser, Jonas pulled open a drawer and grabbed two pairs of hunter grey boxer briefs, one of which he tossed over to Lukas, who deftly caught them. After both twins pulled them on, Lukas walked over to the closet and grabbed the two garment bags, which held everything else they’d be wearing this evening.

Shaking his head as he unzipped the bag, Lukas said, “I can’t believe we actually own dress robes from Twillfitt and Tattings.”

Jonas nodded. “And made by Master Tailor Johann Tatting himself.” Shaking his head, he said, “Not something I ever thought I’d own.”

“Considering that they cost more than I make in a year at the hospital, I can understand that.”

“Well, I guess if we’re going to be dating the Duke of Granston and the Earl of Charwell, we’re going to have to get used to it,” Jonas said, as he sat down on the bed and pulled on the pair of black acromantula silk dress socks.

“True,” Lukas said. “Of course, we can’t tell anyone who Cedric is, remember. He’s Evan tonight.”

Jonas nodded. “I know. Honestly, I’m not sure which one is hotter… Cedric Diggory or Evan Lockwood.”

While they hadn’t seen each other in person since the Tribunal, Asterion had given the twins a picture of Harry and Cedric and a picture of Harry and Evan when he’d given them their journals. So, they knew what their dates for the evening looked like. It was a good thing too, because they hadn’t really paid that much attention to either of them at the Tribunal, and even if they had, they were both trying to put those memories behind them.

“True, they’re both hot in their own ways. So is Harry. Not as hot as you, of course, but I can’t exactly say that I’d be against getting to know them better.”

“If that happens at some point, I wouldn’t be against it either,” Lukas agreed. “Although I seriously doubt it’ll happen tonight.”

“Yeah I don’t expect that anything will happen tonight, given that they haven’t even taken that step with each other yet. But, I have no problems waiting until they’re ready, because I’ve got you to keep me satisfied until then.”

“That’s assuming of course that anything happens between the four of us,” Lukas pointed out. “I know Abby wants the four of us to get together, but we don’t really know if that’s going to work out yet.”

“True. I think we will at least be friends with them though. If more happens, well, I won’t complain. I still love you with all my heart and I always will, but I think there’s room in my heart for more. I don’t think you can ever have too much love. And Harry and Cedric know that we’re together, so it’s not like they’re going to make us choose.”

“Just as we’d never make them choose between us and the two of them. Especially since they’re soulmates.”

Harry and Cedric hadn’t been sure if they should tell the Cuffe twins that detail, but in writing back and forth with them over the past couple of weeks, they felt really comfortable with them. And they felt that it would help drive home the fact that Harry and Cedric weren’t going to try and come between the twins, as they shared what was arguably an even deeper bond then the twins could claim.

Sitting down on the bed so that he could pull on his own socks, Lukas said, “I’ve gotta admit, I do feel a tad strange about tonight. What with the age difference and all.”

“Yeah, same here,” Jonas said, as he cupped Lukas’s knee with his hand in a comforting gesture of solidarity. “We’ve just gotta remember that we’re not doing anything wrong. It’s just a date and other than dancing together and maybe a kiss later tonight, nothing is going to happen between us and them. And even if it did, again, there’d be nothing wrong with it. Cedric is seventeen and Harry is legally an adult due to his lordship and besides that they’re both above the legal age of consent.”

Placing his own hand on top of Jonas’s, Lukas nodded and said, “I know, it’s just if Abby was going to play matchmaker, I just wish she’d done it with a couple closer to us in age, rather than a couple that we’re eleven and eight years older than. We’re definitely going to get some looks when we show up on their arms.”

“Yeah, we probably will, but not as many as if we showed up on each other’s arms. It’ll be kind of nice to be able to go out in public on a date for once. Not that I’m ashamed of you or us, but due to us being twins, our true relationship will probably always have to be kept to the shadows.”

“I suppose that’s the advantage to Harry and Cedric and why Abby is pushing so hard for the four of us. They know about our past thanks to the Tribunal and they not only still want to get to know us better, but they don’t actually have a problem with us being together. I suppose there’s not many that could say the same.”

“Probably not. We got really lucky in that Abby’s boyfriend can’t really say anything about us, considering that he’s had sex with his own father.” After a moment, Jonas grinned and said, “Oh what I wouldn’t have given to be a fly on the wall during that encounter.”

“Or when they were with the Eriksson twins,” Lukas added, as he returned his brother’s grin. After a moment, he shook his head and said, “Anyway, enough sidetracking. We gotta get dressed or Harry and Evan will get here to pick us up and we’re only going to be in our socks and underwear.”

“Well, while I guess there’s something to be said for letting them see what they’re getting, we should probably hold off until after the first official date for that.”

The look Lukas gave his twin at this clearly said, **_‘Really, you think?’_** with an underlying note of sarcasm that was easily transmitted between them due to their bond as twins.

Standing up, they took the white acromantula silk dress shirts that they’d be wearing under their formal robes from their respective garment bags and pulled them on. Within a few minutes they were both fully dressed and had just finished combing their hair and putting on some cologne when the doorbell rang.

“Just in time,” they said in unison, before heading out into the living room to greet their dates.

-o-0-o-

It took a little over a week of daily meetings of ten to twelve hours for the solicitors and advisors to the Habsburg and Pendragon families to hammer out the details of the alliance and trade deal. Finally, Thomas presented the finalized contracts to Edward for his perusal, while his Iberian counterpart presented a copy to Philip. Each copy was charmed so that when Philip or Edward signed them, their signatures would automatically appear on the contracts given to the other monarch.

It was Philip who signed first, after taking about two days to peruse the documents. Edward signed them a couple hours later on the same day. Their combined signatures set a number of things in motion, the biggest being the planning of the wedding between Edward, Chaz, and Maxx.

Edward had announced his engagement to Chaz and Maxx at the King’s Ball, with an engagement banquet held one week later at Castle Camelot. Since they’d essentially been engaged for over a decade now, Edward and the twins decided that a short engagement was better than a long one. It certainly raised several eyebrows when they announced the wedding date of the Fourth of December, which was less than a month following the engagement banquet.

As for Philip, while the quick engagement initially caught him by surprise, he wasn’t about to complain because he’d been trying to get an alliance and trade deal brokered with one of the other empires for the last three years. Only for nothing to come to fruition because Chaz and Maxx refused to cooperate. Even with the contracts signed, the deal wouldn’t actually take effect until the wedding sealed it, so Philip didn’t have any issues with a short engagement, and even sent some of his own people to help get everything ready on time.

In the days leading up the wedding, many other things were happening, of course. The mage students continued attending their classes, which were now split into three classes, each three hours long. Minerva and Pomona alternated as the teacher for the first one and Rolanda and Septima for the second. The third class of the day, meanwhile, was usually taught either by Asterion or one of the other four trainers, although Arthur and Merlin also taught the class from time to time. Of course, due to them being a portrait and the trainers nixing the idea of holding classes in the Tribunal Chambers, the third class was strictly theory when Arthur and Merlin taught, as they couldn’t really do practical demonstrations.

The Twenty-Fourth of November also saw the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament taking place. Being that it was a Thursday and the trainers feeling that they’d given their students enough time off already, despite some complaints none of the students were allowed to attend the Task, and thus it was Harry’s and Cedric’s doubles that actually competed. Edward could have overruled the trainers, but he chose not to because while he did have absolute power, he didn’t want to abuse it. So instead, Regulus came over to the castle for dinner the night of the task to let everyone know what had happened.

“Team Durmstrang and Team Hogwarts tied with 47 points each,” Regulus revealed. “Team Beauxbatons came in at 32 points.”

Thinking back to the day the champions had been selected, Cedric asked, “I thought they were going to score the main tasks on a scale of zero to thirty?”

“That was Professor Thornquist’s initial suggestion, yes,” Minerva answered. “It got changed since then, however. Since there’s five judges—Madame Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, Lord Crouch, Ludo Bagman, and myself—it was decided to let each judge award up to ten points in the main tasks, so the maximum score was raised to fifty.”

“So which dragons did each school get?” Terence asked.

“Durmstrang got the Chinese Fireball,” Regulus answered. “Beauxbatons the Swedish Short-Snout and Hogwarts got the Hungarian Horntail.”

“Damn! The biggest and most dangerous,” Nick said. Looking over at Harry and Cedric, he grinned and asked, “Still upset you guys weren’t allowed to compete personally?”

Before either of them could answer, Pomona said, “Cedric, your double was injured during the task. Poppy had to apply a thick layer of burn cream to almost the entire left side of his face, so he’s going to have a foul-smelling orange paste on his face for the next twenty-four hours.”

“He’ll be okay though, right?” Gavin asked.

“Yes, he’ll be fine,” Septima confirmed. “The burn paste Poppy used will fix him up. His face might be a bit red for a few days after it comes off, but that’ll fade in time.”

Harry and Cedric shared a look, before turning to look at Nick and answering in nearly perfect unison, “Not in the slightest.”

Everybody was quiet for a few moments, as they ate their dinner, until Dominick asked, “One thing I was wondering about is why those oaths you swore couldn’t just be rescinded? I know the Alliance Oath can be with the agreement of both parties.”

Edward nodded. “That’s true, it can be. The Royal Oath, however, is more akin to the Unbreakable Vow in that it can’t be rescinded once given.”

“Ah, okay,” Dominick said. “Well, I like Chaz and Maxx, they seem cool.”

“Yeah, they do,” Ramesses said. “Honestly, I’ll admit that a part of me is kind of bummed that I’ll never be able to do anything with them, since their oath forbids them to have sex with anyone but Edward.”

Putting a hand on Ramesses’s knee under the table, Edward grinned at him and said, “Well, you still have me. And I can pretty much guarantee that you, Chaz and Maxx won’t be my only spouses.”

“Any idea how many you’re actually going to take?” Roger asked.

“I haven’t really decided yet,” Edward answered. “I may well end up with the same number as Seti… and I won’t rule out more than him.” Several eyes widened at this, prompting Edward to add, “I’d say there’s a hard limit of ten at the absolute most, however. Preferably less.”

“So Chaz and Maxx will be your Prince-Consorts, right?” Oliver asked.

Edward nodded. “Yeah. The agreement is that they’ll retain their positions in the HRE’s Electoral College, and they’ll also retain their Iberian Dukedoms and I can add the corresponding Duke-Consort titles to my collection if I want. Although I probably won’t because my official title is long enough as it is. Any children we have together will be able to inherit their Dukedoms, but will be ineligible for the Iberian throne.”

As Chancellor, Harry was also familiar with the agreement, so he added, “And should one of Edward’s children with Chaz or Maxx inherit the throne of Albion, they’re immediately disinherited from being possible inheritors of the Iberian Dukedoms. And since they’d be Pendragons and not Habsburgs, they’re all barred from election as Holy Roman Emperor.”

“Speaking of Chaz and Maxx, where are they tonight?” Blaise asked, as this was the first time that the twin princes hadn’t been at dinner since their arrival in Albion. They hadn’t been told about Edward’s or the others’ mage training since while they were spending time with the group and eating meals with them, they were sleeping in a suite in the guest wing of the castle. Minerva said that she’d consider letting them in on the secret after their wedding to Edward, as it would be much harder to keep it a secret from them after they moved into the family wing.

“The Imperial Palace in Vienna, Austria,” Edward answered. “Their uncle, Emperor Charles, collapsed this afternoon while he was on his way back to his quarters after an inspection of the Imperial Guard.”

“Is he okay?” Ramesses asked.

“I don’t know,” Edward said. “I haven’t heard back from Chaz and Maxx yet, so I don’t know what the cause of Charles’s collapse was or even if he’s still alive. All I know is that Chaz, Maxx, and the other five Imperial Electors have all gone to Vienna to be at his side, but then that’s standard procedure when the reigning Emperor has any sort of health scare. They want the Electors close at hand, should it become necessary to elect a new Emperor.”

-o-0-o-

On the evening of the First of December, Chaz and Maxx von Habsburg solemnly entered the Electoral Chamber. Their uncle, Holy Roman Emperor Charles, was dead. His initial collapse had been due to a mini stroke, although he’d seemed to rally in the hours following his collapse, joining his family for dinner in the dining room of the Imperial Palace. His good health, however, didn’t last long, for as the servants prepared to bring out dessert, he seized and suffered a second stroke, much more serious than the first.

For the next three days, Charles laid in bed, nearly comatose, the entire left side of his body paralyzed. News of the Emperor’s condition was kept tightly under wraps, with nobody outside the palace being told. Chaz and Maxx did briefly communicate with Edward that they were okay, but said that they’d have to extend their stay in Vienna by a few days. They made it clear, however, that they would be at their wedding, come hell or high water.

“I can’t say I expected to find myself here this soon,” Chaz replied, sitting down heavily at the table. “I can scarcely believe that Uncle Charles is gone.”

“I know, I can barely believe it either,” Maxx said, as he tilted his head sideways so that it touched Chaz’s.

“Hello Uncle Chaz, Uncle Maxx,” said Iberian Crown Prince Alejandro von Habsburg, as he entered the room and took his seat. At only eighteen years old, he was one of the younger Electors, but not the youngest, as that title belonged to the third of Charles’s four sons, Prince-Elector Konstantin von Habsburg, who was only seventeen.

“Hey Alex,” the twins said in unison.

“I suppose the others might be a few minutes,” Alex said, as he sat down. “Jakob, Gabriel and Konstantin will no doubt want some time to say goodbye to their father.”

Chaz nodded. “Yes, they will. Rodrigo is with them at Aunt Victoria’s request, but once the children say their goodbyes, they’ll be down to help us elect the new emperor.”

“It’s strange to think that I’m about to cast a vote for who will lead an empire,” Alex said. “I knew that I’d probably have to do so eventually, but I didn’t expect Granduncle Charles to die this soon.”

“None of us did, Alex,” Maxx agreed. “He was only fifty years old. I know to some people that probably seems ancient, but considering that many wizards and witches live to be centenarians, it definitely wasn’t expected.”

“Well, I guess if he had to go and I wish he hadn’t,” Alex said, “that at least he went now and not on your wedding day in three days. Because that would have sucked.”

“Yeah that would definitely have put a damper on the occasion,” Chaz said.

Nothing more was said, as the three men fell into thoughtful silence, as they considered their options. None of them had really given any serious thought before today about who they might elect as the new Holy Roman Emperor, as none of them had expected to have to do so for decades.

After a few minutes, Patriarch Rodrigo von Habsburg—Chaz and Maxx’s brother and Philip’s twin—entered the room, followed shortly afterward by Princes Jakob, Gabriel, and Konstantin.

At thirty-eight years old, Rodrigo was the eldest member of the Electoral College, and thus upon sitting down, he said, “Well, let’s get started. I know we’re all sad about Charles’s passing, but we have a duty to perform. Before the news of Charles’s death is released, we must elect a new Emperor.”

Jakob, Charles’s eldest son, nodded. “Yes. The Emperor is dead. Long live the Emperor.”

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts Castle, the double of Minerva McGonagall was on her way up to her office from the Great Hall, following dinner. She had just turned into the corridor that held the gargoyle when she spied Sybill Trelawney pacing back and forth nearby, shuffling a deck of tarot cards in her hands.

Sighing to herself, as she’d never been a particular fan of Sybill or the subject she taught, she forced a smile and said, “Good evening, Sybill.”

The Divination professor remained silent, however, as she continued shuffling the cards. McGonagall looked at her for a moment, before nodding at her once more and heading for the gargoyle. She was just about to say her password and go up to her office, when the deck of cards that Sybill was shuffling went flying as if they’d simply been thrown up in the air.

“Sybill,” Minerva began, but stopped, as the Divination professor’s hand grabbed her arm, prompting Minerva to ask, “Sybill, could you please let go of my arm?”

Trelawney said nothing, however, prompting Minerva to say, “Sybill,” but it was at this point that she turned to face the other woman fully and realized that Sybill’s eyes were glazed over.

Before Minerva could think on that for too long, Sybill began speaking, but it wasn’t in her normal voice.

Instead it was a deep, booming voice that said, **_“As the seventh month dies the drums of war cease their silence… a beloved Queen lies dead, murdered with the power of Death... Tensions rise between two Great Dynasties as family and people cry out for the Queen’s death to be avenged… a secret meeting… an alliance forged… wedding bells ring… a King and another’s councilor born to parents who thrice defied evil… the drums of war will cease their silence as the seventh month dies…”_**

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Chapter Seventeen of ‘The Journey Begins’. I was planning on releasing two more chapters of my Harry Potter/Smallville crossover story ‘The Battle of the Billionaires’ followed by a few chapters of my Smallville story, ‘Brotherly Love’, but then I realized that it had been over a year since I’d last updated this story. I couldn’t believe it as to me it really didn’t seem anywhere near that long ago. But, I figured I needed to update the story, so, here you go. I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter @JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at jayson (dot) vascardi.


	27. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

_Previously in ‘The Journey Begins’…_

-o-0-o-

A scrying attempt by a powerful unknown person prompts Minerva and the trainers to decide it would be best to move the training from Forest Cottage to Castle Camelot, with the hope that the protection of Hestia’s Grail will increase security. Edward comes to the realization that he’s had a significant memory lapse when he realizes that when he married Ramesses, he was already engaged to Iberian Prince-Electors Chaz and Maxx von Habsburg. After a discussion with the twin princes, Edward contacts their brother, King-Emperor Philip, and gets the ball rolling for their wedding.

Harry adjusts to living in a royal palace and worries about his upcoming first date with Cedric—as Evan—and the Cuffe twins, Jonas and Lukas, at the King’s Ball. Harry is beginning to regret suggesting that their first date be in such a public location, especially when that location is the ancestral home of the Lestrange family. Talking it over with Cedric, Harry begins to feel better and finally decides to put it out of his mind entirely in favor of a much more pleasurable activity: making out with Cedric.

While getting ready for their dates with Harry and Evan, Jonas and Lukas are distracted when they end up having sex with each other in the shower. As they’re getting dressed in the expensive custom-tailored dress robes that neither of them ever thought they’d own, they discuss their upcoming date and their feelings regarding a potential future with Harry and Cedric.

The First Task of the Triwizard occurs in late November, with Teams Durmstrang and Hogwarts tying for first place, and Team Beauxbatons coming in second. Not long after the task, Chaz and Maxx are called to Vienna, Austria after their uncle, Holy Roman Emperor Charles, suffers a mini stroke. Unfortunately, for the Habsburg family, Charles goes on to suffer a second stroke and after three days in a nearly comatose state, he passes way, leaving Chaz, Max, and the other five Prince-Electors with the solemn duty of electing the next Holy Roman Emperor.

And at Hogwarts, Professor Sybill Trelawney gives a prophecy to Minerva McGonagall’s double.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Eighteen

-o-0-o-

Like many other people, Minerva McGonagall often had trouble remembering all of her dreams, as the details of them had a tendency to quickly fade from her memory upon waking up. However, with an active double at Hogwarts, she knew that it was possible that she might miss some important intelligence from the school if that happened. So, she’d developed a nightly ritual of casting various spells on herself before going to bed.

One of them was a memory spell which would improve her mental clarity and help her to sort the memories she received from her double while she slept into magically crafted category niches in her brain that would make them easier to remember when she woke. Another one was a spell which would force her awake if one of the memories she got was important enough to require her immediate attention.

Sleeping comfortably for nearly four hours, Minerva very suddenly woke and sat up in bed, as the memory of Sybill’s prophecy was categorized into her brain. While she had never been one to put much faith in Divination, she couldn’t help but notice the similarities between this new prophecy and the one that Sybill had given Dumbledore in the early 1980’s.

Throwing back her bed covers, she swung her legs off the bed and put her feet into her bedroom slippers. As she stood, she pulled on her green tartan dressing gown over her nightgown and left her bedroom, before she headed into her suite’s private sitting room.

“Barin!” She called.

“Yes, Mistress Minerva?”

“Wake Rolanda, Pomona, and Septima and tell them to come see me immediately,” Minerva said, as she took a seat on the sofa. “And prepare a pot of tea with four cups.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Barin said, as he popped out of the room.

Within ten minutes, the other three trainers had joined Minerva in her sitting room and each had a cup of tea.

“What’s going on, Minerva?” Pomona asked, as they all knew that Minerva wouldn’t have roused them from sleep in the middle of the night if she didn’t believe it was important.

“Sybill spoke a prophecy to my double,” Minerva answered. “A prophecy which—assuming there’s any truth to it all—I fear could affect more than one of our students.”

“I thought you usually had no use for the subject,” Septima said, as she paused to take a sip of tea. “Called it balderdash if I remember correctly.”

“Regardless of what I may have said about it in the past, I can’t deny that the prophecy Sybill previously gave in regards to Harry does seem to be coming true. Do I believe that the prophecy itself makes the events it foretells set in stone? No, I do not, but I also don’t believe that keeping it entirely to myself as Albus did for years serves any purpose.”

“I’m sure Albus would see things differently,” Rolanda said. “As I’m sure that he had his reasons—completely selfish reasons though they may have been—for keeping it from Harry. And as far as I’m aware, he never even bothered to tell Frank and Alice Longbottom about the prophecy, despite the very real possibility that it could have pointed at Neville just as easily as it does to Harry.”

“Indeed. I’ve often wondered if he’d told the Longbottoms back then, if they’d still be nearly comatose today.” Shaking her head, Minerva said, “But dwelling on that serves no purpose, as it’s in the past and cannot be changed. So we must instead focus on the future.”

The others nodded in agreement, before Minerva relayed the prophecy to them. Everyone was silent for a few minutes, as they went over the words in their own heads.

“Well, the first part is obvious,” Pomona said. “Whatever the prophecy is speaking of will supposedly happen in July. Of course, we have no way of actually knowing if that’s supposed to be this coming July or July ten years from now.”

Rolanda nodded. “True, although assuming that the time frame for this prophecy will be roughly the same as the one she previously gave about Voldemort and Harry, it would presumably refer to this coming July. Sybill did give her prophecy to Albus in August of 1979 when she interviewed for the Divination post and Harry and Neville were then born the following July.”

“Yes. The next line about a beloved Queen can’t possibly refer to Albion,” Septima pointed out. “Obviously we don’t have a Queen and aren’t likely to get one anytime soon considering that Edward is gay. I suppose it could refer to Queen Elizabeth in the muggle world, but I can’t imagine that Sybill would be giving prophecies about her. And beyond Elizabeth and the Prime Minister, very few people in the muggle world—not counting the parents and immediate families of muggleborns—are even aware of the existence of the magical world. So I don’t really see Elizabeth’s death triggering a war.”

“The part about this Queen being murdered with the power of Death was the primary cause of the alarm bells for me,” Minerva said. “With what we now know about the Elder Wand and its connection with Thanatos, God of Death, that part would suggest that whoever this Queen is, she will be murdered by Albus or Gellert, using the Elder Wand.”

“A fair assumption,” Rolanda agreed. “With the mention of a Queen, it’s likely that the two great dynasties mentioned are royal houses. I would think that we can immediately eliminate the Houses of Bathory and Draculesti since both families rule only over principalities at the moment and thus don’t have the rank of Queen. Additionally, I’d think we can also eliminate Emperor Charles’s wife Victoria, since she’s an Empress, not a Queen. By the same token the Houses of Romanov, Ptolemy, Caesar, Yamata, and Yuan can be eliminated.”

“That makes sense,” Pomona said. “We can also eliminate the House of Eriksson, since both of its Kings are gay and as such they don’t have Queens.” After a moment, she grinned and added, “There is that persistent rumor that Kristopher and Kristian Eriksson enjoy crossdressing from time to time, but as they’re both Prince-Consorts, I wouldn’t say that either of them qualify as a Queen, as I rather doubt from the rest of the wording that the prophecy is referring to a drag queen.”

All four of the trainers laughed at that and agreed that it wasn’t likely.

“ _‘A King and another’s councilor,’_ ” Rolanda said. “I could be completely off base, but I would guess that would mean a King and the councilor of another King. Like most prophecies, it is a bit vague, although I’d assume that it’s meant to say that a King’s councilor will be marrying a King in order to create an alliance to presumably stave off a war.”

“That was my interpretation, as well,” Septima said. “The next part though, _‘born to parents who thrice defied evil,’_ am I the only one who thinks that could point to Harry?”

“It would be plausible,” Pomona said. “Although it could also fit Neville. As both James/Lily and Frank/Alice defied Voldemort three times and he definitely counts as evil. Or it could also refer to neither of them. Despite the similarities between this prophecy and Sybill’s last one, this one doesn’t really make it clear that the councilor whose parents defied evil was born at the end of July. So when you remove that, I’m sure the field of possibilities opens up even wider. Not to mention the involvement of at least two great dynasties… meaning more than one country is involved and thus more potential people born to those who thrice defied evil.”

“True,” Rolanda said. “Although there’s only so many councilors to Kings in the world. Still, we really have no way of knowing whether or not the evil that’s talked about in the prophecy is Voldemort or whether it’s Gellert, or even Albus.”

“Indeed, we don’t,” Minerva agreed. “I’d think Gellert or Albus though, simply because to the best of my knowledge, Voldemort is still incorporeal and incapable of even holding a wand. So, based on that I’d say that Gellert and Albus are the bigger threats.”

“They have been very quiet since the operation here,” Septima said. “Which certainly makes me nervous about what they might be planning. Because I’m not fool enough to think that they’re just going to fade into anonymity and never bother anybody ever again. Anybody who would even entertain such a ludicrous notion for more than a second needs their head examined.”

“Agreed,” Minerva said, as she finished the last of her tea. “Well, I suggest we all try to get some more sleep. As fun as it is to speculate on what this prophecy might mean, I’m honestly not even sure if I believe that it’s real. So, I don’t want to dwell on it too much, but I thought the rest of you should know about it, at least.”

Pomona nodded. “Yes, assuming the events in the prophecy are going to begin in late July, it’s quite a ways off at the moment, since it’s only December. We can certainly keep our eyes and ears open for any clues between now and then, but I’m not sure if doing anything about it would be wise.”

“That’s the problem with prophecies,” Minerva said. “They’re often unclear. The future is ever changing and while the prophecy may have been true when Sybill gave it, that doesn’t mean that it still is now. I believe that most prophecies that have come true only did so because people acted in a certain way after hearing it and ended up guaranteeing that the foretold events would happen, even if it was their intention to try to stop them from happening.”

-o-0-o-

On the evening before the wedding of Edward, Chaz, and Maxx, Cedric Diggory was in his bedroom getting ready for bed. In order to make up for some of the time lost over the past few months, the trainers had started having their students attend weekend classes. Where they attended three, three-hour classes a day Monday through Friday, that was cut down to three one-and-a-half hour classes on Saturdays and Sundays.

However, since the trainers were obviously not going to make Edward work on his wedding day, they opted to give everybody the day off… except that they were making up for it by having the normal weekday schedule on Saturday.

Cedric had just gotten out of his ensuite, having taken a nice, long soak in his bathtub to relax after a more grueling than normal day of classes. Rather than practicing any magic, the day’s classes had focused on physical fitness training, which the trainers insisted was important. Because of this, Cedric had been a bit sore, but the soak had definitely helped.

Pulling back the covers on his bed, Cedric—dressed in black silk pajamas—was just about to crawl into his bed, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he spotted Harry standing behind him.

“Harry?”

Harry didn’t say anything, however, as he moved so that he was in front of Cedric, and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Cedric wasn’t about to complain and was soon returning the kiss, as he wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist and held him close. Harry’s arms soon made their way around Cedric’s waist as well, but Harry decided to take things a bit further this time, as he slipped his hands past the waistbands of Cedric’s pajama bottoms and the underwear beneath.

Beyond some intense make out sessions, which had included some heavy petting—always through their clothes, however—this was the first time that Cedric had felt Harry’s hands on his bare arse. Cedric felt a little conflicted about how he should feel about that. It wasn’t all that long ago, after all, that he’d been steadfastly insisting that he was straight, despite knowing that was a bold-faced lie. Dating and getting closer to Harry over the past month had definitely made him feel more comfortable in his own skin and he’d forever be grateful to him for that.

And while Cedric knew that Harry was legal, a part of him still felt like he was taking advantage of Harry, because it was an inescapable fact that Cedric was older. As Harry squeezed his arse cheeks in his hands, however, and pulled his midsection closer so that their hardening cocks were rubbing against each other through their respective pajama bottoms, a wave of desire surged through every cell of Cedric’s body. The message from his hormones was clear: Don’t even think about putting a stop to this.

Breaking their kiss, Harry gave Cedric’s arse one more squeeze before he pulled his hands out of Cedric’s underwear. Cedric must have looked like he was going to object, because Harry placed a finger over Cedric’s lips and said softly, “It’s not over yet, Ric.”

Cedric was quiet as he spent a moment looking into Harry’s eyes, before nodding and deciding that he was going to let this play out. He was confident that Harry would stop if he asked him to, so there was no harm in letting things go a bit further between them than they had previously. It was always in the back of Cedric’s head, after all, that eventually they’d have to take things further if they were going to formalize their soul bond. And from the benefits that Regulus had told them about, Cedric knew that he did want to do that, as it would help him in keeping Harry safe, which he’d found was becoming increasingly important to him.

Placing a soft kiss on Cedric’s lips, Harry then moved over a bit to Cedric’s left cheek, kissing it, before he began leaving a trail of kisses down to Cedric’s neck, which he began kissing and sucking. Cedric knew that if Harry kept that up, he’d probably have to use a Glamour to hide the resulting hickey, but he wasn’t going to complain. No, instead he just tilted his head in order to give Harry better access to his neck.

His lips never leaving Cedric’s neck, Harry raised his hands and began to unbutton the other boy’s pajama top, pleased to see that Cedric wasn’t wearing anything under it. Once the buttons were undone, Harry swirled his tongue around on the part of Cedric’s neck he’d been working on, before he began working his way down, first to Cedric’s collarbone and then continued lower and lower, leaving another trail of kisses behind.

For his part, Cedric just closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. Thus it wasn’t until he felt Harry kiss his throbbing erection—still covered by his underwear and pajama bottoms—that he opened his eyes and realized that Harry was kneeling on the floor in front of him.

Kissing Cedric’s erection a couple of times, Harry then tilted his head upwards and said, “Ric, would you mind if I,” Harry paused here as his face reddened, “blew you?”

Harry had made up his mind that he wanted to do this and had even had Tilly get him some material to help him prepare for it. Before coming into Cedric’s room, he’d had a mini panic attack and almost backed out, but after a few deep breaths, he managed to swallow his panic. He was a Gryffindor, after all, so he was supposed to be brave.

Bravery didn’t mean that he wasn’t nervous, however, and no matter how much he wanted to do this for Cedric, he would never do anything that Cedric wasn’t ready for. Which is why no matter how much Harry wanted to pull Cedric’s pajama bottoms and underwear down so that he could get a look at what was tenting them, he wasn’t going to without Cedric’s permission.

“Are you sure about this?”

Nodding, Harry said, “Yes, I want to. But if you don’t want me to, then I won’t.”

Cedric smiled. “You’ll stop if I ask you to?”

“Of course.”

Cedric nodded. He’d thought that would be the case, but it was reassuring to hear it confirmed. Taking a deep breath to steady his own nerves, he nodded. “Okay. Go for it.”

Harry smiled up to Cedric before turning his attention back to the tented cloth in front of him. Kissing it a few more times and even rubbing it against his cheek a couple of times, Harry finally began undoing the drawstring of Cedric’s pajama bottoms. One it was untied the black material slid down Cedric’s legs and pooled at his feet, although this only lasted a moment as Cedric stepped out of them and used one foot to toss them off to the side.

Harry, meanwhile, was momentarily mesmerized by the sight in front of him, as he’d never seen Cedric in only his underwear and with a raging hard-on. Something else that Harry had never seen were Cedric’s naked legs above the knee, because he had seen him in shorts a few times, he’d never gotten a look at Cedric’s thighs. Shaking his head slightly, Harry decided to ignore the throbbing tent for a minute and instead knelt down a bit further so that he could place a kiss on Cedric’s kneecaps. After kissing the right one, Harry stuck out his tongue and licked it, before he began running his tongue from the knee up Cedric’s inner thigh to the bottom of Cedric’s boxers.

Nudging the material up with his nose, Harry kissed and licked further up as Cedric let his head fall backwards, as his eyes closed and a moan escape his parted lips. Reaching Cedric’s upper thigh, just below his hip, Harry swirled his tongue around for a moment, before he began sucking on the flesh.

Eyes still closed, Cedric shook his head and asked, “Trying to mark your territory, Harry?”

Kissing the spot he’d been sucking on, Harry moved away and grinned as he looked up at Cedric and answered, “Damn straight.”

“Damn right, maybe, but not damn straight,” Cedric retorted. “Thank the Gods!”

A second later, Cedric started laughing almost hysterically, prompting Harry to look up, concerned, as he asked, “Ric? You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Cedric said. “I was just laughing at the irony. It wasn’t that long ago that I was so intent on denying my sexuality that I was risking potential health problems and now I’m thanking the Gods that I’m not straight.”

Harry grinned. “You have come a long way in the last few weeks. I’m proud of you.” After a moment, he asked, “Shall I continue?”

“Gods, yes, please!”

“Okay then,” Harry said, happy that Cedric was enjoying what he was doing. Instead of going back to sucking on Cedric’s upper right thigh, he instead went back down to the other boy’s knee, as he kissed the left knee, before he began kissing and licking his way up it, repeating what he’d already done with the right leg.

After a few minutes of sucking on Cedric’s upper left thigh, Harry moved over and kissed Cedric’s erection through his boxers again, before he grinned, grabbed the waistband in his teeth, and began pulling them down slowly. Cedric’s eyes widened as he watched Harry do this because he could scarcely believe what he was seeing. If he didn’t already know that Harry was a virgin—like he was himself—he’d think that Harry was a lot more experienced because he was doing things that Cedric himself never would have thought of.

Pulling Cedric’s underwear down to his knees, Harry then smiled as he once again kissed and licked his way up Cedric’s right thigh. Only this time, instead of sucking on the spot on his upper thigh like he’d done earlier, he moved over to Cedric’s now revealed balls. Putting his hands on Cedric’s arse and pulling him a little bit closer, Harry began teasing Cedric’s balls, as his tongue repeatedly darted in and out of his mouth, almost snake like.

Cedric couldn’t help the moan that escaped his lips, as his arse muscles clenched and Harry continued teasing his balls, going back and forth from one to the other. Cedric’s moan was louder than his previous one and he was momentarily worried about somebody hearing him… until he remembered that all the suites, including his own, were soundproof.

They hadn’t been originally, but the trainers had soundproofed all of them the morning after their second night in the castle. The reason being that Terence and Oliver forgot to put up a Silencing Charm while they made love, which had only led to more noise as Nick and Dominick, and Edward and Ramesses attempted to drown out Terence and Oliver with their own activities.

After teasing Cedric’s balls, for another minute or so, Harry then darted his tongue out of his mouth one more time, only this time it was at the base of Cedric’s cock, which elicited an even louder moan from him.

“Oh, Harry, yes,” Cedric moaned, as Harry licked up the underside of his cock a few times, before he reached up with one hand and rolled back the foreskin of Cedric’s uncut cock. With the head completely revealed, Harry swirled his tongue around on it, which elicited a series of short, loud moans from Cedric, who was clearly enjoying himself.

Quickly reaching the point where coherent thought was becoming a distant memory, Cedric thought back to before this started and his question about whether or not Harry would stop if asked. Cedric realized now that there was no way he was actually going to ask Harry to stop, because he was enjoying this far too much to ever ask what he now realized would be an extremely stupid question.

Kissing and licking the head of Cedric’s cock, Harry finally opened his mouth wide and made sure to cover his teeth with his lips. While Tilly had provided him with some books—asking for them had left Harry redder than Ron’s hair—it hadn’t been Harry’s only source of information. He’d also asked Terence and Oliver for advice and tips, which they’d happily given.

“Oh Gods!” Cedric moaned, as he felt first the head, followed by the first inch or so of his cock being encased in the warmth of Harry’s mouth. Reaching out, Cedric grabbed onto one of the bedposts of his bed, as he felt the need to steady himself a bit, while placing the other hand on the back of Harry’s head. As much as he wanted to, he resisted the urge to pull Harry’s head closer to him, because even in his lust-hazed state, he still had the presence of mind to not want Harry to get hurt… and making Harry choke on his cock by making him take more than he could would be hurting him.

Pulling back, there was a soft pop, as the head of Cedric’s cock came out of Harry’s mouth and Cedric almost whined at the loss. Harry tilted his eyes upward and said, “Don’t worry about me choking, Cedric. There’s a spell to prevent that, which I cast on myself before I came in. It’ll let me take your whole cock without choking.”

Before Cedric could say anything in response to that, Harry put Cedric’s cock back in his mouth and to prove his point, he went further than he had before until his nose was buried in Cedric’s pubic hair.

“I love magic!” Cedric exclaimed, repeating the line that he’d heard Harry say several times now. With Cedric’s full length inside his mouth, Harry couldn’t respond verbally, but he did nod his head up and down to indicate that he agreed with that sentiment.

For the next several minutes, the two boys fell into a comfortable rhythm, as Harry would pull back until just the head of Cedric’s cock remained in his mouth, before Cedric would pull Harry’s head towards him as he thrusted his hips forward.

Emboldened by how much Cedric was enjoying this, Harry moved one of his hands that had previously just been massaging Cedric’s arse cheeks, and extending one finger, he cautiously fingered Cedric’s opening.

While Harry hadn’t actually inserted his finger into Cedric, just the sensation of the finger touching the outside of his hole, when combined with the last several minutes of sucking, was enough to push Cedric past the point of no return, as he said, “Oh Gods, Harry, I’m gonna…” he never finished that statement, as he let loose, shooting volley after volley of cum into Harry’s awaiting mouth.

Harry kept Cedric’s cock in place, until the very last drops of cum left it. While a few droplets escaped from the corners of his mouth, Harry had managed to drink most of what Cedric shot, as the spell he’d cast also made that easier. Removing his mouth from Cedric’s softening member, Harry stood back up and grabbing the back of Cedric’s neck, brought their lips together in a searing kiss, as Cedric got his first taste of his own cum. He’d been curious, but had never worked up the courage to actually taste it during his previous masturbatory sessions.

The kiss lasted for what seemed like hours but was honestly only a minute or so, before Harry pulled back, a grin on his face, as he asked, “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Hell yes,” Cedric said. After a moment, he hesitantly asked, “Um, I suppose I should return the favor?”

Shaking his head, Harry said, “Not tonight. It’s late, and we have a long day tomorrow, what with the royal wedding, so we should get some sleep. But, tomorrow night, if you want to, I won’t say no.”

“Okay,” Cedric said, before he yawned. “I am pretty tired.” After another second, he asked, “Stay with me?”

Harry looked at Cedric for a moment. They hadn’t shared a bed yet, but it could be argued that after what they’d just done, they were definitely a lot closer than they’d been an hour ago. Nodding his head, Harry said, “Sure.”

Cedric pulled his underwear up and put his pajama bottoms back on, before the two young men crawled into Cedric’s bed together. They kissed briefly, before they fell asleep, both reliving what just happened in their dreams.

-o-0-o-

The next day, the nobles of Albion and Iwernia—with the notable exception of Lord Amos Diggory who sent his seneschal to represent him—were gathered in the Emperor’s Cathedral for Edward’s wedding to Chaz and Maxx. Due to the fact that he’d only just gotten married to Ramesses a little over a month ago, many of the other monarchs sent their congratulations but opted not to attend personally, instead doing the same as Amos had by sending someone to represent them.

That isn’t to say that none of the other royal families showed up, however. Philip and his wife were there and unlike Edward’s marriage to Ramesses, they brought all eight of their children—six sons and two daughters—with them. The Dowager Empress Victoria was also present, along with her’s and Charles’s four sons and six daughters. Of course, the former Empress and her children were, despite the occasion, all wearing mourning black due to Charles’s recent death.

King Willem-Reinier and Queen Sophia of the Netherlands also came for the wedding, along with their children, since they were what little remained of Edward’s blood family. Of course, Princess Julianna van Oranje—wife of Crown Prince Roderik—had another reason for being in attendance, since she was born a Habsburg as the daughter of Charles and Victoria, so while she was Edward’s first cousin by marriage, she was also Chaz and Maxx’s first cousin by blood.

As for Pharaoh Seti, he opted not to come himself, but he did send Lord-Commander Asim Bakari to accompany Queen Meritites and Princess-Consort Cleopatra. Meritites opted to come because while she wasn’t related to Chaz and Maxx, she was their sister-in-law Queen-Empress Isabella’s aunt, while Cleopatra wasn’t about to miss the wedding of her own brothers. A few of Cleopatra’s children had also come with her, however, including Prince Thutmose, otherwise known as T.J., who Maxx had asked to be his best man. Ramesses, meanwhile, was standing up for Edward and Alejandro von Habsburg was standing up for Chaz.

Garrick Ollivander didn’t officiate the ceremony this time, as Edward and the twins decided instead to have Rodrigo von Habsburg do that honor, which he was more than happy to do. As the ceremony drew to a close, Rodrigo thanked the elemental spirits for their participation in the ceremony, before he grinned and said, “And now, Edward, Chaz, Maxx, for the moment you’ve no doubt been waiting for, you may seal your bonds with a kiss.”

Edward smiled as Chaz and Maxx bent so that their heads were closer together, before he leaned in and kissed them both at the same time, just as he had all those years ago in the palace gardens in Madrid, as Rodrigo announced over the applause, “It is my great honor to present to you, His Imperial and Royal Majesty Edward IX, and Their Imperial and Royal Highnesses Prince-Elector Charles Pendragon, Duque de Calatrava, and Prince-Elector Maximilian Pendragon, Duque de Castellon, Prince-Consorts of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia and the Empire of Camelot!”

-o-0-o-

“I still can’t believe that I’m here,” Jonas said, as he looked around in awe at the formal gardens that were just outside the Grand Ballroom of Castle Camelot.

Being the Fourth of December, one normally would not be able to sit outside in the gardens, as even situated on the southern coast of England, it would be a bit too chilly. However, before the wedding guests began arriving, Minerva did what she’d done at Hogwarts when the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons delegations arrived. First enclosing the ballroom’s garden in a Dome of Protection and then conjuring up a few braziers with miniaturized firestorms inside of them. So by the time the guests arrived, it was a comfortable 21C in the gardens.

Pomona also cast a spell which would temporarily make many of the flowers, which were in their dormant period, bloom. Thus, the fragrant scents of roses, lavender, and jasmine filled the air inside the dome, adding to the overall pleasantness of being outside in the gardens. The garden’s two fountains were running, which also added a relaxing background sound. Additionally, Fawkes was singing from his perch near the center of the garden.

Since the magically altered temperature was so nice, the Castle’s house-elves set up the tables for the wedding reception in the gardens, leaving more room inside the ballroom itself for dancing. Each table was covered in a crisp, white linen tablecloth, with gleaming golden table ornaments and candelabras in the center of each. Inside the candelabras, lit taper candles in Pendragon red and gold and Habsburg yellow and black, added a nice soft light which complimented the light from the moon and stars. The moon wasn’t full, as the full moon was still two weeks away, but it was still reminiscent of the palace gardens in Madrid when Edward, Chaz, and Maxx got engaged.

Gold-rimmed crystal glasses, with the finest white porcelain dishes stamped with the Pendragon coat of arms, along with gold and platinum cutlery completed the settings of each table. In front of each plate, a small silver dragon statuette held a place card of the finest vellum, with the name of one of the guests written in fancy calligraphy by the palace scribes. All in all, the reception was just as grand as it had been a little over a month ago when Edward and Ramesses were married.

“Neither can I,” Lukas said, as he too looked around in awe, from where he was seated on a bench next to one of the fountains, with Evan to his left and Harry to his right, with Jonas on the other side of Harry.

“Sometimes I can barely believe it myself,” Harry said. “Growing up on Privet Drive, I never thought that one day I’d be a landed Duke and Lord High Chancellor to royalty. As if finding out that I was a wizard wasn’t enough of a shock.”

Jonas nodded. “From what you’ve shared with Luke and me in the journals, I can understand that. Honestly, until you wrote that bit about your history, I believed the same thing that pretty much everyone in Albion thought: that you grew up pampered and spoiled in the lap of luxury at Seacliff Castle.”

Evan shook his head. “You’d think that belief would have died a quick death after he showed up to Hogwarts first year skinnier than he should have been and wearing hand-me-down rags. Apparently, most people just opted to believe that he was small for his age with an eccentric streak.”

“Well, you’ve certainly filled out nicely,” Lukas said. “And your clothes now are definitely not rags.”

“Thanks,” Harry said with a smile. Even though it had been just over three months now since Harry had taken his final nutrient potion, he still couldn’t help but do a double take sometimes when he passed a mirror. Of course, few could blame him, since he’d gone from being the smallest boy in his year to being one of the tallest over the course of a single summer. And with all the physical fitness training that the trainers had him undergoing, he was also developing some very nice muscle definition.

“I am glad you opted to continue wearing glasses though,” Evan said, “because I think they’re sexy.”

Harry grinned over at Evan, as the twins indicated that they too liked the way Harry’s glasses complimented his face. Of course, they were no longer the broken black frames that the Dursleys had given him. Instead, they were thin silver frames with plain glass lenses, since his eyesight had been fixed and he technically didn’t need them at all. After years of wearing them, however, he honestly felt naked without them.

“I’m glad you guys like them,” Harry said. “I like them too, although I was a little leery at first when the magical optician wanted to put the spell on the lenses that would make my eyes more vibrantly green. At first I thought they were just trying to get more money since the plain glass lenses cost a lot less than prescription lenses, but I kinda like it now.”

Since this hadn’t come up before, Jonas asked, “What do your eyes look like without the glasses?”

Lifting the glasses up so that were in front of his forehead, Harry turned to Jonas, gave him a bit to look, before turning to Lukas and giving him the same chance, before replacing them.

“I think they’re very nice either way,” Lukas said, as Jonas nodded in agreement.

“Oh definitely,” Evan said. “Glasses or no, I do enjoy staring into his eyes.”

With a playful smirk on his face, Harry said, “Considering that staring usually turns into make-out sessions I’m not surprised.”

Before anyone could say anything else, the music from the string quartet inside the ballroom stopped, as the court majordomo’s staff hit the floor three times and he proceeded to announce King-Emperor Philip and the Iberian royal family, as they entered the ballroom. One member of the family and their date held back, however, causing a few of the guests to be confused, until the majordomo said, “Accompanied by his daughter, Her Imperial Majesty Alexandra I von Habsburg of Austria, the Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, formerly known as the Holy Roman Empire, and her fiancé, His Imperial Highness Prince Romanos Caesar of Byzantium, Prince of the Byzantine Empire.”

“Wow,” Jonas said. “I’d heard that Emperor Charles passed away, but I didn’t realize they’d elected an Empress or that they’d renamed the Empire.”

“Both are very recent developments,” Neville said as he joined the group, along with his date, Prince Djoser Ptolemy. “From what I understand, the Electoral College voted unanimously to name Alejandra—Iberian Crown Prince Alejandro’s twin sister—as the new Empress. Obviously she decided to use Alexandra as her regnal name, instead of Alejandra.”

Djoser nodded. “Emperor Charles did issue the Pragmatic Sanction over a decade ago that would allow for a female to be elected as Holy Roman Empress, but I think most of the other families forgot about it honestly, considering that nobody expected Charles to die when he did.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, everyone figured that Charles would be on the throne for at least another forty years, if not longer. And they figured that when he did eventually die that his eldest son, thirty-year-old Prince Jakob would be elected as the next Emperor.”

“Well, I guess Prince Jakob had other ideas,” Evan said. “Since he’s one of the Electors who named his cousin to the position.”

Djoser nodded. “Indeed. There will probably be people who question whether it was a good idea. Not necessarily because she’s a woman, but because she’s only eighteen. I imagine there will be people who think she doesn’t have anywhere near enough life experience. The Electors must have had faith in her, however, or they wouldn’t have voted for her.”

“So why did they rename the Empire?” Lukas asked.

“To ease tensions with the Byzantine Empire,” Neville answered. “And to make Emperor Justinian more likely to allow Alexandra to marry his son, who I guess she’s been secretly dating for over a year now.”

Djoser grinned. “Well, as secret as anything a royal ever does is secret. While it’s nowhere near as bad here in the wizarding world as it is in the muggle world, the press still tends to keep pretty good tabs on everyone with a title, especially if it’s a royal title.”

“Very true,” Harry said, as he thought about how the British press in the muggle world hounded the royal family, especially Princes Diana. “I’m glad that it’s not as bad here, because growing up in the muggle world I saw firsthand how the paparazzi treat the royals and I honestly don’t think I could handle it. I get enough attention because of my scar—which is why I keep my hair covering it as often as possible—so I don’t need people trailing me with cameras everywhere I go because I’m nobility and a great officer of state on top of it.”

After a moment, Evan decided to change the subject to something more pleasant, so looking at Neville and Djoser, he asked, “So, you two are together now?”

Wrapping an arm around the Egyptian prince’s waist, Neville nodded. “Yeah, we’re together.”

“Not as together as I’d like though,” Djoser added, which made Neville blush bright pink and exclaim, “Josh!”

“What?” Djoser asked. “I like you Nev and I want to show you how much.”

Shaking his head, Neville said, “You want out of your belt is what you want.”

“Well, yes, I won’t dispute that,” Djoser said. “You’d want out of it too if you were in my place. But, that isn’t the only reason I’m with you.”

Jonas and Lukas may have been confused about the talk of a belt, if it wasn’t for the fact that Harry had already mentioned to them that all of Seti’s unmarried children wore chastity belts.

“I’ll admit when we first got together, it played a part,” Djoser added. “However, in the month since it’s became less and less important. I just like spending time with you, because I really, really like you, Nev.”

Neville smiled, as he leaned over and kissed Djoser on the lips. “I really, really like you too.” Neither of them had said the ‘l’ word yet, as they both thought it was too soon when they’d only been together for a month. Turning to Harry and Evan, he asked, “So what’s the deal with you four?”

Harry, Evan, and the twins looked at each other for a moment, before Harry said, “Evan and I are a couple, but we’re also dating Jon and Luke.”

Evan nodded. “I know, it probably seems weird. But Asterion and his girlfriend, Jon and Luke’s sister Abigail, set the four of us up.”

“Yes, my sister is perpetually worried that Luke and I have no social lives,” Jonas said.

“She thinks we need to get out more,” Lukas said. “And she and Asterion thought we’d hit it off with Harry and Evan, so they played matchmaker.”

“Well, the four of you do look very nice together, I have to say,” Djoser said. “And obviously I don’t have any issues with anyone having multiple lovers. I grew up in the Egyptian Imperial Harem, after all. Monogamy is not something you learn there.”

“We’re not actually lovers yet,” Evan said, as a slight blush creeped up his cheeks. “Although eventually maybe we might go there. For now, hugs and kisses are good.”

“Agreed,” Jonas and Lukas said in unison, as Jonas wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist and Lukas wrapped his arms around Evan’s, before they both kissed them chastely on the lips.

While their first date at the King’s Ball had been rather platonic, things had begun progressing in the weeks since as they continued writing to one another in the charmed journals and spending as much time together as the trainers would allow.

Of course, other than his training, Harry’s state duties also limited the amount of time he got to spend with Jonas and Lukas. They’d both come over to hang out at the castle every weekend since the King’s Ball, however. If the trainers didn’t like it, they didn’t say anything, because they weren’t about to tell King Edward who he could and couldn’t invite to visit him or the other occupants of the palace. Even if he wasn’t their King, they were still guests in his home.

As a waltz began playing in the ballroom, Neville asked, “Care to dance, Josh?”

“I’d love to,” Djoser said, as he took Neville’s outstretched hand and the pair said their goodbyes to Harry, Evan and the twins, before they headed into the ballroom through one of the large glass doors, which were decked in fine red silk curtains that were embroidered with platinum fiber Pendragon crests and real gold filigree.

“Shall we join them?” Jonas asked.

“And don’t say you’re a bad dancer, Harry,” Lukas said, just as Harry opened his mouth. “As someone who’s both seen you dance and who’s danced with you, I can honestly say that you’re not.”

Evan grinned. “Yeah, Harry, you’re actually very good. And you haven’t stepped on my feet in months.”

“And you’ve never stepped on our feet,” Jonas said, as he motioned between himself and his twin.

Harry smirked. “Oh so that’s how this is going to work, huh? You three teaming up on me?”

“When you’re about to say dumb and totally untrue things?” Evan asked, with a smirk of his own. “Yes.”

Jonas and Lukas nodded at this, as Harry shook his head and said, “You three are incorrigible. You know that, right?”

“Admit it,” Jonas said. “You enjoy it.”

Lukas added, “And you wouldn’t have us any other way.”

Rolling his eyes, Harry said, “Gods help me, but you’re right.”

Nothing else was said, as Harry took Jonas’s hand and Evan took Lukas’s, before they headed into the ballroom to join the other dancers.

-o-0-o-

About half-an-hour later, Harry, Evan, Jonas, and Lukas headed into one of the ballrooms curtained alcoves to sit down for a little while. Sitting on the sofa so that the twins were sandwiched between them it wasn’t long before Harry and Jonas began kissing, while Evan and Lukas did the same.

With the color coordination of their custom-designed dress robes and the fact that they were sitting so close together, it was almost impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. Which is probably what prompted the comment of, “Wow, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen conjoined quadruplets before.”

Recognizing the voice, Harry and Evan chose not to break their kisses and instead just held up their middle fingers in the direction the voice had come from.

“No thank you, I don’t swing that way,” Asterion said with a grin.

Finally breaking their respective kisses, it was Jonas who grinned and said, “Says the guy who lost his virginity to a Swedish prince that’s now a King.”

“And the guy who had sex with his own father,” Lukas added. The alcoves were all charmed so that whatever was said inside of them couldn’t be heard outside of them, so Lukas figured he might as well take advantage of that fact.

“You guys are never going to let me live any of that down are you?”

From her place at Asterion’s side, Abigail grinned and said, “Nope, sorry. Honestly, I’m still hoping that you and your Dad take Markus and Mateus up on their offer of a repeat performance… I want to watch.”

Turning his eyes heavenward, Asterion said, “Oh Gods have mercy on me please!”

Everyone else laughed at this, until finally Abigail shook her head and smiling at her brothers, Harry, and Evan, she said, “Well, you guys seem to be hitting it off.”

“You think?” Jonas asked, before Lukas asked, “What was your first clue, Abs?”

Shaking her head, Abigail said, “I’m just glad my matchmaking worked.”

“Our matchmaking, Abby,” Asterion said. “I helped too, remember.”

“Oh I know you did, Rion,” Abigail said. “I’m hoping things go splendidly for the four of them, but if they don’t, I’m blaming you for your abysmal matchmaking that I had no part in.”

“Gee, thanks,” Asterion said, in a less than thrilled tone. After a moment, however, he smiled and kissed Abigail.

“Aww,” Jonas and Lukas said in unison.

Abigail and Asterion, still kissing, decided to do the same thing that Harry and Evan had done a moment ago, as they both gave Jonas and Lukas the middle finger.

Just as Abigail and Asterion finished their kiss, four more people walked into the alcove. Sirius, Remus, and their respective dates. Madam Rosmerta for Sirius and Septima for Remus.

“I thought I saw you all come in here,” Sirius said, as he looked around at the younger couples. Looking first at his nephew, he said, “Rion, nice catch,” before turning to Harry and asking, “Now, godson of mine, three? Really? One wasn’t enough?”

Harry grinned. “You can never have too much love, Sirius.” Motioning towards Evan and the twins, he added, “Besides have you seen them? I’d have to be dead not to be interested.”

Sirius looked at Harry for a moment, before he turned to Remus and said, “Mr. Moony, I believe that Mr. Prongs’ progeny is growing up way too fast.”

“I quite agree, Mr. Padfoot,” Remus said with a grin. “Sadly, I fear there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Not even a Time Suspension Charm?”

Shaking his head, Remus said, “No, Mr. Padfoot, I’m afraid that’s not a viable option. It would stop him from aging, true, but only physically.”

Sirius sighed. “Which would only make the age difference between them even worse. Damn it!”

“I know the age difference is concerning,” Harry said. “I’m only fourteen and Jon and Luke are twenty-five. But, age is just a number and we’re all legal.”

Sirius’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head at this, as he said, “Prongslet please tell me you haven’t!”

“I haven’t,” Harry said, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. “But it’s only a matter of time, you know. Eventually, it’s going to happen.”

“Hopefully not for another twenty or so years,” Sirius said.

“Yeah, sorry, but it’ll be a lot sooner than that,” Harry said. “I’m not waiting until I’m in my thirties to have my first time.”

“Yes, we don’t want to be old men for that,” Evan said with a grin.

“Oi! Are you calling me old?” Sirius asked, since he was in his thirties.

Jonas, Lukas, Harry, and Evan all looked at each other for a moment, before they turned to Sirius and all said in perfect unison, “Yes.”

Remus laughed. “I’m beginning to think they need their own Marauder names.” Turning to Sirius, he said, “They’re starting to sound like us, back in the day.”

“Oh don’t you start now, Remus!” Sirius said. “‘Back in the day?’ Really? Way to make a guy feel old.”

Asterion snickered at this and said, “I’m seventeen and your younger brother’s son, so, I hate to tell you this, but you are old, Uncle Sirius.”

“You’ll see how old I am when I put you across my knee and tan your hide, young man,” Sirius said. “I guarantee I can find the stamina for that.”

Asterion nodded. “You probably could. Just as I could find the stamina to take a page from Dad’s playbook, by summoning my staff and making you look like Grandma Walburga.”

Shaking his head, a horrified look on his face, Sirius said, “Oh please not again!”

Rosmerta turned to Septima at this and asked, “Are they always like this?”

“Yes.”

Nodding, Rosmerta said, “Okay, so no change since their Hogwarts days. And the younger generation is following in their footsteps. Good to know.”

Septima said, “At least you know what you’re getting into, Rosmerta.” A wicked grin forming on her face, she then added, “And how to win any argument you may have with Sirius.”

Rosmerta laughed. “As tempting as making him look like his mother is, I think I’ll just use my staff to curse him so that anytime he drinks Firewhisky it’ll taste like goblin piss.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Don’t make me angry and you won’t find out,” Rosmerta said.

Remus patted his old friend on the shoulder, as he said, “Have fun with her, Mr. Padfoot.”

“Mr. Padfoot thinks that Mr. Moony should keep his nose out of business that doesn’t concern him,” Sirius said. “Or else the previous threat that he’ll wake up to something unpleasant in his bed still stands.”

“Since Mr. Moony’s bed is now my bed,” Septima said, “carry out that threat and you won’t have to wait for Rosmerta to curse you because I’ll do it myself.”

“What is this? Gang up on Sirius day?” Sirius asked. “I’m the Marquess of Charlton and I could have you all arrested for these insults and threats!”

Harry grinned. “And I’m the Duke of Granston and the Lord High Chancellor to boot, so, sorry, Sirius, but they have my permission to carry on.”

“Et tu, Harry?” Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged. “You started it.”

Having entered the alcove without anybody noticing a few moments ago, Regulus decided it was time to make his presence known, by saying, “Aren’t teenagers wonderful, Siri? Now you know what I’ve suffered through.”

“I think I can safely speak for all the teenagers in the room,” Evan said, “when I say that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with teenagers.”

“Tell that to my head after a long day of teaching them,” Regulus said.

“Oh tell me about it,” Septima said, with a knowing smile.

“You should be more careful with your insults, Reg,” Kolin said. “Because until May of next year, I’m still a teenager.”

Regulus’s eyes widened as he said, “I didn’t mean you, Kolin. I mean, I know you’re still a teenager, but you’re so mature,” at Kolin’s fake glare, he said, “I mean so mature for your age.”

“Reg?” Neferkamin asked. “Quit while you’re ahead.”

“So, I take it the four of us,” Harry said, as he motioned towards himself, Evan, and the twins, “aren’t the only polyamorous relationship in the room?”

Kolin grinned and nodded, as he wrapped his arms around Regulus’s and Neferkamin’s waists and said, “Nope, you’re not.”

“Polyamorous?” Sirius asked. “Harry, how do you even know that word?”

“Despite what you may think, Sirius,” Harry answered. “I’m not a little kid. I advise the King for pity sake.”

“An accident of birth,” Sirius said. “And the untimely death of your parents.”

“That’s a bit harsh, Sirius,” Rosmerta said. “You should apologize.”

Sirius sighed. “I’m sorry, Harry. I just missed out on so much of your life. Up until the last year or so, the last time I saw you, you were still a toddler. It’s hard to adjust to the idea of that precocious one-year-old now advising royalty and having three boyfriends.”

“It’s okay, Sirius,” Harry said. “I’ll let it pass this time.” With a wicked gleam in his eye, however, he added, “Do it again though and I’m so going to learn the necessary spells to make you look like your mother and curse your taste buds so you can have fun drinking horse piss.”

“Rosmerta said goblin piss, Harry,” Evan reminded him. “Although, horse piss would still be an unpleasant taste in one’s mouth.”

“Yeah, definitely a Marauder,” Sirius said in a proud tone.

-o-0-o-

A bit later, the lights in the ballroom were lowered as the string quartet began playing a slow waltz. Walking into the center of the room with his newest husbands, Edward took Chaz’s hand in his left, while he placed his right hand on top of Maxx’s shoulder and Maxx placed his hand on Edward’s waist.

Some people might think that three guys dancing together would be awkward, but as Edward, Chaz, and Maxx began their first dance as married men, they soon proved anybody thinking that wrong, as they moved around the dance floor quite gracefully, as a magical spotlight followed them around.

The audience politely clapped for a bit as the newlyweds danced, before other couples began joining them on the dance floor. The first one being Philip and Isabella von Habsburg, followed shortly afterward by Alexandra von Habsburg and Romanos Caesar. Ramesses also soon took to the dance floor, opting to dance with Blaise, as the two of them had become good friends since they entered training together.

“So, we’re finally married,” Edward whispered, his head positioned between Chaz’s and Maxx’s so that he would whisper in both of their ears at the same time.

“Yes, we are,” Chaz whispered back, as Maxx added, “It’s about bloody time.”

Edward grinned. “Yes, I suppose after a fourteen-year engagement, it is bloody well time.”

Dancing for a few more minutes, Chaz finally asked, “So, how much longer before we can make our exit without offending anyone?”

“Eager to get out of here?” Edward whispered back.

“Oh yeah,” Maxx whispered. “Eager to get out of here and into you.”

“Don’t make me blush in front of my subjects and guests.”

“You’ll have to forgive Maxx,” Chaz said. “He’s always been the blunter one. Although, in this case, I do agree with him. We’ve been having some very explicit dreams about you ever since we were old enough to understand what sex was.”

Maxx nodded. “We didn’t say anything about it at the time, as we were too embarrassed, but we already knew about what Merlin said in regards to masturbation. Thank the Gods for that, because with the dreams we were having about you, we probably would have gone crazy if we couldn’t even touch ourselves.”

“I’m so glad that I put up the Privacy Charm around our heads,” Edward whispered. The spell he’d used would block anyone from hearing what they were saying, although it wasn’t quite as powerful as the Silencing Charm, so they still had to whisper. It was simple enough, however, that Edward was able to cast it wandless and thus not let on to any of the guests that he was casting anything.

“That was an impressive bit of magic,” Chaz said, as he knew that Edward had cast it because he could feel Edward’s fingers twitching in the necessary wand movement, since he was holding Edward’s hand. Both twins were also close enough that they could read Edward’s lips as he silently mouthed the necessary incantation. With the lowered lights and the spotlight being behind Edward’s back at the time, it was doubtful that anyone else had noticed.

“Where’d you learn how to do wandless magic?” Maxx asked. “You didn’t go to Hogwarts did you?”

“Do they even teach wandless magic at Hogwarts?” Chaz asked before Edward could respond. “They certainly don’t at the Malveira Institute,” referring to the Iberian school of magic that the twins had attended.

“No, I didn’t go to Hogwarts,” Edward answered. “And as far as I know, no, they don’t teach wandless magic there. As for how I learned, I’m afraid I can’t say due to the Fidelius.” After a second’s pause, he asked, “So, was it strange attending the Malveira Institute? What with you being Marqués de Malveira, Chaz?”

“I wouldn’t say it was weird,” Chaz said. “Maxx and I did get a nicer room than some of the other students, but that was more so due to us being members of the royal family than my subsidiary title.”

Edward nodded, before he said, “To answer your earlier question Chaz, I’m afraid we’ll probably have to stay for another hour at least. We’ve still got a cake to cut and a few more toasts to do. Not to mention the gift procession, as we inspect our gifts.”

“Well, I suppose I can deal with that,” Maxx said. “Feeding you cake should be fun.”

Edward grinned. “Yes, just try not to smash it all over my face, huh?”

“Isn’t that like a tradition though?” Chaz asked, with a grin of his own.

“Only if you both want to start our marriage with a spanking.”

Maxx’s eyes glimmered with mirth as he said, “Oh sounds fun.”

“You may not think so for long,” Edward said. “Especially if I use the flat side of Excalibur’s blade.”

“Did Ramesses smash cake in your face?” Chaz asked.

Edward sighed. “Yes, he did.”

“And did you spank him with Excalibur?” Maxx asked.

Shaking his head, Edward said, “No, I didn’t, but then he wouldn’t have felt it through his chastity belt.” Grinning as he remembered that evening, he said, “And we had a little mishap that night, as Seti gave me the wrong key.”

Chaz and Maxx both grinned, giggling ever so slightly, as Maxx asked, “Yeah that was quite the mishap,” before Chaz asked, “Do you think he did it on purpose?”

“No, it wasn’t intentional as far as I could tell,” Edward answered. “I guess Seti’s eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be. He actually gave me the key to your nephew T.J.’s belt, instead of Ramesses’s belt.”

Chaz nodded. “So, I’m guessing that since T.J. is still wearing his belt, he didn’t end up getting the key.”

“Correct,” Edward said. “Ramesses’s mother took it, before she and the other wives and the Lord-Commander of the Medjai all teamed up against Seti, telling him to get his eyes checked or they’d give T.J. his key and then start handing out the rest of them. Also threatened to put Seti himself in a chastity belt… unsurprisingly, Seti has glasses now.”

Chaz and Maxx both laughed at that, along with Edward. When they’d calmed down, Maxx asked, “So, where’s Ram sleeping tonight?”

“I’ve had a bedroom prepared for him,” Edward said. “So he’ll be sleeping alone in his own room when you join me in the King’s Suite… just as you’ll be in your own room on the nights that I’m with Ram.”

With a somewhat cheeky grin, Edward added, “And before you ask, you’ll have to share one room. I debated giving you both your own, but I figured then you’d just spend all evening arguing over who’s room you were sleeping in that night.”

Chaz and Maxx laughed at that, before Chaz said, “You’re a cheeky little monster, aren’t you?”

Maxx grinned and asked, “Are you surprised, bro? He was cheeky when we first met him, too.”

“I’d thought maybe he’d grown out of it,” Chaz responded. “I guess not.”

“In my defense,” Edward said, “I didn’t have much of a childhood, what with becoming King when I was only two years old.”

“So you’re making up for lost time?” Maxx asked. “I guess that makes sense.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Edward said. “Of course it’ll only be in private that I may act a bit childish from time to time. In public, well, you’re both royalty, I’m sure you know about that.”

Chaz and Maxx nodded in unison, but said nothing as the song came to an end, and the three of them applauded before leaving the dance floor.

-o-0-o-

Roughly an hour later, after they’d cut the cake and eaten it, gone through the toasts, and had done the procession past the table on which the gifts were set out, the reception had moved from the Grand Ballroom to the Throne Room. While most of the gifts had been set out on tables for Edward and the twins to inspect, some of them were considered important enough to be presented to them by their givers in front of all the guests. This was mainly an honor granted to the gifts being given by other reigning monarchs and Albion’s highest nobility.

Seated on his ornate throne, Edward held Chaz’s hand, from where the twins were seated upon a settee which had been placed upon the dais next to Edward’s throne. Since Chaz and Maxx were only Prince-Consorts of Albion and Iwernia, they’d never have their own thrones, although they did get the right to sit up on the dais with Edward.

Ramesses also had a throne—since he was King-Emperor-Consort and Edward’s co-ruler—although for this particular occasion, it was temporarily moved down off the topmost level of the dais, so that it was resting two steps below where Edward and the twins were seated. Edward had offered to allow Ramesses to sit with him, but Ramesses said that it wasn’t his wedding, so he’d sit down next to the Privy Councilors. Thus to the left of Edward, next to Ramesses’s throne, was the chair that Harry was seated in, while Garrick and Neville were seated in chairs to the right of Maxx.

The Throne Room was situated at a right angle to the Grand Ballroom and opened onto the same garden, so there was a refreshingly cool breeze coming into the room from the large glass doors along one side of the room. The rest of the guests were all seated in order of precedence in chairs that ran down the length of the aisle leading up to the throne dais.

The tapestries around the expansive room that usually depicted the Pendragon coat of arms had all been taken down temporarily and in their place hung tapestries which had the Pendragon coat of arms with Chaz’s and Maxx’s personal coats of arms embroidered on either side.

Edward’s uncle, King Willem-Reinier of the Netherlands, presented his gift first, which was about a dozen expensive crystal and china vases filled with a vibrant and fragrant array of fresh flowers, which were all under Permanent Preservation Charms, meaning that they didn’t need water and would never wilt or die.

Philip presented his gift next, three snow white pegasi, one each for Edward and his brothers, along with all the necessary tack, which included a harness for the twins’ mounts so that they couldn’t stray away from each other while the twins were riding them. Next up was Alexandra, whose gift was a jewel encrusted first edition volume of magical lore that was written by a lesser known Austrian contemporary of Arthur and Merlin.

After Alexandra returned to her seat, Ramesses stood up to present his gift, which turned out to be a large basket full of fragrant massage oils that were made by the Egyptian Imperial Apothecary with some of the most incredibly rare and expensive herbs and plant extracts. Leaning close to Edward and the twins so that only they would hear what he was about to say, he whispered, “There’s also some potions in there for virility… the same ones my father uses in order to have the stamina to keep up with seven wives and countless concubines.”

With a grin, Maxx whispered to Ramesses, “Please tell me you haven’t already worn him out before we get our wedding night.”

Grinning wickedly, Ramesses whispered back, “Not yet, but he’s not getting any younger you know and I swear I saw a gray hair on the pillow yesterday.”

“You absolutely did not!” Edward whispered. “And if you did, it most certainly wasn’t mine, Ram.”

“Well, it couldn’t have been mine. I’m younger than you are,” Ramesses whispered with a grin, before shaking his head and adding, “Seriously, though, I included those potions not because I think Edward necessarily needs them now, but he probably will need them in the future, especially if he takes anymore husbands other than the three of us.”

Giving Chaz and Maxx each a light kiss on the cheek, Ramesses then gave Edward a kiss on the lips, before backing away and returning to his seat.

While all of the reigning monarchs had sent a gift of some sort, only those who had attended the wedding in person got to actually present their gift in front of everybody else. So, after Ramesses, Harry stood up in order to present his own gift to the newlyweds. He had just raised his hand to motion for it to be brought forward, when Alexandra screamed.

Noticing what had no doubt caused Alexandra’s outburst, Harry said, “Chaz, Maxx, don’t move,” as he pulled out his wand, cast the Sonorus Charm on himself, and said, “Everybody please remain calm and seated. Guards to the Throne Room, now!”

Edward raised a questioning eyebrow at his Lord High Chancellor, but didn’t say anything, as the guards began filing into the room in answer to Harry’s call. The twins, meanwhile, cast confused looks Harry’s way, but that didn’t last long as they felt their central legs lock together as something wrapped around them. They both took a deep intake of breath when they realized what had caused their cousin Alexandra to scream… there was a giant snake in the room and it was currently coiled around their legs.

The large snake continued coiling around Chaz and Maxx’s legs, rearing up to a point where its head was almost parallel with Harry’s own. Holding up his hand to prevent the guards from moving any closer, Harry cast a look at them and noticed that many of them had drawn their wands and were taking aim at the snake. Shaking his head in a negative gesture, Harry said in a calm, yet commanding tone, “Don’t. The risk of hitting Chaz and Maxx is too high.”

“Agreed,” Edward said. “Don’t cast anything unless I tell you to.”

Turning to face the snake, Harry closed his eyes and concentrated before he asked, in Parseltongue, “What’s your name and why are you here?”

“My name is Nagini,” the snake hissed. “And I’m here to deliver a message from my master.”

“Who is your master and what’s their message?” Harry asked, as he quietly translated the ongoing conversation for Edward, Chaz, and Maxx.

“I serve Lord Voldemort,” Nagini hissed. “And his message is this: _‘Enjoy your wedding night, young Pendragon, for while you engage in marital bliss, I grow stronger and soon I will return to finish the job that my servant failed to do so many years ago.’_ ”

“You’ve delivered your message then,” Harry said, as Nagini nodded her head.

Coiling tighter around Chaz’s and Maxx’s legs, to the point that they both winced in pain, Nagini said, “Now, you will allow me to leave unharmed or I will bite the Prince-Consorts here and my venom is strong enough that they won’t survive the night. And there is no antidote.”

Nodding, Harry said, “You can go. Unharmed.”

“You will accompany me to the gardens, Harry Potter,” Nagini hissed. “To ensure that the guards don’t get any ideas. Just the two of us, nobody else.”

Harry nodded again and said, “Agreed, just don’t hurt anyone.”

Due to Nagini’s massive size and length, she was easily able to move so that she was wrapped around Harry’s neck and shoulders, while part of her was still coiled around the twins’ legs.

Turning to address everybody in the room, Harry said, in English, “Everybody is to stay here and don’t move until I return.”

There were many looks of fear on the faces of the crowd, although whether that was because of the huge snake, Harry being a Parselmouth, or both, Harry wasn’t honestly sure.

Granville Barker said, “We can accompany you outside, My Lord. If you get the snake into the rose lane, we can set a trap for it and…”

“Tell the foolish human to be quiet,” Nagini hissed, before hissing a bit more.

“Captain Barker, she understands English and says you need to be quiet,” Harry said. “Or she’ll bite me and the new Prince-Consorts. She assures me that she’s agile enough that she can do it, before any of you could get a single spell off. Nagini also says she’s related to the basilisk, so her scales are almost as impervious to magic as basilisk hide is.”

“Stand down, Captain,” Edward said. “All of you will do as my Chancellor commands.”

With this, Nagini released her hold on Chaz and Maxx, before Harry left the room, with Nagini still coiled around his neck and shoulders and a large portion of her body trailing behind him like the train of a long cloak.

It was a very tense few minutes later, that Harry reentered the Throne Room, looking none the worse for ware and Nagini nowhere in sight. Walking over to Edward, Harry said, “I’m fine, Your Majesty. Nagini is gone.”

Edward nodded and said, “Under the circumstances, I think we’ll call an end to this evening.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Chapter Eighteen of ‘The Journey Begins’. I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter @JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at jayson (dot) vascardi.


	28. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I’m not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone’s copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.

Unexpected Love: The Journey Begins  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

_Previously in ‘The Journey Begins’…_

-o-0-o-

Minerva and the other trainers discuss the prophecy and its possible implications, even though Minerva doesn’t fully believe in its veracity.

On the night before the royal wedding, Cedric and Harry take the next step in their relationship as Harry gives Cedric a blowjob. The two of them then share a bed for the first time, as they fall asleep in Cedric’s bed. The following day, the royal wedding happens as Edward marries Chaz and Maxx.

Jonas and Lukas express their disbelief at the fact that they’re attending a royal event at Castle Camelot, as they chat with Harry and Evan in the castle gardens. Shortly after the announcement that the Electoral College has elected a woman for the first time and that the Holy Roman Empire has officially changed its name in order to lessen tensions with Byzantium, the foursome are joined by Neville and Djoser who are now dating.

Harry, Evan, and the twins’ make-out session in one of the ballroom’s alcoves is interrupted by Asterion and Abigail. Sirius and Remus later join them along with their dates, Rosmerta and Septima respectively. After some insults and threats of curses are exchanged, Regulus, Kolin, and Neferkamin also join the group.

The presentation of wedding gifts to Edward, Chaz, and Maxx is going well… at least until Nagini shows up with a message from Voldemort.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Nineteen

-o-0-o-

A little over an hour after Edward called an end to the gift presentation, he was sitting in the Chamber of the Round Table with his Privy Council. He’d called a few of the additional councilors who didn’t attend every meeting into this one in the hopes that more minds looking at the issue at hand might present a resolution quicker.

“The purpose of this meeting is to determine how Nagini ended up inside the castle,” Edward said. “If you have any thoughts on the matter, please, feel free to speak.”

“My guess would be that she came in the same way she left,” Harry said. “There’s a storm grate in a far corner of the garden, which is where she had me take her after we left the Throne Room.”

“So how did she get from the grate to the Throne Room without anyone noticing?” Tristan asked. “She isn’t exactly a common garden snake. It’s hard to imagine that nobody noticed a snake that big slithering around.”

“The grate is in a corner of the garden that wasn’t being used for the reception,” Harry answered. “As such it wasn’t well-lit and there’s a number of hedges and large bushes positioned next to the path. From what she said, it sounds like she stuck close to them. Now she would have had to cross a section of path that has no hedges or bushes to conceal her in order to get into the castle, but due to where the refreshments table was placed, she was able to slither under it and thus use the table cloth to conceal herself.”

“And adjacent to the table was one of the open doors into the throne room,” Neville said, as realization washed over his face.

Harry nodded. “Yes, she waited under the table until everyone was inside the ballroom for the first dance, and then slithered into the throne room. She then hid behind the draperies and tapestries that decorate the wall behind the throne. She told me that she would have come out sooner, but it was warm and she fell asleep while she was waiting for us to assemble in the throne room, but then woke up just as Ramesses was returning to his seat. At which point she crawled out and that’s when Alexandra spotted her under the settee that Chaz and Maxx were sitting on.”

“Okay, that explains how she got onto the grounds and into the castle,” Edward said. “But how did she actually get passed the wards?”

“The wards are designed to keep humans out, not animals,” Merlin answered. “Certain dangerous animals can’t pass the wards, but that’s mostly limited to dangerous magical creatures like dragons, chimaeras, and basilisks. Venomous snakes that are related to the basilisk would usually be included in that, but Nagini’s status as Voldemort’s familiar changes the rules as there were exceptions made for them.”

“I’m aware of the grate in question,” Granville added. He wasn’t a Privy Councilor, but Edward invited him to attend since this was a security issue and he was the Captain of the Guard. “It’s too narrow for a human to crawl though. Even a child wouldn’t fit, but it was probably just big enough for Nagini, who due to her size also possessed the strength to lift up the grate. The only thing I’m surprised by is that nobody heard the grate moving, because I’m not aware of any breed of snake that can actually cast a Silencing Charm.”

Tristan sighed as he remembered something. “I talked with the groundskeeper this morning. After Minerva and Pomona cast their spells, he checked all the drains in the garden to make sure that none of them were clogged. As that would have been unsightly if they had been and the wedding guests saw it. So, all the grates were opened and had a fresh coat of grease on them, which is meant to prevent them from rusting shut.”

“Well, we’ll obviously have to tighten security,” Neville said. “Make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”

“That would be greatly appreciated,” Chaz said, as Maxx nodded emphatically. They had never been fond of snakes, so having one—especially one the size of Nagini—coiled on their legs had not been a pleasant experience for either of them.

Edward nodded. “Merlin, we’re going to need your help to adjust the castle wards. You’re the one who cast them, so you know them better than anyone. Make sure that no familiar can gain entry to the castle except by the normal entry points.”

Merlin nodded, but remained silent. Maxx took this opportunity to say, “I also think that any venomous familiar should be automatically blocked from ever being able to get onto the grounds. Maybe if their master is with them it can be allowed, but never alone.”

“Perhaps make it a case by case basis,” Thomas said. “Only witches or wizards with a venomous familiar that are given permission to bring their familiar onto the grounds can bring it past the wards. Similar to the guest books for people who are allowed to access the Apparition Chambers of the noble estates.”

“That’s all doable,” Merlin said. “I’ll need a group of Ward Mages to make the adjustments to the wards. I’d do it myself, but unfortunately it can’t be done remotely and I can only manifest in the flesh at the Tribunal Chambers. Two will be sufficient, although three would be better.”

“I know Pomona Sprout is a Ward Mage,” Tristan said. “And I believe that Rosmerta Macmillan also trained in that particular discipline.”

Thomas nodded. “Indeed, she did. Ardan Callahan was also a Ward Mage, but unfortunately he’s dead. So I’m not aware of any other possibilities.”

“Blaise’s mother,” Ramesses said. “Isabella Zabini is a mage, according to Blaise. The last pupil trained by Edward’s Granduncle Cornelius before he was murdered.”

“She’s a Ward Mage then?” Edward asked.

Ramesses nodded. “Yes. Blaise said she’s a Magister and that she’s both a Shadow Mage and a Ward Mage.”

“Well, that will suffice then,” Merlin said. “Assemble the three of them and I will instruct them on what they need to do.”

-o-0-o-

Almost immediately after Edward had put an end to the gift presentation, Captain Barker ordered the guards to begin a thorough top to bottom search of the castle and the grounds. Thus, before everybody retired for the evening, they had the Captain’s assurance that the guards hadn’t found anything or anybody that wasn’t supposed to be in the castle. This had eased many of their minds and allowed the castle’s occupants to actually go to sleep without worry.

The Nagini incident left Chaz and Maxx shaken enough that they along with Edward decided to postpone the consummation of their wedding until the following evening. So instead of the sex they’d all been expecting when the three of them entered the King’s Suite on their wedding night, it was instead limited to kissing and cuddling. Not that any of them were really complaining.

Harry and Cedric decided to share a bed for the second night in a row, only this time they opted to share the bed in Harry’s room. Jonas and Lukas were also given permission to spend the night, with the two of them sharing Cedric’s otherwise empty bed.

Since the move to Castle Camelot, none of the materials used in mage training were allowed to be taken out of Merlin’s Tower, so there wasn’t any concern about the Cuffe twins seeing anything they shouldn’t see. Not that they’d be able to read anything they might see anyway, as the Fidelius would render any mage training materials invisible to people who weren’t in on the secret.

Harry and Cedric did feel bad about not being able to share everything with Jonas and Lukas, but they hoped that when the time came for them to find out, they’d understand the secrecy. Minerva was the Secret Keeper for the training so only she could tell Jonas and Lukas and she decided they didn’t need to know. So, Harry and Cedric couldn’t tell them about it even if they wanted to.

As for the Dumbledore and Grindelwald situation, those were state secrets and Edward felt that for the time being, enough people knew. He didn’t see any reason to share it with Jonas and Lukas, not necessarily because he didn’t trust them, but he barely knew them. He’d talked with them a few times while they visited the castle on the weekends, but he wasn’t conversing via charmed diary with them the way that Harry and Cedric were, so he didn’t know them as well.

Thus the Cuffe twins remained in the dark about Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Edward’s imprisonment, and various other related topics, as it would be treason for Harry, Cedric, or anyone else to share state secrets with them without Edward’s permission, which he’d explicitly refused to give. There was a possibility that would change in the future, but Edward didn’t expect it would happen anytime soon.

Still, since he and Cedric—or Evan—were publicly dating the twins, Harry had Rolf arrange for security details for them both. Jonas and Lukas weren’t actually aware of this, however, as the security details were undercover in order to not draw any unnecessary attention their way. But both of them were still under nearly constant guard whether they knew it or not, just in case Dumbledore, Grindelwald or Voldemort decided to try something.

Security had also been stepped up at Hogwarts itself, with Edward and several of the Lords of the Thirteen contributing a few of their own men to guard both the school and Hogsmeade during official Hogsmeade weekends. Of course, much like the Cuffe twin’s security details, this wasn’t something any of the students, staff, or villagers were aware of, as it might cause a panic otherwise.

The guards at the school were operating under almost constant Disillusionment Charms and other means of making themselves unnoticeable to the students and staff. While the additional guards in Hogsmeade were dressed as normal villagers who wouldn’t warrant the notice of anyone, but they were all ready to defend the school and the village at a moment’s notice if necessary.

On Monday morning after the wedding, Harry, Cedric, and the other mage students were all up at seven in order to shower and have time to eat breakfast, before their first class of the day began at nine. Chaz and Maxx had now been informed of the training by Minerva, so the only people at breakfast who weren’t aware of it were Jonas and Lukas, and that fact did limit the potential breakfast conversations.

Harry and Cedric entered the private family dining room at about ten minutes to eight to find Edward, Ramesses, Chaz, and Maxx already there. Jonas and Lukas followed Harry and Cedric into the room a couple minutes later. Attached to the family dining room, was a private kitchen that was separate from the castle’s main kitchen and Barin had pretty much taken it over. None of the Pendragon family elves complained about this because before she died, Edward’s mother had often personally cooked meals for her family, as she’d enjoyed cooking. Thus, the elves almost never went into the private kitchen anyway.

“Good morning,” Harry said as he sat down next to Maxx, with Cedric taking the chair next Harry.

“Morning,” Edward said, from his place at the head of the table. Chaz was seated along the side of the table to Edward’s left with Ramesses across from him on the other side.

When Jonas and Lukas entered the room, they took seats across from Harry and Cedric, which left one seat open between Lukas and Ramesses. Blaise was the next one into the room and he took that seat.

“So, another work day,” Ramesses said, as he spooned some fresh fruit onto his plate.

“Indeed,” Edward agreed with a sigh. “While being a king has plenty of perks, it also comes with a lot of work unfortunately.”

“Well, at least you’ve got RJ to share some of the work with,” Blaise said. “And Tristan too.”

“And Cornelius Fudge, isn’t it?” Chaz asked. “The Minister for Magic?”

Harry rolled his eyes as he speared some of the sausage on the serving platter and put it on his plate, but remained silent.

“Ram and Tristan yes,” Edward answered, after taking a sip of his tea. “Fudge, no. I’ve been too busy fixing damage he’s done internationally with the Governors-General to worry about Fudge, but at the next session of the Wizengamot in January, I’ll probably be calling for a motion of no confidence in Fudge because the man is incompetent and corrupt.”

After a moment, he added, “Honestly, I’m half-tempted to call a special session, but I figured I’d wait until after the holidays. Unless he does something between now and then to force my hand.”

“I hadn’t realized that he was that bad,” Maxx said.

“It’s well-hidden,” Harry said. “But the Ministry has basically devolved into a palace of corruption where the Minister’s approval is for sale to the highest bidder. Fudge also delegates as much work as he possibly can, including things that by law aren’t actually supposed to be delegated.”

Ramesses nodded. “Yes, that’s one of the main sources of damage with the Governors-General, as they expect to deal directly with the monarch, his seneschal, or the Minister. Not a Ministry lackey who’s barely out of Hogwarts. Fudge also has a tendency to surround himself with people who he doesn’t view as threats to his own power, as he doesn’t want anyone rising up the ranks and gaining enough popularity that they could potentially unseat him.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Edward said, “One of Fudge’s must recent screw-ups was delegating a Floo-call with the Governor-General of India to one of his Junior Undersecretaries, who’s normal duties are usually limited to making Fudge’s tea. Needless to say, Governor Patil was not amused.”

“Wow,” Maxx said. “That’s crazy. Minister Vega would never even consider having his tea boy take a Floo-call with one of the Viceroys… mainly because he knows Philip would blow his top.”

“Yes, well, obviously Fudge got used to being able to do things his way,” Edward said. “It’s an unfortunate side effect of my becoming king as young as I did. I couldn’t legally name a seneschal until I was crowned, so pretty much everything had to be delegated to the Minister.” After a moment’s pause, he said, “And let’s just say that my first pick for the seneschal position turned out to not be a good choice.”

Edward had nothing to do with picking Brian Dumbledore, of course, but he couldn’t exactly say that in front of Jonas and Lukas.

Jonas nodded. “I still can’t believe that Professor Dumbledore was posing as his grandson.”

“Yes, it was a surprise to everybody involved,” Edward said, as he chose his words carefully. He had to make sure that he didn’t say anything that wasn’t covered in the Daily Prophet in regard to Dumbledore. “None more so than me. At any rate, his attempts to manipulate me failed and he’s been charged with High Treason for it. I just wish we’d been able to actually catch him.”

“And as if we didn’t have enough to be dealing with,” Harry said, “now it seems that Voldemort is back. Of course, I can’t say that I’m surprised, since I’ve faced him twice since starting Hogwarts.”

“You have?” Maxx asked, looking thoroughly surprised as he turned his head to look at Harry.

Harry nodded. “Yeah, I have. First year his spirit possessed Professor Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He was killing unicorns and drinking their blood to survive until he could steal Nicolas Flamel’s Philosopher’s Stone from Hogwarts.”

Shaking his head, Cedric said, “You know I’ll never understand why anybody thought that hiding something that a dark lord wants in a school full of children was a good idea.”

“And why did it need to be hidden anyway?” Blaise asked. “Nicolas Flamel had kept it safe for centuries… so he was clearly adept at it.”

“Apparently not so adept at resisting his good friend Dumbledore’s manipulations, however,” Harry said, before he shook his head and added, “And in second year, I ended up facing off against a teenaged version of Voldemort in Salazar Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets, where I killed a thousand-year-old basilisk and would have died in the process if not for Fawkes whose tears saved me from the venom.”

Jonas and Lukas didn’t look surprised by any of this, but then it wasn’t the first they’d heard of it since Harry had already shared all of this with them in the charmed diaries. Edward, Ramesses, Cedric and Blaise has also heard it before, but it was all news to Chaz and Maxx, however, and both looked shocked to say the least.

Tilting his head forward so that he could look past Maxx at Harry, Chaz said, “Well, you’ve certainly had a much more eventful time at school than just about everybody ever.”

“Tell me about it,” Harry said. “And let’s not forget third year. Didn’t face Voldemort that year, but I did have what I thought was an escaped murderer chasing after me. Turned out it was my godfather Sirius Black and he hadn’t murdered anybody. But there were still a bunch of Dementors at Hogwarts that year searching for him.”

“Dementors? At a school?” Maxx asked, his eyes wide. “Whose foolish idea was that?”

“Fudge’s,” Edward said. “He also gave standing orders to have Sirius kissed on sight. I’ve given him a thorough dressing down on that, since Sirius is Lord Black and thus Fudge had no right to order his execution, since the right to dispense High Justice is not a power the Minister has ever had, even in the monarch’s absence. I’ve given Sirius a full pardon and restitution for his years spent in Azkaban as an innocent man who never even received a proper trial.”

Technically, Edward had still been imprisoned when Sirius was pardoned and granted restitution, so it was actually Grindelwald posing as Edward at the time. However, Edward didn’t need to reauthorize the pardon or the restitution since Dumbledore had come to Nurmengard and had Edward sign the necessary papers. Just as he’d done for numerous other things that required the King’s signature, as every single instance of anything bearing the King’s signature during Grindelwald’s impersonation of Edward had been signed by the real Edward.

With everybody looking over at Harry, nobody noticed the slight shiver from Edward as he remembered all the times that Dumbledore had come to his cell to get his signature. The memory charms that prevented him from being able to prove his identity to the guards would temporarily be lifted and he’d promptly get hit with the Cruciatus Curse. This would then be followed up with the Imperius Curse to force him to sign whatever documents Dumbledore had brought, before the memory charms were restored.

After a moment, Harry shook his head and said, “Anyway, let’s change the topic to something more pleasant.” Grinning over at Edward, Chaz, and Maxx, he asked, “Enjoy your wedding night?”

All three of the newlyweds blushed slightly, as Edward picked a grape from the bunch and threw it at Harry’s head. “That’s none of your business, young man.”

Harry’s seeker reflexes kicked in and he caught the grape in his mouth. After swallowing he said, “Thanks.”

“I was aiming at your head.”

“Oh I know, but I like where it ended up better,” Harry said.

This got a laugh from the doorway as Terence, Oliver, Gavin, and Roger entered the room, as there’d been a similar event at Forest Cottage a few months ago. It was Oliver who laughed, as he remembered when he’d tossed a grape at Cedric’s head, only for the Hufflepuff seeker to catch it in his mouth.

Leaning over, Cedric kissed Harry on the cheek and gave him a high-five. Taking a seat next to Cedric, Oliver asked, “So, what prompted this most recent grape throwing?”

“I asked Edward, Chaz, and Maxx if they enjoyed their wedding night,” Harry answered as Terence sat down next to Oliver, and Roger took a seat across from him, next to Jonas.

Gavin, seated next to Roger, grinned and said, “I take it no answer was given.”

“My sex life is private,” Edward said.

“Unless you forget the Silencing Charms,” Gavin shot back.

“Not an issue since everybody’s suites have been soundproofed,” Edward returned.

“I’m guessing there’s a reason for that,” Lukas commented.

“Yeah, there is alright,” Roger said. “These two knuckleheads,” pointing at Terence and Oliver, “forgot Silencing Charms before they went at it. Which triggered Nick and Dominick and Edward and Ramesses trying to drown them out with their own… um… activities.” Looking over at Gavin, Roger asked, “Not exactly something us straight guys like hearing, right Gav?”

Gavin nodded. “Right. Especially when it’s my brother.” Looking over at Oliver and Terence, he added, “I so didn’t need to hear that Will, Liam.”

“It’s not like it’s the first time you’ve heard it,” Terence said, after a brief explanation for both sets of twins in the room about Terence’s and Oliver’s nicknames.

“Oh please don’t remind me!” Gavin exclaimed. “It’s bad enough that I get mistaken for Oliver all the bloody time. I don’t need to hear you in bed with Liam.”

“I feel for you, Gav, I really do,” Roger said.

“You’ve got no room to talk, Rog,” Cedric said. “Mr. Straight Guy with a Male Soulmate.”

Before Roger or anyone else could say anything, Terence added, “Yes, Mr. Straight Guy whose let said male soulmate suck him off. I didn’t hear you complaining while your cock was in my mouth.”

Oliver grinned. “Yes, I seem to recall that you were too busy moaning and begging for more.”

“I did not beg!” Roger exclaimed indignantly, as his skin continued turning a progressively darker shade of pink, heading towards crimson when the ability to flush pink was exhausted.

“Yeah, you kind of did,” Oliver said. “I was there, remember? And Liam will back me up, because as you well know, he was there too.”

“Indeed I was, and yes you did beg, Rog.”

Noticing the looks on Chaz’s and Maxx’s faces, as this was undoubtedly not the kind of breakfast conversation they were used to, Ramesses said, “Welcome to breakfast at Camelot. We’re a very informal bunch.”

“At least here in the private dining room, anyway,” Edward added.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to get used to it,” Chaz said. “Since we’ve joined your bunch as you put it.”

“Indeed you have,” Blaise said. “Welcome to the madhouse.”

Nick and Dominick entered the dining room not long after this, taking the last two seats at the table. The four trainers habitually took their breakfasts in their quarters, allowing the students some time to socialize with each other without them around.

Once everyone had eaten, the Cuffe twins said their goodbyes—which included kisses with both Harry and Cedric—and they left to go back to their flat. Dominick volunteered to take Chaz and Maxx down to the stables so that the three of them could go riding. Edward promised to join them if he managed to find some free time from his work, although everybody left at the castle knew that wasn’t likely to happen since Edward’s work was actually nine hours of mage classes.

 _‘Nine hours of mages classes,’_ Edward thought, as he and his fellow trainees headed into Merlin’s Tower. _‘Followed by another couple of hours reading everything in today’s red box… oh joy.’_

-o-0-o-

A couple of hours later, Chaz, Maxx, and Dominick returned to the castle after a relaxing ride around the grounds. Dominick had just said his goodbyes and headed upstairs to take a nap when Tristan Nott came out of a nearby doorway and said, “Ah, Your Highnesses I’m glad I caught you.”

“Why?” Chaz asked, as he and Maxx turned to give Tristan their full attention.

“I was wondering if you could help me with something,” Tristan answered. “Due to Edward’s training, I’ve been tasked with handling a large amount of his correspondence. Basically I handle what I can personally and prepare summaries for his perusal, while also passing on those documents which require his personal attention or signature in his nightly red box.”

Chaz and Maxx nodded, before Maxx said, “And you’d like help with that?”

Tristan nodded. “There was an inordinate amount of it today. Of course, I’ve been concentrating on state documents and prioritizing them over the personal correspondence. It would help me, Edward, and Ramesses immensely if you two could sort through that while I concentrate on the state materials.”

After a brief look at each other, the twins nodded and Chaz said, “Maxx and I would be happy to help. It’s not like we have anything better to do and anything we can do now while Edward is in class that allows him to spend more time with us when he isn’t is entirely to our benefit.”

“Thank you,” Tristan said. “I’ll have the house-elves bring the correspondence up to your suite.” Then pulling something out of his pocket, he smiled and said, “I was hoping you’d say yes, so I took the liberty of having keys made for you which will unlock the boxes. They won’t work for the state red boxes, but they will unlock the ones I’ll be having sent up. Guard them well.”

“Will do,” Maxx said, as he and his brother both took one the keys that Tristan held up. “Well, we’ll head upstairs and get started then.”

Nodding, Tristan headed back the way he’d come, which if Chaz and Maxx remembered correctly led to the hallway where Tristan had his office.

“Well, I guess we’ve got work to do,” Chaz said.

“So it seems. I guess we should get to it.”

Chaz nodded but remained silent as they climbed the stairs and made their way to their suite. When they arrived they noticed four large boxes sitting on the wide mahogany desk that Edward had previously had magically altered by the household staff to accommodate Chaz and Maxx needing to sit next to each other.

Maxx’s eyes widened a bit, as he said, “Damn, Tristan wasn’t kidding when he said there was an inordinate amount of correspondence. Edward never gets more than one box per night.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely more than I expected.”

“Clearly Tristan handles a lot more than we realized while Edward’s in class.”

“Clearly,” Chaz agreed. Sighing he said, “Well, I suppose we should get started.”

Maxx nodded, as they made their way over to the desk and pulled out the brown leather desk chair. It was actually two identical chairs which had been magically merged together to form a wider than normal chair that could comfortably seat two people. The armrests that had been in what became the middle of the combined chair had been removed, creating what almost looked like a small loveseat, only on wheels. The fact that there were two sets of wheeled legs was the only visible proof that it had at one point been two separate chairs.

Working in tandem the twins took the topmost box off the pile and set it aside for a moment, before pushing the other ones off to one side so that they’d have more room to work. Taking the first box, Maxx put his key in the lock and turned it, after which Chaz lifted the lid and they got their first look inside the box. Like the boxes Edward got each night, this one was lead-lined with a black velvet interior and was completely full of scrolls and envelopes which filled nearly every available inch of the box’s interior.

“Oh heavens,” Maxx said. “If all the boxes are this full…”

“Then we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Shaking his head, Maxx said, “And not for the first time, I find myself wishing we both had two hands.”

“If only. But since we don’t, I guess we’ll just have to make do as we always do.”

“Yeah, so first things first, let’s try to sort them into piles by importance.”

“Sounds good,” as they sat down and began doing just that. After a few minutes, Chaz said, “Is it just me or are all of these marked with today’s date? All of this in one day?” as he tapped the pile closest to him which already had about twenty envelopes in it, with four other similarly sized piles nearby.

“It’s not just you, brother. I guess it makes sense though. Nobody can ever say that Camelot is a small empire.”

“True. Anybody who said that would be lying. And while I know it’s an impossible dream, I’ve gotta say that a couple of extra arms really would come in handy right about now.”

“Definitely,” Maxx agreed. After a moment, he sighed and added, “But, we’ve made it through twenty-four years with only two arms between us. It’s forced us to work together to an extent that most people never will, but I think we’ve become quite adept at it over the years.”

Chaz nodded. “Yeah, we have.” Thinking back to their school days, he grinned and said, “We were probably one of the best groups in school in terms of our ability to work together. Way too many of our classmates were incredibly bad at it.”

“Yes, well, that probably has something to do with the fact that they weren’t born with a twin sibling literally sharing flesh with them. Considering that we can’t get away from each other and only have one arm each, we kind of had to learn how to work together.”

“True. Unless we wanted to go through life with our valets literally dressing us.”

Maxx shuddered. “That would have been embarrassing. It was one thing when we were four and didn’t really care who saw us naked, but can you imagine having valets dress us as we got older?”

Chaz couldn’t help the blush that creeped up his cheeks at this. “Oh Gods no, that would have been mortifying. Especially since we spent a good portion of our teen years with nearly permanent hard-ons.”

“All thanks to a certain monarch who we’re now married to... finally.”

“Yes, so let’s get all this done shall we?” Chaz said. “I want Edward to have as much free time as possible this evening because I can’t wait to get him naked and into bed.”

“You and me both, brother. I’m actually glad that RJ gave Edward that basket of supplies. Not only do I expect the massage oils to be fun, but those virility potions may prove necessary after all.”

Chaz grinned. “Yes, there’s only one of him and two of us, after all. So he’s definitely going to need his stamina.”

“Tonight he’s all ours, of course, but I know we do have to share him with RJ who undoubtedly has his own demands on Edward’s stamina,” Maxx said.

“Poor Edward,” the twins said in perfect unison after a moment, before they burst out laughing.

After a few moments, they both managed to get ahold of themselves and got to work, sorting the correspondence and for some of it even drafting possible replies that Edward could consider using.

When they finally finished going through the fourth and final box, Maxx looked at the clock and said, “Well, we made good time. Edward’s last class ends in ten minutes.”

Chaz grinned and held up his hand, prompting Maxx to reach over and give him a high five.

-o-0-o-

After their last class was over for the day, the mage students all headed into the library in Merlin’s Tower to get started on the essay that Rolanda had set them on the theory behind the Dome of Protection. While none of the students had progressed far enough that they could actually cast one, as they’d need staves to do so, the trainers had begun teaching the theory behind some of the mage spells so that the students would be prepared when the time came.

Thinking back to class, Harry remembered Rolanda saying, “Your assignment this evening is to write an essay of no less than twenty inches of quarter inch script on the theory behind the Dome of Protection. Remember to research the origin of the spell, the evolution of its capabilities, and also include the reasons why certain choices were made during the spell’s development.”

Septima, who’d been sitting in on the class, observing while grading the essay she’d set the students on the theory behind the Time Spiral spell, added, “Remember that mage level magic is much more dynamic than ordinary wizarding level spells. With most wizard level spells, they can in most cases be cast by anyone who has at least studied the proper wand movement and knows the incantation. Results will vary, of course, but the spell will usually work. The same cannot be said for mage level magic, as it’s a much more scholarly pursuit that requires deep theoretical knowledge of every aspect of the spell and its history in order to get optimal results.”

Rolanda had nodded at this and added, “Indeed without a strong grasp on all of the theory and background of a given spell, you’ll be doomed to casting it at a subpar level that will leave you at a severe disadvantage should you find yourself dueling with another mage who did do the proper studying. Your essay is due in two days’ time. Class dismissed.”

When they’d first moved from Forest Cottage to Castle Camelot, many of the students had been shocked at the size of the library in Merlin’s Tower. They’d thought that the library at the cottage had been quite impressive, but Merlin’s put it to shame, even before all the books from Forest Cottage were added to its dark wooden shelves.

Begin Flashback…

“You could probably fit four Hogwarts libraries in here,” Roger said, as his eyes almost glazed over at the sight of so many books that he couldn’t even begin to calculate how many there were, since the library took up fourteen floors of the tower. Each floor was open to the one above it, as a space of ten feet of dark wood floors banded by black wrought-iron railings extended outward from the fifteen foot tall floor to ceiling bookshelves, which all had rolling ladders mounted on them. There was a circular opening eighty feet wide in the center of every floor except for the first, allowing one to look up and see just how expansive the room actually was.

“Seven actually,” Merlin corrected. “And you will very rarely if ever find a mage with a small library, Roger.”

“And I thought the Seacliff library was huge,” Harry commented. “I remember thinking that it would be Hermione’s Shangri-La… and this puts even that to shame.”

“I’m not surprised that Seacliff has a large library,” Arthur said. “Not only is it one of the oldest and most senior noble houses, there have been many mages in the bloodline. Including but nowhere near limited to Sir Percival Potter, the 1st Duke of Granston.”

“And I expect that the books housed in Seacliff’s library aren’t the only ones in the house,” Merlin added. “As there are no doubt more bookshelves scattered throughout the house. Plus there’s very likely several volumes hidden away in vaults beneath the castle, not to mention stored in the family’s Gringotts vault.”

“Why would a mage need so many books though?” Blaise asked as he looked around at all the volumes he could see without squinting.

“A mage is first and foremost one of the world’s most pre-eminent magical scholars,” Minerva explained. “They take magical understanding to levels far beyond the average witch or wizard. Most magical practitioners today are more concerned with what might be called bangs and smells magic. They favor practicality over theory and don’t really care how the magic works, only that it does. Effective mages, however, must understand magic at its deepest, most theoretical levels. When they do, they are the most powerful, resilient, creative, and when circumstances call for it, most dangerous and deadly practitioners of the magical arts in the world.”

“Yes, only a fool would thoughtlessly challenge a mage,” Pomona added. “As they take magical understanding to levels that most people would either hate or simply not bother with. One of the most important things you must understand, is that while mage training takes only three years that does not mean that your training is complete at that time. To truly succeed as a mage, you must continue learning and gaining knowledge throughout your life. That’s another reason, beyond just the pureblood inbreeding causing lower numbers of people powerful enough to effectively use mage-level magicks, why there aren’t anywhere near the number of mages there were in antiquity.”

Nodding, Septima said, “Yes, too many practitioners these days only want to do the bare minimum of study necessary. And once they finish school, unless they go on to get a mastery in a specific subject, they consider their educations complete. They tend to have very little if any interest in continuing to learn and grow. Most Ravenclaws defy that standard and there’s always a few students from each of the other houses that do as well, but far too many would prefer to focus entirely on the practical once they leave school.”

…End Flashback

After about half-an-hour, a few students looked up at the sound of somebody packing up and saw that Edward was packing up his supplies.

“You can’t be finished already,” Blaise said.

“I’ve written half of it and have notes for the rest,” Edward answered. “But, I’ve got to go down to my office and deal with today’s red box.” With a sigh, he added, “Be glad you’re not a King. To the outside observer it may seem glamorous having all that power, but all of the work involved? Not the slightest bit glamorous.”

Finishing the sentence he was writing, Ramesses began packing up as well, as he said, “I’ll come help you, Edward. It’ll go faster with two people.”

“Thank you,” Edward said with a smile. “So glad I made you my co-ruler.”

Ramesses laughed. “I’ll bet you are… you can pawn off your work on me.” After a moment, he added, “I’m only kidding, of course.”

As the two monarchs picked up their supplies to take them to their individual storage lockers just inside the entrance to Merlin’s Tower, Terence called out, “Have fun guys… try not to get too distracted by each other.”

Edward grinned and shook his head, mouthing, “Fuck you,” but otherwise remaining silent, as Ramesses said, “I doubt we’ll be doing much beyond work, Liam… not with Tristan in the room with us.”

“Well, he’s gay, so you could have some fun,” Oliver said.

“Yeah, somehow I think his husband would have a problem with that,” Edward said over his shoulder, as he and Ramesses finally left the room.

Nick and Roger were the next two to begin packing up their supplies about ten minutes later. Of course, unlike Edward and Ramesses they were packing up because they’d actually finished their essays. Considering Nick’s memory and Roger’s Ravenclaw study habits, however, this didn’t really surprise anybody. Nick went over to help Gavin at this point, because while the younger Wood has always been bright, he still didn’t really have well-developed study skills, since he’d never gone to an actual school.

Roger, meanwhile, set about putting away the books that he and Nick had been using to work on their essays. As he passed by the table that Terence and Oliver were seated at on his way to the stacks, he dropped a folded up piece of parchment next to Terence’s ink well. Once he’d finished the sentence he was writing, Terence put down his quill and picked up the note.

 ** _‘Can we talk? After dinner tonight? My suite? –R.’_** the note said.

Picking up his quill, Terence wrote, **_‘Sure, see you then. -L.’_** before folding the parchment back up and quietly placing it in the palm of Roger’s hand as he passed the table on his way out of the room a few minutes later.

Over at Harry’s and Cedric’s table, Harry seemed a bit distracted, prompting Cedric to ask, concernedly, “You okay, Harry?”

“Fine,” Harry said in a tone that wasn’t entirely convincing. After a moment, he smiled over at Cedric and said softly, “We’ll chat later, okay? After dinner.”

Cedric nodded. He’d been wanting to chat with Harry about a few things himself, so this worked out well. “My suite or yours?”

“Makes no difference to me, so you pick.”

Cedric smirked. “Fine, mine then.”

“Okay,” Harry said, as he shook his head and tried to get his focus back on his essay. He hadn’t always had the best study habits before entering mage training, but he’d learned quickly that he needed to change that. For one, Hermione wasn’t around to share her notes. And two, the trainers were very strict when it came to studying, of course, after everything they’d said, Harry could understand why. A part of him wondered if all this work was actually worth it, but then he thought about Voldemort, Gellert, and Albus and decided that yes, it was very worth it.

Awhile later, the clock on the mantle of the massive oak fireplace chimed the half-hour, prompting several of the remaining students to look up at it. Seeing the time, they all finished what they were doing and began packing up, as Barin would be serving dinner in half-an-hour, so they all wanted to get cleaned up.

-o-0-o-

Following a delicious dinner, everybody retreated to their suites. Harry and Cedric weren’t the only ones who had connecting suites. As Roger’s suite had a connecting door to Terence and Oliver’s, allowing them to keep their meeting secret.

Roger usually kept the door between his suite and the other closed and locked from his side—the door had a slide bolt that couldn’t be unlocked with the Unlocking Charm—but tonight he unlocked it and left it partially ajar.

Sitting down in the living room portion of his suite, Roger called out, “Come in,” when he heard the knocking after a few minutes. He wasn’t the slightest bit surprised when Terence and Oliver came in.

“Your note didn’t say which one of us you wanted to talk to,” Terence said, as he and Oliver sat down on the sofa near the armchair that Roger was sitting in.

“It was you I wanted to talk to Liam,” Roger said. “But I expected Will to come with you because the two of you are practically joined at the hip anyway.” With a grin he added, “Honestly, you guys might as well ask Chaz and Maxx if you can borrow some of their clothes.”

Oliver grinned and said, “Hmm, that might be fun actually. Just to see what it’s like. I admit hanging around with Chaz and Maxx these last few weeks has made me curious.”

Deciding to ignore his lover’s comment—although he filed it away for future reference—Terence said, “Okay, Rog, what did you want to talk about?”

“Well, Liam, I wasn’t very happy about your comment at breakfast this morning. While I get that everybody at the table knows that we’re soulmates and what the bonding entails, was it really necessary for you to tell everybody that I let you blow me?”

Terence sighed. “I suppose perhaps it wasn’t my finest moment.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m going to have to…” Roger hesitated. “…let you, well, you know what. So, I’d rather you didn’t talk about my sex life in front of everybody without so much as a by your leave.”

“I can understand why that was probably embarrassing,” Oliver said. “But you do need to loosen up a bit, Rog. I mean, if you and Liam suddenly gain more power, all our friends will know why. And it’s not like they aren’t in the same boat.”

“I’m just not as open about those kinds of things, okay?” Roger asked. “I get that you and Liam are very demonstrative and have no problems with people knowing, but that’s not me. So could you please not talk about it in front of everybody? Even if they do know, that doesn’t mean I want it discussed. And honestly it’s not even the fact that it was brought up in front of everyone that makes me the most angry… it’s more the fact that you thought it was okay to bring it up without even asking me about it first.”

Not giving the other two a chance to respond, Roger continued, “You just assumed that it was okay to talk about a topic like that in front of people. And I’m sorry, but that’s not a topic that I want discussed in front of people, even if they are our friends. So, if we’re going to be in a relationship, I wish you’d discuss things like that with me and get my opinion first.”

“I’m sorry, Rog. You’re right,” Liam said. “I shouldn’t have said what I did and I should have talked to you about it first.”

“Relationship?” Oliver asked. “He’s my boyfriend, not yours.”

“I realize that, Will. But that doesn’t change the fact that Liam and I are in a relationship. Even if we were nothing more than friends, a relationship would exist.”

“True,” Oliver said. “And as much as I enjoyed watching Liam blow you, I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about the two of you being friends with benefits.”

“Well I suppose that’s one way of looking at it,” Terence said. “Will, you do know I love you right? And Roger is straight. So, you don’t have to worry about me leaving you for him.”

Nodding, Roger said, “Yes, while Liam would be lucky to land a stud like me, I don’t have those kinds of feelings for any bloke, let alone him. So, he’d be crazy to break your heart to be with me, because he knows I’m not going into this with any ideas of a romance happening between us.”

“I know, I know. It’s just a strange situation, you have to admit. I mean finding out that my boyfriend has a soulmate that isn’t me and that in order to formalize the bond, he has to have sex with somebody other than me. And probably while I watch because I’ll probably end up acting as your bonder, unless you want one of the trainers in the room while you’re having the ritual sex the first time.”

“No, no, no!” Terence said, shaking his head furiously. “Definitely not!”

At almost the same time, Roger as saying, “Oh Gods, no! Eww! I am so not having sex in front of any of my professors! I’d be in therapy for the rest of my life.”

“Well, then I guess it’s agreed that it’ll be me who casts the necessary spells during the ritual while you two do the deed.”

Terence nodded. “I guess so. Of course, correct me if I’m wrong, but I assume that’s why Roger wanted me to blow him in the first place. So that he could start getting used to the idea of having you in the room while he’s having sex.”

“Well, that was part of it,” Roger added. “It was also so that I can start getting into the right headspace so that I’m actually comfortable with you that way, Liam. Unfortunately, the bond does call for anal sex with me on the receiving end, so you giving me a blow job isn’t perhaps the best preparation for that, but it’s a start.”

“Physically comfortable perhaps,” Oliver said. “Not necessarily emotionally comfortable.”

Roger nodded. “Precisely.” After a moment, in an attempt to lighten the serious mood a bit, he added, “And let’s be honest here. If I’m going to have performance anxiety it’s better to find out now rather than later.”

Terence‘s eyebrow rose at Roger at this. “Performance anxiety? Um, Rog, not to downplay the fact that this is new to you and you’re nervous, but as the receiving partner, you don’t really have to worry about your performance. I’m the one who has to actually do most of the work in that regard.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true, but I assume my nerves still play some part. Or am I wrong? I’ve read a book or two, but reading about the act and actually doing it are two very different things.”

“I suppose your nerves would play some role, yes,” Terence said. “I, um, asked Asterion about whether or not we can use some of the spells that are commonly used during sex. He said that we can, so, you will have a spell on your arse which will make it easier for you to take my cock, no matter how nervous you are.”

“Great another conversation about my sex life without my consent.”

“Oh come on Rog, it was Asterion. I figured you’d be pleased that I took the initiative to find out a bit about what we’re going to have to do. Since we don’t have access to the book unless we go to Black Island. It’s not like I enjoyed bringing it up, but it’s also not just your sex life, it’s mine too, so I’m allowed to ask questions. I knew you wouldn’t know the answer to it, so I went to the person who I knew would.”

Roger sighed. “You’re right, Liam, I’m sorry. This affects you just as much as it does me. And thank you for doing some research. It’s a bit embarrassing in this case, but I suppose you’re right that Asterion knew the answers to your questions and I wouldn’t have.”

Taking a deep breath, he added, “It’s good to know that we’ll be able to use those spells. They were mentioned in the books I read on the subject. I have to admit, until I read up on the spells, I always found the whole idea of a guy putting his cock in the same hole that shite comes out to be a rather gross concept, but I know now that there’s spells to make that sanitary.”

“Yes, similar to a Cleaning Charm,” Oliver said. “It tingles. Not that much different from a regular Cleaning Charm now that I think about it… although feeling it on the inside instead of the outside is a bit strange, especially the first time.”

“True,” Terence agreed as he shared a grin with Oliver, as they both remembered the first time they’d felt that spell in action. Turning to Roger, Terence said, “You’ll be experiencing it soon enough.”

“Whoa, slow down there mate. I’m so not ready for that yet.”

“Well, not to rush you,” Oliver said, “but I suggest you get ready. You’ll be turning seventeen next year and remember what I said on Black Island. If your inheritance makes you more powerful than Liam, your bonding is not happening.”

-o-0-o-

As the full moon rose high above the village of Little Hangleton, a figure in a flowing black cloak, the hood pulled low over their face, walked silently up the snow-covered path to the crumbling manor house on the hill. Reaching the front porch, the figure pulled out their wand and said, “ ** _Bombarda Maxima!_** ” as the front doors were blown off their hinges, warping from the force of the blast and falling inward to hit the dusty oaken floors of the old house’s entry hall with a thud.

As the hooded figure entered the house, a huge snake slithered down the stairs and lunged at the figure, its mouth open and ready to strike. The hooded figure showed no fear, however, as they simply said, “Not today, Nagini… **_Stupefy Permanentum!_** ”

The snake froze in mid-strike, stunned. Taking the steps two at a time, the cloaked figure walked up to the second floor landing and headed for the door at the end of the hall. Sending a gust of wind from their wand to push the ajar door open, the figure raised their wand and said, “Drop it, Mr. Pettigrew,” when the man in question appeared in the now open doorway, wand in hand.

“Kill them,” a voice said from inside the room.

Peter raised his wand at the figure, but before he could say the spell he’d been ordered to cast, the figure shook their hooded head. “Fine, if that’s how you want it. **_Avada Kedavra!_** ”

Seconds later, Peter Pettigrew fell backwards, dead as a doornail, after being hit in the chest by the figure’s curse. The figure stepped over his body and into the room, shaking their head. “Tom, Tom, Tom… you really shouldn’t have ordered him to kill me.”

“Who dares to call me that?!” Voldemort asked.

“Come now, Tom, surely you know,” the figure said as he moved to stand in front of the small bundle lying on the wingback chair. “I know you’re in a rudimentary body at the moment, but surely it hasn’t affected your brain that much.”

Raising his offhand, the figure pulled his hood down and grinned. “Surprise.”

The tiny eyes of Voldemort’s rudimentary body widened as he saw the man that the Daily Prophet said was actually Albus Dumbledore, rather than the grandson he’d initially led everyone to believe he was.

“Dumbledore?” Voldemort asked, and the man nodded. “You cast the Killing Curse? Aren’t you worried about corrupting your light soul?”

Albus laughed so hard he nearly doubled over at this. “Light? Please, Tom, I embraced the dark before you were even born. I’ve just done a better job at hiding it, because unlike you, I was playing for the long-game. You on the other hand wanted instant gratification and short-term victories. Your short-sightedness is why you’re sitting where you are now, in a rudimentary body.”

Before Voldemort could respond, Albus added, “I’d thought maybe the years of solitude in Albania would have given you time to think Tom, but apparently not.”

“Nagini!” Voldemort called. “Strike this fool down!”

“She can’t help you, Tom. I’ve removed her from the board for the time being with a Permanent Stunning Spell, so only I can restore her at the moment of my choosing.”

“What do you want, Dumbledore?” Voldemort spat. “Are you here to kill me?”

Albus laughed again. “Kill you? No, I’m not here for that. You’re a pawn on my chess board, Tom, but fortunately for you, it’s not time for you to be sacrificed yet. Learn and play your role well and perhaps I’ll see to it that time never comes. If you try to move against us, however, well I’m afraid that will be the last mistake you make.”

“Us? It’s just you and me here, Dumbledore.”

“Is it? I think not,” Albus said as he reached into the folds of his cloak and pulled something out, which was now standing upon the palm of his hand.

Voldemort squinted at it for a moment before he asked, “Really, Dumbledore? You’re going senile if you expect me to be afraid of a bowtruckle.”

At these words, the bowtruckle jumped off of Albus’s hand to the floor. Before Voldemort could say anything, however, it grew taller and soon was no longer a bowtruckle but was instead a full-grown wizard.

“Unfortunately for you, Tom, I’m not really a bowtruckle,” the new person said, as they pulled a wand from the folds of their cloak.

“Who in Merlin’s hairy ball sack are you?”

The wizard standing next to Albus laughed. “Yes, I suppose you wouldn’t recognize me like this, Tom, as this is what I looked like over twenty years before you were even born. Allow me to remedy your confusion,” the man said as he raised his wand and pointed it at himself, muttering a few incantations to make the youthful appearance of his early twenties melt away to be replaced with the more mature appearance of his midlife.

Voldemort’s tiny, beady eyes widened as he shook his small head and said, “No, no, it can’t be.”

“Ah but it is, Tom, it is,” Albus said. “Gellert Grindelwald.”

“You defeated him,” Voldemort said. “He’s in prison.”

“Was in prison, Tom,” Gellert said. “But as you can see, I’m not anymore. In fact, I haven’t been in prison for over a decade now, thanks to Albus here.”

“You broke Grindelwald out of prison?” Voldemort asked, looking at Albus. “Why?”

Albus laughed. “This may come as a surprise to you, Tom, but Gellert is my best friend… my partner… my soulmate.”

“Bonded soulmate, actually,” Gellert added. “Friendship only, as unlike Albus I do prefer women and thus have never returned his feelings. But, he couldn’t bear to leave me locked up forever.”

Voldemort scoffed. “Friendship is for the weak.”

“I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong, Tom,” Albus said. “Every single person on the planet has a soulmate. The person who literally shares half of their soul. Meeting this person is rare, of course, as there’s usually geographic, socio-political, economic, or even age differences all playing a role in making sure they don’t meet. But when they do, a powerful bond can be entered into. A bond which will increase their power by a factor of six for friendship bonds and by eight for love bonds.”

“Thanks to our bonding,” Gellert added, “Albus and I are both Archmagisters, both fully trained.”

Albus and Gellert both summoned their staffs into their off hands at this revelation.

“Is that supposed to scare me?” Voldemort asked. “I’m a fully qualified mage too… and an Apprentice Magus, so I’m more powerful than both of you.”

Albus and Gellert both laughed at this, before Albus said, “Oh Tom, poor deluded Tom. Do you honestly believe that? I thought you were intelligent, apparently I was mistaken.”

“You didn’t do nearly enough research before you decided to make your Horcruxes, Tom,” Gellert said. Seeing Voldemort’s eyes widening, Gellert nodded. “Yes, Tom, we know you made Horcruxes. Seven of them I believe? Of course, two of them have already been destroyed.”

“No, no, that’s not possible.”

Albus shook his head. “Ah, but it is Tom. Surely you know about your diary Horcrux’s destruction? Harry Potter stabbed it with a basilisk fang all the way back in his second year.”

“That’s only one, not two,” Voldemort said. He’d known of its destruction, obviously, as he’d felt when it happened and he was none too pleased. But he hadn’t felt the destruction of any of his others, so he knew that they were lying.

“I know what you’re thinking, Tom,” Gellert said, saying the name because he knew it drove the man nuts. “You’re thinking that you’d know if you’d lost two Horcruxes, as you would have felt their destruction, but in the case of the second one you’ve lost, you didn’t feel it because the object itself wasn’t destroyed and a power greater than all of us is the one who took that part of your fragmented soul.”

Banishing his staff, Gellert held up his hand and said, “Observe Tom,” before he waved his wand at his offhand and a large golden ring with a black stone appeared on his finger, as he cancelled the spell that hid it from view.

Voldemort’s eyes widened. “You dare wear that ring? It’s a Gaunt family heirloom! My family!”

“Actually, no, it isn’t,” Gellert said. “In truth, it’s a Peverell family heirloom. The Gaunts may have turned it into a ring, but the stone was originally gifted to Cadmus Peverell, many centuries earlier.”

“Really, Tom, what were you thinking when you made that ring into a Horcrux?” Albus asked. “The only reason you were even able to do so is because of the gold band. There’s no way you ever would have been able to insert a fragment of your soul into the stone itself.”

“The stone is not just any common stone, Tom,” Gellert said. “It’s the Resurrection Stone, one of the legendary and very much real, Deathly Hallows, granted to Cadmus Peverell by none other than Thanatos, God of Death, himself.”

“Alone the stone can only summon the shades of the dead,” Albus said. “But when combined with one of the other Hallows…”

Handing his wand—the Elder Wand—over to Gellert and taking his in exchange, Gellert moved it into his left hand, normally his offhand, so that the handle of the wand was touching the ring on his finger. Pointing the wand at the body of Peter Pettigrew and muttering an incantation under his breath in Ancient Greek, the black stone glowed and flashed before a jet of cloudy silvery mist shot out of the end of the Elder Wand and hit Peter’s body. A moment later, his entire body lurched up as he took a gasping breath and his eyes shot open.

As Peter recovered and moved to stand up, Albus waved Gellert’s wand at him and hit him with a Full-Body Bind, as Gellert said, “It can resurrect the dead. Not as mindless Inferi, but as living beings in full control of their own minds.”

“There are certain limitations, however,” Albus was quick to add. “Such as it has to be done before the person’s body has decomposed. Once that happens, it’s too late as the person’s soul will be firmly under the dominion of Hades by that time and Thanatos’s power can’t bring them back.”

Shaking his head, Gellert said, “Anyway, back to the subject of your Horcruxes, Tom. This wand which Albus took from me in our duel all those years ago is actually the fabled Elder Wand, another of the Deathly Hallows, granted by Thanatos to Antioch Peverell. With it I was easily able to overcome and dispel every single enchantment and protection you placed upon the band of the ring and banish the fragment of your soul to the Underworld.”

Voldemort growled, clearly angry, but after a moment, he shook his head. “Ha, fine. Two of them may have been destroyed, but there’s still five more and only I know where they are.”

“Is that so?” Albus asked. “Really, Tom, I’m beginning to fear that your previous intelligence was all an act. Nagini is downstairs, under a Permanent Stunning Charm. The Cup of Helga Hufflepuff lies in the Gringotts vault of Bellatrix Lestrange. The Wand of Godric Gryffindor and the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw both lie in the Room of Hidden Things at Hogwarts. And finally, the Locket of Salazar Slytherin lies in a cabinet at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the Black family’s London townhouse.”

“And before you say that Albus got the location of Slytherin’s locket wrong,” Gellert said, “I assure you he didn’t. Because unbeknownst to you, Regulus Black found out about your Horcruxes years ago and replaced the real one, hidden in a cave, with a fake. The real one has been at his parents’ house for years now, ever since it was brought there by Kreacher, the Black family elf you borrowed to test your traps. Stupidly forgetting that house-elves can Apparate through Anti-Apparition Wards, so Kreacher didn’t die in that cave as you intended but returned to warn his master.”

Voldemort screamed. “If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him!”

Albus laughed. “Play your cards right, Tom, and you may get your chance, because in case you missed it in the Prophet, Regulus isn’t dead. He was long believed to be, true, but he revealed himself to still be alive just a few short months ago. He’s the new History of Magic professor at Hogwarts… dangerously close to two of your Horcruxes, my boy.”

“Thankfully for you, he doesn’t know they’re there,” Gellert said. “Not yet, anyway. Of course, unless you do everything that Albus and I tell you to do, we may be forced to send Regulus an anonymous tip.”

“You honestly expect me to work for the two of you?” Voldemort said. “As I’ve already pointed out, I’m more powerful than both of you! It should be you who’s bending the knee to me!”

Albus laughed. “Tom, Tom, Tom, I’m sorry to say that will never happen. As I said, you are a pawn on my chess board. You honestly think that you stand a chance against Gellert and me? When we have the power of two divine artifacts on our side?”

“And as for your claim that you’re more powerful than us,” Gellert said. “You may go ahead and continue believing that if you wish. But when your plans around the Triwizard Tournament play out…”

“Yes, Tom, we know about those too,” Albus interrupted. “Did you honestly think that Barty Crouch Jr. was smart enough or good enough to fool me into thinking that he was Alastor Moody? You can’t possibly be that stupid. He’s still at Hogwarts, but only because his presence there will benefit me in the end.”

“…and you’re restored to your body,” Gellert continued, “you will be in for a very rude awakening, Tom. Because as I said earlier, you didn’t do anywhere near enough research into Horcruxes before you made them. If you had, you’d know that splitting your soul has consequences and not just physical consequences in terms of making you look less and less human with each split. But also the consequence that if your original body is destroyed, as it was thirteen years ago, it will affect your power levels. You may have been an Apprentice Magus at one time, but you will soon find out that that is no longer the case.”

“You’re lying,” Voldemort said.

“Am I?” Gellert asked. “Do you really want to risk it? Agree to serve Albus and me and we will make sure that your secrets stay safe. Both in terms of your lessened power and your Horcruxes. Refuse, however, and I’m afraid we will be forced to remove you from the board, permanently.”

“And we can do that, Tom, because as you already know, Gellert and I know where all of your Horcruxes are and we know how to destroy them. So defy us, and you will die permanently.”

“On that note, we’ll give you some time to think it over,” Gellert said. “But I would strongly suggest that you don’t keep us waiting for too long. Now, Albus and I have places to be and things to do.”

“Such as?” Voldemort asked.

Albus laughed. “Oh just the next step in our game.”

Nodding, Gellert said, “Yes, and it will be gloriously deadly for those at Hogwarts.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, Chapter Nineteen of ‘The Journey Begins’. I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Yes, I realize that I’ve created a new Horcrux in the Wand of Godric Gryffindor. The reason being that I’ve always hated the idea of Harry being a Horcrux and decided not to use that element in this story. I used Godric’s wand because I figured the Sorting Hat wouldn’t work because otherwise surely the fragment of Voldemort’s soul inside of it would have been negatively affecting people who wore the hat for years now, similar to how wearing Slytherin’s locket affected personalities in the last book. Not to mention the unlikeliness that the hat would continue to badmouth Salazar Slytherin in its yearly songs if it was the vessel for a fragment of the soul of the Heir of Slytherin. Plus why would it help Harry defeat Slytherin’s basilisk by providing him the Sword of Gryffindor?
> 
> And speaking of the sword, I figured that also wouldn’t work due to its goblin-forged nature, which I think would make destroying it next to impossible. I suppose the goblins might know how to do it since they crafted it, but considering that they’ve been coveting the return of that sword for centuries, I don’t see them being willing to destroy it.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter @JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at jayson (dot) vascardi.
> 
> Also consider checking out my wiki at http://stories-by-jayson.wikia.com, which is a wiki from all of my works including this one. Character profiles, background information, and story guides as well as pictures of how I picture the various characters can be found there. Note, however, that as of now (Sep 22 2017) I'm still in the process of moving all the content from my old wiki to this one, so some of the pages aren't necessarily all there yet, but will be eventually.


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